Acre and Quarter Building.

“The most arresting buildings in the yard, apart from the new station, will be the locomotive shed and the repair sheds. These buildings, with roofs designed to suit the particular purpose of each, will cover an acre and a quarter of ground, and the lines to carry the steam locomotives will be 220 feet long. The roof will be provided with special smoke “chutes” and stacks. Separate accommodation will be provided for the steam and electric locomotives, and towards the eastern side of the building will be the repair shops. As the reclamation has not yet fully consolidated, piles obtained from the Department's own plantations in the South Island have been sunk to carry the building, and piles will also be used beneath the pits for the engines. Provision for the locomotive men is being made in a special building close at hand.

A “smoker's clock” is just now on exhibition in Berlin. The base is formed of a large cigar-box; the hands are two cigars, a big one for the minute hand, a small one for the hour hand. The minutes are indicated by the tips of cigars, glued all round the edge of the dial, and the pendulum is a big briar pipe. Across the dial appear the names of sundry brands of tobacco, the sale of which it is desired to “push.” This clock keeps excellent time and the enterprising tobacconist finds it quite a good advertising medium. But no such novel device as a smoker's clock is needed to push the sale of our beautiful New Zealand toasted tobaccos. They sell themselves! And all five brands of the genuine toasted: Navy Cut No. 3 (Bull dog), Cut Plug No. 10 (Bullshead), Cavendish, River-head Gold and Desert Gold, are so popular that smokers innumerable prefer them to anything imported! Not only are they full of fragrance but quite harmless—the toasting sees to that!^*

“Another building which is in course of erection and will soon be finished contains the accommodation for the yard staff. There is a well-lit dining-room, a drying-room, and various other accommodation. Several questions have been asked by the curious regarding the style of this building, and one of the answers is that the tower on the top will be occupied by the yard foreman who is given a good outlook over practically the whole of the yard. Provision for coaling is made by an elevated incline, in another part of the yard, the trucks being hauled up by cable. The preparation of dry sand for locomotives, which is used to give grip on grades, in wet weather, is carried out at another spot, the sand being dropped from bins. There is little that has been forgotten in the necessary adjuncts to complete and perfect the yard,

View showing the Main Entrance of Wellington's New Station as it will appear upon completion.

and the convenience of working in what is probably the biggest yard in the Dominion will be appreciated by railway servants, while there is the added comfort to the workers that the safety factor has been a determining influence in the whole layout.

“There are many things included in the design and fittings of the yard the full value of which may not be apparent at the moment, but the endeavour has been made to safeguard its efficient working for many years to come, and the convenience to passengers and users of goods will no doubt be appreciated when the whole is working.

“The several arrangements for the new facilities have been very favourably commented upon by leading business people and others interested in modern transport developments. These opinions will doubtless be still more favourable when the new accommodation is brought into full operation for handling the traffic at this central entrepot of Dominion trade and travel.”