Petone Workshops

Last updated

Petone Workshops
Type Division of NZR
Industry Railways
Predecessor Pipitea Point Workshops
Founded1876;147 years ago (1876)
Defunct1929;94 years ago (1929)
FateReplaced
Successor Hutt Workshops
Headquarters
Hutt City
,
New Zealand
Area served
 Wellington region
ServicesHeavy rail maintenance and vehicle assembly
Parent New Zealand Government Railways (NZGR)

The Petone Workshops were a government-owned railways maintenance and repair facility located in Petone, in Lower Hutt in the Wellington region of New Zealand's North Island. It took over construction and maintenance of rolling stock in the Wellington region from the Pipitea Point facility, starting in 1876, [1] and became the only such facility in the region from 1878 [2] until the opening of the replacement Hutt Workshops facility in 1929. [3]

Contents

History

X class 588, photographed leaving Petone Workshops, circa 1913. Godber Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library "X" class (compound) steam locomotive 588, 4-8-2 type. ATLIB 257736.png
X class 588, photographed leaving Petone Workshops, circa 1913. Godber Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library

Predecessor

The first railway workshops in the Wellington region were near Wellington's first railway station at Pipitea Point. These workshops started out as a set of storage sheds for rolling stock when the first section of the Wairarapa Line was being constructed from 1872 to 1874. Later a repair and erecting shop was built at the site at the behest of Messrs Brogden and Sons, who arranged for the workshops to be fitted out with equipment imported from England. The building was 100 ft (30 m) long by 48 ft (15 m) wide, with a seaward side lean-to 50 ft (15 m) long and 24 ft (7.3 m) wide. A single road entered the building, in which facilities were provided for blacksmiths with four forges, woodworking and carpentry, and a machine shop. A stationary steam engine was used to power the machinery using a system of shafts and belts. A 10-ton overhead crane straddled the track. [4]

Replacement at Petone

The Pipitea Workshops site had not long been in operation when the volume of work required of it expanded beyond its capacity. [5] Several sites for a new railway workshops facility were suggested, and it was eventually decided that Petone was the best option. [1] In 1876, a small start was made on the new facility with the construction of a shed for the storage of four new Fell-type locomotives until they were required for the construction of the Rimutaka Incline. [6]

New locomotive E66 at Petone Workshops in February 1906. E66 Petone Workshops 1906.JPG
New locomotive E66 at Petone Workshops in February 1906.

The Petone Workshops did not start to take shape until 1878 [2] when, under the direction of the manager of the Wellington Section, Mr Ashcroft, [7] work began in earnest, a decision largely prompted by the destruction of the Pipitea Workshops in a fire. [8] Many of the buildings that would comprise the workshops facilities were erected between 1878 and 1881, though the nature of the site allowed for the later construction of other buildings as required. [9] The arrangement of the workshops yard included a machine shop, boiler shop, and foundry at the northern (station) end, and a car and wagon depot, the lifters and paint shop at the southern end. [10]

At the time Western Hutt Road did not exist and the Railways Department owned all of the land up to the base of the hills. [11] The workshops began expanding beyond the confines of the original station yard early in the 20th century. [12] Some railway houses were located at the periphery to house workshop and station staff. [13]

Operations

Petone assembled or maintained hundreds of locomotives and carriages.

Seven "F", "L", and "J" class locomotives were rebuilt into other classes at Petone. The only locomotives built at Petone were three NZR L class in 1903; and E-66 in 1906, later derisively dubbed "Pearson's Dream". [14]

Perhaps some of the best-known locomotives to frequent the Petone Workshops were the H-class Fells used on the Rimutaka Incline. From 1900 these locomotives were in need of new boilers and annual returns show that while this work was done there was one locomotive at a time at Petone undergoing major repairs leaving the other five locomotives to handle the traffic. Other changes made at the time included the fitting of steel Belpaire fireboxes, larger cabs with trapdoors in the roof, and a second funnel to separate the two exhausts (a change that was reverted several years later). [15] This pattern of one of the six H-class locomotives at a time being at Petone (and later Hutt) for repairs seems to have been fairly standard, with annual returns showing this to be the case for most years. [16]

Petone was involved in the assembly of various experimental railcars following trials of an earlier type of railway carriage based on an idea from the United States. Due to the inadequacy of the types of motive power available at the time, these experiments were unsuccessful. [17]

The first railway carriage in service in the Wellington region was assembled at Petone in 1914 using bodywork built there and an underframe and traction equipment from Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company. The power plant was a 6-cylinder petrol engine with a 90 hp (67 kW) generator driving two 60 hp (45 kW) electric motors, for a maximum speed of 35 mph (56 km/h). It was to be used on the Johnsonville line with a trailer, but the grades proved to be too much for the car alone. After frequent mechanical difficulties, it was withdrawn in 1917. [18]

Another early petrol-electric railway carriage assembled at Petone entered service in 1916. It used bodywork manufactured at Petone; underframe, bogies and transmission from Thomas Transmission Ltd. of the United Kingdom; and a motor from J. Tyler and Sons. After a few months' service, a vital part broke and could not be replaced until after World War I. In 1920, when the replacement part arrived and the car was put back into service, it proved to be unreliable and was withdrawn in 1925. [19]

Three more railcars were constructed at Petone in 1925 and 1926. [20] The 1925 model did not survive tests on the Hutt lines. It caused its passengers to experience an uncomfortable pitching motion, necessitating its withdrawal. [21] The 1926 models were more like small motor busses on flanged wheels with an 11 ft (3.4 m) long body. They first saw service on the Greytown Branch before being transferred to the Glenham Branch and Switzers Branch where they were withdrawn in 1930. [22]

In the 1920s, workshops around the country were upgraded with electric power plants. Petone had been relying on a gas power plant, and this was replaced between 1925 and 1927 with electric motors. [23]

Demise

A Royal Commission established in 1924 to examine the issue of railway workshop facilities around the country reported that much of Petone's machinery was out of date or obsolete, and that there were serious congestion problems owing to the lack of space for expansion. [24]

Following the recommendations of the Commission, the Railways Department embarked on a three-year programme of workshop upgrades in 1925. Two sites for a replacement facility were considered, at Tawa Flat and Woburn, with the latter option being selected. Eighty acres of land were set aside at a new industrial area behind Hutt Park for the new workshops. [25] The Hutt Workshops were completed in 1929, resulting in the transfer of all functions from Petone to the new site and the closure of the Petone Workshops. [3]

Following closure the site was cleared of buildings, with some structures moved adjacent to the new workshops to form the NZR Road Services bus garage. The only Petone workshops building left standing on the site was a relatively new structure, erected in 1912. This building was finally demolished in 2012 to make way for the realignment of State Highway 2 through Petone.

Today

Construction of the Western Hutt Road, realignment of the Petone station yard, and neighbouring industrial, commercial and urban development have obliterated any sign of the workshops.

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 Cameron, Walter Norman (1976). "Chapter 4: Construction And Operation, Wellington To Upper Hutt". A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas. Wellington, New Zealand: The New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society. p. 80. ISBN   0-908573-00-6. Petoni offered the best proposition for siting the workshops, and it was here that a very modest start was made in 1876.
  2. 1 2 Cameron, Walter Norman. "Chapter 4: Construction And Operation, Wellington To Upper Hutt". A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas. p. 80. ... work did not start in earnest until 1878.
  3. 1 2 Hoy, Douglas G. (1970). "10: The Hutt Valley Branch – And Other Changes". Rails Out Of The Capital: Suburban Railways, Wellington. Wellington, New Zealand: The New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society. p. 58. ... the whole plant was completed by 1929, and the first locomotives began emerging the following year.
  4. ↑ Cameron, Walter Norman. "Chapter 4: Construction And Operation, Wellington To Upper Hutt". A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas . p. 78. Partly of necessity and partly at the instigation of Messrs Brogden and Sons, a repair and erecting shop was built at Pipitea Point. It seems clear that Brogdens built this repair shop and arranged for the machinery to be imported from England. It was a building 100 feet (30 m) long and 48 feet (15 m) wide, with a lean-to on the seaward side. This part of the building was 50 feet (15 m) long by 24 feet (7.3 m) wide. A single line entered the building, and provision was made for a blacksmiths shop with four forges; a woodworking and carpentering shop; and a machine shop. A steam boiler supplied a stationary engine, which drove the machinery by a system of belts and shafting. A 10-ton overhead crane spanned the single line of railway in the building.
  5. ↑ Cameron, Walter Norman. "Chapter 4: Construction And Operation, Wellington To Upper Hutt". A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas. p. 79. As the volume of work grew, so did the inadequacy of the repair facilities.
  6. ↑ Cameron, Walter Norman. "Chapter 4: Construction And Operation, Wellington To Upper Hutt". A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas. p. 80. A large shed was erected and used to store the four newly erected "Fell" locomotives until such time as their use was required in building the Incline.
  7. ↑ Cameron, Walter Norman. "Chapter 4: Construction And Operation, Wellington To Upper Hutt". A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas. p. 90. Mr Ashcroft was also largely responsible for the design and construction of the Petoni workshops.
  8. ↑ Cameron, Walter Norman. "Chapter 4: Construction And Operation, Wellington To Upper Hutt". A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas. p. 80. This might have been delayed until later, but fire had destroyed the workshops at Pipitea Point ...
  9. ↑ Cameron, Walter Norman. "Chapter 4: Construction And Operation, Wellington To Upper Hutt". A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas. p. 80. Between 1878 and 1881 most of the buildings had been erected. However, as there was plenty of ground available, the Petoni Workshops grew with the railway.
  10. ↑ Hoy, Douglas G. "10: The Hutt Valley Branch – And Other Changes". Rails Out Of The Capital: Suburban Railways, Wellington. p. 55. The machine shop, boiler shop and foundry were up at the station end of the yard while the car and wagon depot, lifters and paint shops were down towards the overbridge.
  11. ↑ Hoy, Douglas G. "10: The Hutt Valley Branch – And Other Changes". Rails Out Of The Capital: Suburban Railways, Wellington. p. 55. The Western Hutt Road did not exist then and the railway owned the land right up to the base of the hill.
  12. ↑ Cameron, Walter Norman. "Chapter 10: The Stations". A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas. pp. 230–231. By 1911, when this photograph was taken, the Petone Workshops were spreading across and beyond the land formerly occupied by the station yard. The main line now passes behind the workshop buildings.
  13. ↑ Hoy, Douglas G. "10: The Hutt Valley Branch – And Other Changes". Rails Out Of The Capital: Suburban Railways, Wellington. p. 55. Today, a two storey house stands up against the hillside where once the workshop manager lived, although it has also been said to have been the home of the station master.
  14. ↑ Hoy, Douglas G. "10: The Hutt Valley Branch – And Other Changes". Rails Out Of The Capital: Suburban Railways, Wellington. p. 55. During its life Petone had many hundreds of locomotives and carriages pass through the works. However, with the exception of a few "F", "L" and "J" class locomotives that were rebuilt into other classes, only one engine was ever built at Petone, which was "Pearson's Dream" "E" class No. 66.
  15. ↑ Cameron, Walter Norman. "Chapter 7: The Fell System In New Zealand". A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas. pp. 168–169. By 1900, after 23 years of hard work, it became evident that the first four engines were rapidly becoming in need of reboilering. No. 199 was the first to undergo this work, and at intervals the other three locomotives received the same repairs. It is evident from the annual reports that one locomotive was in the Petone Workshops at a time undergoing major repairs, leaving five to handle traffic. The new boilers were fitted with Belpaire fireboxes made of steel, as were the tubes. At the same time slightly larger cabs were fitted, with small trapdoors in the roof providing a much needed improvement in ventilation. The exhaust system was altered by the two exhausts being separated and a double funnel being fitted to take them. Being one of several changes in this direction it fared no better than the others, and after a few years the engineers reverted to the original single funnel, again combining the two exhausts.
  16. ↑ Cameron, Walter Norman. "Chapter 8: Operating The Incline". A Line Of Railway: The Railway Conquest of the Rimutakas. p. 200. Returns show that, in most years, one "H" at a time was undergoing heavy or medium repairs at the main workshops at Petone (later Woburn).
  17. ↑ Hoy, Douglas G. "10: The Hutt Valley Branch – And Other Changes". Rails Out Of The Capital: Suburban Railways, Wellington. p. 56. Railcars were also entering the picture at this time and Petone workshops had a hand in building or erecting five of these experimental models. All were to prove unsuccessful, although this was not the fault of the workshops but rather the type of traction available at that time.
  18. ↑ Hoy, Douglas G. "10: The Hutt Valley Branch – And Other Changes". Rails Out Of The Capital: Suburban Railways, Wellington. p. 56. The first true railcar seen in Wellington was a Westinghouse petrol-electric machine employed on the Johnsonville line in 1914. A United States firm, Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, had supplied the necessary traction equipment and underframe, etc., Petone workshops built the body. Power was provided by a six-cylinder petrol engine and 90 h.p. generator, and two 60 h.p. electric motors drove the car at a maximum speed of 35 mph (56 km/h). In service a trailer was to be hauled, but the grades on the Johnsonville line were too much for the car itself let alone the small 30 ft (9.1 m) coach used as a trailer. In 1917 after frequently breaking down in service, it was withdrawn.
  19. ↑ Hoy, Douglas G. "10: The Hutt Valley Branch – And Other Changes". Rails Out Of The Capital: Suburban Railways, Wellington. p. 56. In 1916 another petrol-electric railcar was put into service, again on the Johnsonville line and again Petone had built a car body for a driving unit brought from overseas. This time Thomas Transmission Ltd. of the United Kingdom supplied the underframe, bogies and transmission and J. Tyler and Sons the motor. After a few months in service a vital part of the unit broke and it was not until 1920 that a replacement part was available, the delay due mainly to the first world war. Back in service the carriage was not reliable and was written off in 1925 after being out of service for some time.
  20. ↑ Hoy, Douglas G. "10: The Hutt Valley Branch – And Other Changes". Rails Out Of The Capital: Suburban Railways, Wellington. p. 56. In 1925 and 1926 Petone built three more railcars.
  21. ↑ Hoy, Douglas G. "10: The Hutt Valley Branch – And Other Changes". Rails Out Of The Capital: Suburban Railways, Wellington. p. 57. The 1925 model never survived its tests on the Hutt lines, which was not surprising when you consider its design, 62 ft (19 m) long, the car ran on six wheels, a bogie at the rear and a single axle at the front. ... As it was, it gave an uncomfortable pitching motion and had to be withdrawn.
  22. ↑ Hoy, Douglas G. "10: The Hutt Valley Branch – And Other Changes". Rails Out Of The Capital: Suburban Railways, Wellington. p. 56. The two 1926 models were really small motor buses on flanged wheels being only 11 ft (3.4 m) long with Ford Model "T" engines. These vehicles were used first on the Greytown branch and then on the Glenham and Switzers branches before being withdrawn in 1930.
  23. ↑ Hoy, Douglas G. "10: The Hutt Valley Branch – And Other Changes". Rails Out Of The Capital: Suburban Railways, Wellington. p. 57. Early in the 1920s preparations were made for the complete electrification of various workshops around the country. At Petone the gas engine was the main means of power and this was replaced by electric motors between 1925 and 1927.
  24. ↑ Hoy, Douglas G. "10: The Hutt Valley Branch – And Other Changes". Rails Out Of The Capital: Suburban Railways, Wellington. p. 57. By now however, most of the machines were considerably out of date and the Royal Commission of 1924 reported this, and, the bad congestion in many sections of the workshops.
  25. ↑ Hoy, Douglas G. "10: The Hutt Valley Branch – And Other Changes". Rails Out Of The Capital: Suburban Railways, Wellington. p. 58. In 1925, a three year programme of workshops reorganisation and replacement was started. Eighty acres of land were set aside behind the Hutt Park near the Waiwhetū Stream, for the replacement of Petone workshops. Tawa Flat was also considered for a new site.

41°13′22.94″S174°51′58.48″E / 41.2230389°S 174.8662444°E / -41.2230389; 174.8662444

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