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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 8, Issue 5 (September 1, 1933)

A Suggestion of Rotorua

A Suggestion of Rotorua.

A spectacular thermal region is the casting department. From a coke-fired cupola comes the “devil's brew”—cauldrons of special alloys of molten metal which is poured into moulds of sand and covered up. A strange smell of cooking comes from the steaming and fuming. The starry sparks from the fiery liquid and the wisps of whiteness curling up from the dark sand give this place a diabolical appearance in the late afternoon. The moulds are made from wooden patterns. At rest together in a little office they suggest a toy-shop, which contrasts queerly with the fiery turbulence just outside.

K's in the Making.

The big K locomotives, which look like black demons of power—and do not belie their looks, are made in these shops. The present programme provides for one engine every six weeks until the K family has a membership of thirty. When the writer paid his visit he saw five K's in various stages of growth, side by side. One was represented by nothing more than one frame—just a flank—to which all sorts of things would be attached. This beginner was at the foot of the class, and at the head stood one which was nearly ready for the road. Yes, it is an ingenious business.

page 11

The Watch House.

The last of the big surprises is the laboratory, which is a very important two-way watch house, intimately concerned with materials before they come in and before they go out as manufactures. The laboratory is only a little corner of the big estate, but its influence reaches through the whole outfit. One may have a pleasant meditation on the power of a few bottles of acids and salts and other chemicals, a few instruments and other contrivances, which take very little space, to govern the course of affairs in such a huge enterprise. But there it is—the ever-watchful two-way test of the composition of materials and the strength of weldings. It is an insurance policy for a fair deal for the Railway Department and the general public from all viewpoints, particularly safety.

Comfort for Workers.

Before this chronicler went out to the shops he asked whether he would be likely to spoil a good suit during a walk through the place. In some doubt he accepted an assurance that his clothing would run no risk—and the prediction was fulfilled. Nowhere did he perceive nuisance in the air, which is kept remarkably clean and comfortable at a temperature of about 55 degrees. Inside and out—where lawns and flower-plots gladden the eyes—the conditions for the big staff are notably good. That is the new order. The old shops were good and faithful servants in their day and in their way—but it is a new day and a new way in the Hutt Valley.

Modern Magic At The Hutt Valley Workshops. 2-ton electro-pneumatic hammer at work, forging scrap. The 200-ton hydraulic press.

Modern Magic At The Hutt Valley Workshops.
2-ton electro-pneumatic hammer at work, forging scrap. The 200-ton hydraulic press.