NEW RAIL OUTLET

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 482, 11 October 1928, Page 1

NEW RAIL OUTLET

auckland-westfield LINE PLATE-LAYING to start WORK IN STATION YARDS Good progress is being made on the Auckland - Westfield deviation, and it is expected that plate-laying will be started almost immediately. The formation work, including bridges, culverts, etc., is practically complete. The down main line will be finished first, the idea being that it will be used for goods trains during peak periods. Passenger trains will not run over the deviation until the new station is completed. In the reconstruction of the railways yards at Auckland the engineers have been faced with a difficult problem, though Mr. J. Dow. engineer of the new works, has his future plans worked out. The new inwards yard and the road approaches to the new station building lie at right angles to the existing inwards yard.?, which will have to be pulled up to make way for the new station and the r,ew yards. Because of thft lack of room in the Auckland yards, the Inwards yards could not be *ransferred to any place within the limits of the yards. Negotiations were entered into with the Auckland Harbour Board for occupation of one of its blocks of reclaimed land on the waterfront. The board granted the department use of this land, and it has been proposed to transfer one of the outward goods-sheds on to the block mentioned for use as a temporary inwards goodsshed. Lines will be laid from the present yards to the temporary shed to meet the convenience of all concerned. The new outward goods-shed in Breakwater Road will be ready for use shortly, though the date has not been definitely fixed. The removal of the outward goodsshed enables the engineers to lay a further two and a-half miles of permanent sidings in the new yards. These sidings will be temporarily used as inwards marshalling and storage group. When this temporary inwards area is ready for occupation the present inwards sheds and yards will be thrown out of commission r.*id removed. It Is estimated that the sheds on the reclomation will then be ready for use.