NZR Workshops and Depots

INTRODUCTION

The need for workshops to maintain rolling stock was recognised with the first orders for locomotives (other than contractors engines) and purchase of machinery was made alongside the purchase of the F_class_locomotives. Initially this provided for major workshops at Auckland and Dunedin being central to the areas of rail development at the time but once Dunedin became linked to both Christchurch and Invercargill the quantity of Rollingstock grew dramatically with a second major workshops developing at Christchurch influenced no doubt by the Locomotive Engineer being based there. Of necessity, smaller workshops were set up for each South Island isolated section, Nelson, Picton, Westport and Greymouth.

A similar pattern developed in the North Island. While Auckland was fitted out first as the large workshop, of necessity Wellington also required major facilities. Likewise, each isolated section had a smaller workshop established at Whangarei, Napier, New Plymouth and Wanganui. The North Island also had a private resource in the way of A & G Price whose works at Thames were used extensively to manage peaks in workload, primarily in locomotive construction and maintenance.

There are two other workshop situations that do not receive much mention, Christchurch will have has some repair facilities inherited from the Canterbury Broad-gauge days and as these were only rather basic assemble and repair shops, were not retained as a workshop once Canterbury was wholly converted to narrow gauge operation. Wellington had a whole separate railway operating from 1882 - 1908, the sWellington and Manawatu Railway Companyeparate workshop

There were then four major Workshop sites, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, with Wanganui's location relative to the developing network meaning larger facilities were justified there till well into the 20th century.

Primarily due to their location, the Wanganui, Westport and Invercargill workshops developed into larger workshop, while all others remained what were later termed Depots, sized to meet regular servicing and repair requirements, but all major repairs and overhauls were done at one of the major shops.

Over time, even the major shops became somewhat specialised, with Otahuhu focusing on wagon work, and Hutt becoming the North Island Locomotive shops. Addington eventually become the wagon specialist and Hillside the Locomotive producer, however, things were not so clear-cut in the South Island and both shops covered the whole range when required.

The Auckland Workshops were located where space requirements were always under pressure, being on a narrow strip of reclaimed land beyond the railway station. Started in 1876, the Auckland shops were relocated to a new site at Newmarket in 1884,but here too it was quickly hemmed in, with expansion requiring further development on the other side of the main lines. on the other side if the road and main lines. Following the Raven Report in 1926, which triggered the redevelopment of all the major workshops, Auckland's was again was relocated to Otahuhu. Otahuhu was one of the early casualties when it was no longer economics for New Zealand to retain so much workshop capacity and was closed on 30/06/1992

Petone was the site of Wellington's first workshop which quickly became hemmed in between the hills and the mainline resulting in long and inefficient site. As part of the workshops redevelopment in 1926, a new site was chosen at Woburn. This has traditionally been known as Hutt Workshops with Lower Hutt being the closest main centre. Being centrally located with regard to New Zealand yet well away from the city centre meant that it remained a viable workshop site and progressively all workshop functions were concentrated at Hutt

Addington Workshops at Christchurch with the first buildings erected in 1876, progressively expanded with timber framed buildings until the major workshops redevelopment in 1926 when significant parts were reconstructed in steel framed buildings. These Workshops developed as the preferred workshop for locomotive construction in its early days and also specialised in wooden wagon construction,developing NZ's early bogie wagons based on American imports. These became knows as Addington cars and were distinctive with their clerestory roofs. Always having been situated on prime land relatively close to the city centre, resulted in the workshops closing in 1990, early on in the process of reducing the railway's excess workshop capacity. Only the distinctive and historic water tower remain, the rest has been redeveloped as commercial sites with the new Christchurch Railway Station occupying a small portion of the original workshops site.

Hillside in Dunedin were the first railway workshop established in New Zealand following the introduction of the 1870 Railway Act. With the first building erected in 1875 and numerous extensions over the following years it was quickly established as a facility that could produce anything that was required. It was substantially reconstructed in 1928 but retained the original (but enlarged) machine shop, Blacksmiths shop and Boiler House, receiving a new locomotive Boiler shop, locomotive Erecting Shop, Foundry, Pattern Shop and Steel Wagon shop as well as a Stores Building. Hillside was retained as the South Island's only Workshop but the inability to compete with overseas manufacture of wagons, resulted in Hillside also closing at the end of 2012. Following a series of events over the intervening years, 2019 saw the Hillside site earmarked for a new workshop facility which would consolidate all Railway staff (other that train operating staff) onto one site into new facilities and also provide for the assembly of 1500 wagons arriving in kit-set form from overseas. These facilities are currently under construction, and curiously, the 1875 building and its extension (but minus 2 bays at the south end) is still being retained as a parts store at this stage.

East Town workshops near Wanganui were smaller than any of the four main workshops and initially catered for local requirement that avoided having to relocate locomotives to one of the major workshops. With the 1926 Reorganisation, East Town became a specialised workshop focusing on Tarpaulins and Points and Crossing work for the Track division, while continuing to deal with every day railway maintenance of rolling stock. It's small size meant it was the first casualty once rationalization of workshop facilities got under way and it closed in 1986.