Otahuhu Workshops facts for kids

The Otahuhu Railway Workshops were a very important place where trains were built, fixed, and looked after. They were run by New Zealand Railways and were located in Otahuhu, a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. These workshops opened in 1928 and closed in 1992. Their closure was part of a plan to make railway workshops across the country more efficient.

The Otahuhu Workshops were built because the older Newmarket Workshops in central Auckland were not big enough. At first, it was planned for Otahuhu to work on locomotives (the engines of trains), and Hutt Workshops in Wellington would handle carriages and wagons. However, the land at Otahuhu was not strong enough for the heavy machines needed for locomotive work, so the plans were swapped.

Even though Otahuhu was mainly a Car and Wagon Shop, they still did some repair work on steam and diesel locomotives. They also worked on electric multiple unit carriages from Wellington. For example, between 1929 and 1930, they fixed 37 locomotives. From 1947 to 1949, they quickly changed 19 K and Ka class locomotives to run on oil instead of coal.

How the Workshops Started

The New Zealand Railways Department asked for bids to build "new Car and Wagon Shops at Otahuhu" in September 1926. This happened after a report in 1925 said new facilities were needed. By 1928, the new workshops were finished. Some workers from the Newmarket Workshops moved to Otahuhu to set up the new machines. The Otahuhu Workshops officially opened after the Christmas holidays in 1928–1929. At the same time, the Newmarket Workshops closed down.

What Was Inside the Workshops?

All the buildings at the new Otahuhu site were close together, but a "Midway" separated them into two main groups. On the west side, you would find the Wagon Shops, Machine Shop, Blacksmiths Shop, and areas for reclaiming materials, power, and storage. On the east side were the Structural Shop, Trimming Shop, Car Shops (No. 1 and 2), and the Woodmill.

As more trains were needed and new types of work came up, some shops had to be made bigger or changed. For example, the Structural Shop and Machine Shop were extended. An Electroplating Shop and Battery Shop were added inside the Trimming Shop. There was also an office building, a schoolroom for apprentices, and a canteen for the workers.

Otahuhu's Role in World War II

The workshops played an important part during World War II. Before New Zealand joined the war, there was a building meant for training apprentices in aircraft maintenance. But during the war, the Royal New Zealand Air Force used this building. Many workshop staff were sent to help at places like the Devonport Naval Base or other engineering companies that made supplies for the military.

During the war, the workshops made many different things. They produced slat beds for the Army and machines for making small-arms ammunition. They also built parts for Air Force planes and even hulls for tugboats used by the United States Navy. One special job was changing six 56-foot second-class carriages into ambulance cars. These were used to transport wounded soldiers.

Building New Carriages

Around 1940, a new workshop building called Car No. 1 Extension was built. This was for a plan to build 60-foot carriages for the North Island Main Trunk railway line. Even though this plan was later cancelled, the new building was very useful in the 1950s. It was used to overhaul the D class electric coaches from Wellington.

Other new buildings were added over time. A Diesel Shop opened in 1962. A new Woodmill was also built to replace the old one, which was destroyed in a big fire on May 31, 1955. The new Woodmill had more modern machines, which helped them produce things much faster.

What Trains Were Built Here?

The workshops started building carriages soon after they opened in 1929. The first ones were 10 "Aa" suburban carriages, which were 50 feet long. They also built 50-foot cars for the new Rotorua Limited Express service, including two special observation cars. Many 50-foot cars were built before the longer 56-foot cars came along between 1937 and 1945. Overall, Otahuhu built 207 carriages, 75 guards vans, 3 steam vans, 3 postal vans, and many wagons.

Working with Diesel Trains

When diesel trains became more common, Otahuhu started to maintain them. This began in the early 1940s with small TR tractors, which were worked on in Car Shop No. 2. As more diesel trains were used, a special area was needed. The Steel Wagon Shop was changed to handle this work.

In 1958, Otahuhu received its first Fiat twin-set railcars for a major check-up. In 1962, railcar RM 125 was repaired at the workshops after an accident in Tauranga. Other diesel work included getting 12 DA class locomotives ready for service in 1961. They also fixed DA 1405 after a big accident. Smaller repairs on DE class locomotives were done by the Machine Fitting Group.

The New Diesel Shop

The ability of Otahuhu to fix diesel-electric locomotives and railcars greatly improved in 1962 when the new Diesel Shop opened. Before many new DA, DB, DH, and DX class locomotives started working, they first visited Otahuhu for preparation. The 88-seater railcars were also maintained, repaired, and overhauled in this new building.

In 1971, the carriages for the Silver Star train were tested in the Diesel Shop. The Silver Fern railcars were also tested there the following year. In 1970, several cars for the new Southerner service were overhauled at Otahuhu. In its later years, Otahuhu also made more specialized wagons, including those for containers and coal.

Why the Workshops Closed

In 1982, the Railways Department became the New Zealand Railways Corporation. To help with money problems, the Corporation made big changes. This included looking at all its workshops in the 1990s. It was decided to focus all the train engineering work at just two places: Hutt Workshops in the North Island and Hillside Engineering in Dunedin in the South Island. This decision led to the closure of both the Addington and Otahuhu Workshops.

Workers at Otahuhu were told the workshops would close on June 30, 1992. A small team of up to 22 employees stayed for another six months to shut down the facility properly. Machines that could be sold were stored in the Structural Shop until they were sold at auction. At the time, people thought the workshop site would become an industrial park.

What's There Today?

More than half of the original workshop buildings have been pulled down since the facility closed. Part of the site is now used to store shipping containers.

Images for kids

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  An aerial view of the Otahuhu Railway Workshops in 1957.

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  The Otahuhu Railway Workshops in 1928, when they first opened.