LI

D.- 2

Hillside Workshops. Social hall, dining-room, and library : Completed 25th February, 1928, except for gas-cookers. Electric lighting and heating still to be provided. Reclaim department and power-house buildings are practically completed. The concrete floors and cable-ducts will be finished early in April. Locomotive-erecting shop : This building will be completed approximately first week in April, with the exception of work on the concrete engine-pits and floors, which has commenced. Boiler-erecting and plate shop : The erection of this building is in hand. Twenty-three columns and 10 per cent, of wall-framing erected. Steel-wagons shop : Concrete foundations only in place. No steel work erected yet. Stores building : Nothing done yet. Present foundry and fettling-shop are on the site for this building. Foundry : Nothing done yet. Present car and wagon shops aro on the site for this building. Pattern-shop : Nothing done yet. Present wagon-shop is on the site for this building. Gantries, coke, and sand stores : Nothing done yet. Traverser-pit: This pit is being completed and will be in working-order before the locomotive, erecting shop is ready for use. Traverser is erected. 70 ft. Turntable : Nothing done yet. Awaiting delivery of turntable. Yard rearrangement, storm-water and foul sewers, water-services, &c. : These works are all well in hand and are being carried out as the progress of the work on the new shops necessitates. All cranes for these shops are on order—viz., one 100-ton, one 25-ton, six 10-ton, three 7|--ton, one 5-ton, and one 2-ton. The traverser is erected, with the exception of electrical connections. The machinery position in percentages is as follows : — In New Zealand. On Order. Yet to Order. Machine-shops .. .. ..80 10 10 Erecting-shop .. .. .. .. 20 75 5 Boiler-shop .. . . .. .. 50 40 10 Foundry .. .. .. ..50 30 20 Blacksmiths' shop .. .. .. 90 5 5 Reclaim shop .. .. .. .. 60 30 10 Wagon-shop .. .. .. .. 50 25 25 Power-house .. ..... ..70 20 10 In conclusion, I feel it a duty I owe to the staff to place on record my deep appreciation of the good service that is rendered by all ranks, often under difficult conditions, in an endeavour to get the best results. The past few years have been strenuous ones. The many phases of reorganization have affected fall Branches and all ranks. In a Service of the magnitude of the New Zealand Railways it is no light task to reorganize on the scale that has been attempted. In all cases the staff has arisen to the occasion. In severing my connection with the Service I have the satisfaction of being able to report that the lines of railway, rolling-stock, and equipment are generally in very good condition. F. J. Jones, Chairman, Railway Board.