OPENED TO-DAY

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 451, 19 June 1937, Page 6

OPENED TO-DAY

WELLINGTON STATION

New Zealand’s Largest Building

The nett railway station which is to be opened in Wellington to-daj hay the distinction of being the larg esib building in the Dominion, for . exceeds in floor area the next bigges. by the ample margin of 25 per cent Its contract price of £349,000 is al distinctive, bulb it is in the new standard of comfort and service to be giv en to railway travellers that the- enterprise sltands out most vividly. Cold, dismal waiting rooms are replaced by comfortable places equal to the lounges of many clubs, and even the babies and their mothers are specially catered for in a sunny series of nurseries and a roof playground, this section being in icharge of a qualified Plunket nurse. The whole project involves much more than an immense building, for the scheme of improving Wellington’s terminal rail facilities has included the double-track Tawa Flat tunnel, giving a grade through the surrounding hills -of 1 in 100 instead of the old -climb, which in parts was 1 in 40. There is also the electrification for 25 miles to Paekakariki, a complete new lay-out of shunting yards with the most modern system of electric signalling and points control.

All these improvements mean increased dispatch for traffic, and the results appear in the improved timing of longdistance trains already announced, with further acceleration when the electric locomotives can be used on the Wellington-Paekakariki section. An Imposing Frontage, The station frontage is to Bunny Street, and the fine open space which has been made there enables the proportions of -the front elevation, extending for 360 feet t° be adequately appreciated. The red bricks with tiled panels beneath window-sills form an admirable setting for the central feature of Roman columns at the main entrance. These columns are of light sandstone- colour, over 40ft high, and of a diameter of sft 3in. Setting back of an upper floor gives an effective break in the lines of this handsome example of English renaissance architecture.

The plan of the building is an immense U, the sides of which run up Featherston Street on one elevation, and Waterloo Quay on the other side. They enclose the nine- platforms which run into the “dead ends” close to the principal entrance, separated from it only by the width of the ticket lobby and the general concourse. Trains have been brought as closely as possible to the entrance, and there is the minimum distance to walk, while the suburban passenger will be able to reach his carriage by covering only the width of a lobby and the general platform, which is parallel with the side- elfevation to Featherston Street. There also he will find tram £ and motor buses. The grebt magnitude o.f the building is due t° the concentration on the site of offices accommodating the general manager’s staff, the- executive officers controlling the whole system, and also Ithe Wellington district offices.

A passenger who uses the main entrance finds himself in a lofty tickeit lobby, having a barrel-vaulted roof with extensive ornamentation characteristic of the Italian renaissance style. However, rich as is the general appearance, it is not garish. Marble from Hanmer, with a warm redstone, Is use d in the -dadoes, while the metal fittings of bronze and chromium steel give a modernistic touch. Immediately to the right ar. the ticket offices, not mere holes in a wall, buit open-fronted and spacious. bS-Sengelrs requiring reservfl ions wove a little further along this side, and following the next stage, that of checking- their luggage) it is but a step or two, when they reach a spacious luggage room having a frontage also to the platforms, .as his traffic i f . two-wa* A little detail suggestive of the general consideration for passengers’ comfort is the provision of a rest for hand luggage beneath Ithe ticket counters, fO that baggage can be put down while money is being handled. Parallel with the lobby is the general concourse or hall, from which any platform may be reached, as as a n the other facilities n6ed . d by the traveller. A loud-speaker equipment, operated from the station foreman’s office, will p rovWe infor rnation regarding train arrivals an d departures, and the righit platform to e used a good supplement to the permanent notices. Refreshments require liberal space, tor there is a large kitchen so well organised that the familiar sandwich requires a epecial section to itself. The dining room, with its red marble and beautifully -polished Southland Pe.ech, is distinctive, while the- sep .

arate refreshment room for more hurried meals is bright with contrasting colours. New Note in Waiting Rooms. Waiting room accommodation sets a new note in the standard of comfort and of good taste. In the general Waiting room off the concourse 3re to be found leather-covered couches and chairs, polished tables and a large electric radiator for pleasant effect rather /than service, because the whole room is centrally heated with radiators which do not obtrude.

The Waterloo Quay frontage of the station is mostly devoited to the large business in parcel transit carried out by the railways. It is on thi £) side also that the principal trains will arrive. Private cars have their places as well as taxis. They can pull up only the width of a platform from the arriving train, so that the passenger goes under shelter from carriage to motor car. There are a thousand and one details of interest which cannot be described in one newspaper article. However, what the average member of the general public will appreciate is the generally high standard of all facilities, /their wonderful planning for convenience, the liberality of space and the regard for brightness consistent with good taste. The architests, Messrs. Gray, Young, Morton, and Young, have designed a building of dignity for its purpose, and the co-operation of many experts in railway matters has enabled every detail to be thoroughly planned

for real service, while the contractors, the Fleltcher Construction Company, fciave brought to reality all the ideas of a. very competent team of planners.