GLASS AND IRON IN MODERN BUILDING

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 180, 20 October 1927, Page 14

GLASS AND IRON IN MODERN BUILDING

WORK AT OTAHUHU

NEW RAILWAY DEPOT The magnitude of the work entailed by the provision of new railway workshops at Otahuhu may be gauged by the fact that the car repair shop covers 64,800 square feet of floor space and 30 tons of glass will be used for skylights. With the completion of the Railway Department power house, and the car shop framework at Otahuhu, a commencement was made on Saturday morning with the erection of the framework of the steel wagon and repair shop, which will consist of 11 bays, 20 feet wide, with a width of 140 feet. The power house framework was the first to be completed, and has been painted and is now ready for the addition of the roof. With the completion of the incinerator, in the course of a couple of days, the work of preparing the million feet of timber which is to be used in the •tructure, will proceed apace.

The new and repair car shop, the framework of which has just been completed, occupies an area of 64.500 square feet, the floor of which has been all hand-packed with scoria boulders, selected for the work, and on top of this there is to be a nineinch layer of concrete. The building is at present being fitted with the steel roller doors, and a small army of plumbers are engaged in erecting the spoutinsr and down pipes, all of which have to be hauled into place by block and tackle, as they are mado of wrought steel, and from outside appearances are made to last. Each building, of which there are, In all, about 10, is to be built up six feet on the walls with concrete.

A start was made this week with the erection of the permanent midway gantry, to accommodate a travelling electric crane, which will be available for lifting heavy gear the whole length of the block. A consignment of some 30 tons of glass, recently arrived on the scene. This is to be used for skylights in the workshops. The shed erected by the department for the storage of dry timber has, also, been completed. One very important phase of the work is the laying down of miles of drainage pipes.