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  1. #1
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    Default Wood Mill - Otahuhu Railway Workshops

    I've been researching various woodworking machines. In particular Preston Woodworking Machinery Co. bandsaws; Wadkin PK dimension saws, and Wadkin RB buzzers (as a result of having acquired one of each). In particular I've been following up a batch of twelve RB buzzers ordered by New Zealand Railways in 1926.

    Before being considerablely downsized in the 1980s and 1990s New Zealand Railways had a Publicity & Advertising Branch which included an official photographer who would go to places of interest to take railway themed photographs. This collection of photographs passed from New Zealand Railways to Archives New Zealand (5 mins up the road) some years back. I've been going through the photograph collection (as well as various railway files) looking at railway workshops photos in the hope of spotting machines of interest.

    Today I was looking through photographs of the Otahuhu Railway Workshops, which was opened in 1928-29 in the Auckland suburb of Otahuhu - about 8 miles south of Auckland central. I did my apprenticeship as a coachbuilder at the Otahuhu Railway Workshops, starting in 1973.

    I found one photo, marked 1931, of the woodmill at Otahuhu:

    OtaWM1.jpg

    Towards the bottom left of this photograph is, without doubt, the Preston No.132, 36" bandsaw delivered ~1928.

    OtaWM2.jpg

    OtaWM2b.jpg

    It will be the one delivered to Auckland to Order No. W.R.6039, at a cost of £162 12s 5d.

    No joy with the Wadkin & Co. RB buzzers .

    Cheers, Vann.
    Gatherer of rusty planes tools...
    Proud member of the Wadkin Blockhead Club .

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  3. #2
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    Default Fire.

    The Wood Mill suffered a fire in 1955.
    Quote Originally Posted by Wikipedia
    ...a new Woodmill to replace the old one that was destroyed in a major fire on 31 May 1955. The machines installed in the new Woodmill were more modern than those available in the old building, resulting in much improved output.
    Wikipedia says the building was destroyed. Certainly the fire was serious, as there are a number of photographs at Archives NZ that show new steel portals been erected. However I have a feeling that part of the old bulding survived, as I have a vague recollection that the Wood Mill I knew had two different profiles. Anyway, certainly the eastern end of the building was completely replaced.

    The Wood Mill as I knew it was divided into three sections. Half the building (the eastern end) housed the heavy woodworking machinery, including at least two 4-siders; two chain & chisel mortisers; two thicknessers; and various other machinery that I don't recall the details of.

    One quarter housed the joinery, which was full of workbenches where tradesmen made or repaired all sorts of wooden items for use on the rail, or around the workshops. I recall wooden Ambulance Boxes being made and repaired. These were filled with bandages, etc. and every guards van on the railway carried one.

    The final quarter housed the saw doctor's compound (with two full-time saw doctors); an old woodlathe (which is part of the reason I think part of the old building survived); dozens, if not hundreds of profile patterns (memory sticks?) and a store room.

    The following photos were taken on 1 May 1957 (nearly two years after the fire) and show the new eastern end being fitted out with new machines:

    OtaWM3.jpg A view looking west.

    Taking a closer look you can see a couple of men either installing or trialing one of the chain and chisel mortisers. Closer to the camera is a buzzer.

    OtaWM4.jpg

    While in this portion you can see the two thicknessers, partially obscured.

    OtaWM5.jpg

    I used those thicknessers often during my apprenticeship, and the buzzer occasionally. I never got to use the chain and chisel mortiser in anger, but we were shown how they worked. One of my fellow apprentices failed to clamp the piece of wood he attempted to chain mortise. The wood, when retrieved from the far end of the shop, showed chain teeth marks - very close together where the mortise was intended to go, but further and further apart as the chunk of wood gathered speed... .

    In the right-hand background of the above photo you can see...

    OtaWM6.jpg A view looking south-east.

    ...a Wadkin PK, complete with extension slider (the holy grail of dimension saws). Being a 1950s machine, this will be a Generation 4 machine (and the arrangement of hand-wheels confirms that). I don't remember this saw, nor any of the other machines not mentioned, but I do remember the name Wadkin being prominent on most machines.

    Cheers, Vann.
    Gatherer of rusty planes tools...
    Proud member of the Wadkin Blockhead Club .

  4. #3
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    You have got to love old black and white photos!!! To see those old workshops and remember what sort of work came out of them is great. Its such a shame that this and other old workshops are merely just a memory. The experiences that were made and displayed to apprentices is all but legend.
    We went through the Ipswich Railway Workshops in QLD. In its hayday there was a lot of activity in the sheds with repairs and maintenance going on as well as new locos and carriages being made from the ground up.
    Just do it!

    Kind regards Rod

  5. #4
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    Default

    Great pictures thanks Vann !
    There is a Wadkin LQ behind the two guys on the mortiser .
    And how is the HUGE looking drum sander left of the PK in the last picture, in the middle of the picture.
    What a giant .

    Rob

  6. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by chambezio View Post
    ...To see those old workshops and remember what sort of work came out of them is great. Its such a shame that this and other old workshops are merely just a memory...
    Yup. They closed Otahuhu in 1993. Bang. Just like that! Come to a meeting in the social hall - your job's gone. You'll be escorted one at a time to get your personal effects.

    Fortunately for me, I'd moved on to a draughtmans job in Head Office (Wellington) in 1980 (they preferred to train tradesmen into the draughting positions). I'd been scheduled to fly up to check progress and details on a job that day, but the boss told me to cancel the trip (no reasons given). I eventually went up a few weeks later (this time to organise having the job transferred to another workshop). The place was like the Marie Celeste.

    Quote Originally Posted by auscab
    ...Great pictures thanks Vann !
    There is a Wadkin LQ behind the two guys on the mortiser...
    I thought you (and a few others - self included) might enjoy playing 'spot the machine'. I've got two more pikkies to put up when I get home this arvo.

    That shed (the Wood Mill) is a little less crowded than your new shed Auscab .

    Cheers, Vann.
    Gatherer of rusty planes tools...
    Proud member of the Wadkin Blockhead Club .

  7. #6
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Vann View Post
    ...Towards the bottom left of this photograph is, without doubt, the Preston No.132, 36" bandsaw delivered ~1928.

    OtaWM2.jpg

    OtaWM2b.jpg

    It will be the one delivered to Auckland to Order No. W.R.6039, at a cost of £162 12s 5d.
    I assume the Preston bandsaw did not survive the fire. There are several new bandsaws in the photographs of the Wood Mill.

    The 30" Pattern Making bandsaw (W.R. 6040) is in my garage.

    I wish I knew what has been the fate of the other 4 Preston bandsaws - 2 in Wellington (Hutt Workshops) and one in each of Lyttleton (Addington Workshops) and Port Chalmers (Hillside Workshops).

    More photographs:

    OtaWM8.jpg

    The above picture is looking north-west. In the corner you can see the Wadkin LQ Auscab mentions - though the buzzer and two mortisers are obscured. Note two new bandsaws at the far right.


    OtaWM7.jpg

    This picture is further left, looking west along the south wall of the building.

    Of the twelve Wadkin RB buzzers bought in 1926-30, three went to Otahuhu (and a further two "portable" Wadkin buzzers - not necessarily RBs - were acquired during WW2). The two WW2 buzzers were for the Car Shop No.1 extension. It would be fair to guess that one RB would have gone to each of Car Shop No.1 and Car Shop No.2. I wonder if the final one was destroyed in the Wood Mill fire?

    Cheers, Vann.
    Gatherer of rusty planes tools...
    Proud member of the Wadkin Blockhead Club .

  8. #7
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    Very cool pics Vann, I noticed the LQ as well. I like the way each machine is on its own raised pad, I wonder did they have wooden floors in between?

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    Quote Originally Posted by wallace1973 View Post
    ...I like the way each machine is on its own raised pad, I wonder did they have wooden floors in between?
    No, the floor was tar-sealed up to the height of the concrete pads - IIRC.

    Cheers, Vann.
    Gatherer of rusty planes tools...
    Proud member of the Wadkin Blockhead Club .

  10. #9
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    I love old black and white photos, the resolution is so good and when enlarged don't loose the quality

  11. #10
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    A great set of photos. I really like these sort of pics, a lost world!!
    I grew up next to the Islington rail workshops in SA, they had a huge wood shop.
    A couple of years ago I put up a thread on OWWM about a series of photos from 1929 showing a lot of interesting machines. A few Wadkins but also Danckaert, White, Robinson and a few American manufacturers as well.
    At The End of the Road - Old Woodworking Machines
    There are a lot of pics of the metal engineering side as well but I didn't put them up there.

    The whole place is closed now but the buildings are heritage listed so they are sitting mostly unused.

    I could put the pics up here if people are interested.

    Have fun,
    Alli

  12. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Allison74 View Post
    A great set of photos. I really like these sort of pics, a lost world!!
    I grew up next to the Islington rail workshops in SA, they had a huge wood shop.
    A couple of years ago I put up a thread on OWWM about a series of photos from 1929 showing a lot of interesting machines. A few Wadkins but also Danckaert, White, Robinson and a few American manufacturers as well.

    There are a lot of pics of the metal engineering side as well but I didn't put them up there...
    The original Wood Mill at Otahuhu was opened ~1929 (same year as your photos). Most of the machines were British, with a percentage from the Commonwealth (or is that "The Empire" back then), mostly Canada. But there were also USA manufactured machines at the workshops (metalworking machines). It appears that they had to consider British manufacturers first, but could purchase American where British machines didn't measure up, or could not be supplied in time.

    Wadkin were only a small manufacturer back then, but managed to supply a few machines - unlike 1955-57 when they were possibly the main supplier

    I'm working towards a thread on the almost total rebuilding and re-equipping of the four main workshops over here - during the late 1920s.

    Quote Originally Posted by Allison74 View Post
    ...I could put the pics up here if people are interested.
    I'd love to see the photos - but I wonder if you shouldn't start a separate thread?

    Cheers, Vann.
    Gatherer of rusty planes tools...
    Proud member of the Wadkin Blockhead Club .

  13. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vann View Post
    I'd love to see the photos - but I wonder if you shouldn't start a separate thread?

    Cheers, Vann.
    That's what i intended to do, but the other thread is there if I don't get time.

    I wish you luck with your plan, will be interesting to see. Islington was part of everyone's lives growing up in Kilburn when i did.

    Have fun,
    Alli

  14. #13
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    Default Otahuhu Machinery Register.

    In my neverending search for info on old railway woodworking machins I put out feelers to an old workmate of mine, for any records of the machinery at the Otahuhu Railway Workshops. He asked a friend, and he knew the guy who was the Works equipment Foreman (i.e. in charge of machinery) at the workshops when they closed in 1993. It turns out the gentleman had been so fond of his machines that he was reluctant to throw the records in the skip, instead taking some home – where they’ve resided for the last 25 years. My friend picked them up last week.

    I thought maybe I’d struck gold – alas, merely bronze.

    The item of most interest to me (and the only one containing woodworking machinery info.) is the second of the two Machinery Registers (the first register is missing).
    While too short on detail to make interesting reading, there is a group of 43 woodworking machines (No.s 3200 - 3243) for the Wood Mill that appear to be new machines to replace those damaged in the fire of 31 May, 1955. It is possible that some may be rebuilt machines (was Pickles still in existence in the mid-1950s?)

    Ota3180a.jpg
    Ota3211a.jpg



    I've grouped the machines by manufacturer.

    Bursgreen
    3239 - Tenoning machine;

    Cooksey
    3216 - Bandsaw 36";
    3240 - 20" Jig saw;

    Hayes
    3243 - End Matcher Machine;

    Pickles
    3203 - 6 spindle Mortiser & Borer;
    3211 - Hollow spindle mortise 12.5x5;
    3224 - Double spindle moulder;
    3231 - 16'x16"x16" 3" dia. 4 Spindle borer;
    3241 - Wood turning lathe;


    Robinson
    3206 - Ripsaw 36";
    3207
    - Ripsaw 48";
    3210 - Boring & Recessing Machine 12x4x2;
    3213 - Band re-saw X.F.T.;
    3228 - 40" Saw bench;

    Smith, Smiths, Smith & Son
    3209 - Band Saw 30";
    3225 - 30" Band saw;
    3214 - Saw Bench 20";
    3219 - 20" Saw bench;
    3217 - 12" Planer & Jointer;
    3237 - 12" Planer & Jointer;
    3238 - Haunching machine;


    Wadkin:
    3201 - Auto Cross cut saw;
    3202
    - hyd. cross cut saw CJ-6;
    3212 - hyd. cross cut saw CJ-3;
    3205 - 4"x4" Planer Moulder;
    3218 - 24"x9" planeload planet & Thicknesser;
    3220 - Vert boring machine 6"x1.5 dia.;
    3221 - Vert boring machine 6"x1.5 dia.;
    3222 - Vert boring machine 6"x1.5 dia.;
    3227 - 16" planer and jointer;
    3229 - 30"x9" Panel planner & Thicknesser;
    3230 - 24"x9"
    Panel planner & Thicknesser;
    3233 - Canting Dimension saw 18";
    3234 - Overhead Recessing mach 8"x2" dia.;


    White
    3200 - Planer & Moulder;
    3204 - Tenoning Machine;
    3208 - Planer Moulder;
    3215 - Single spindle moulder;
    3223 - 3 Drum Sander;
    3226 - Travelling cut off saw bench;
    3232 - Single spindle moulder;
    3235 - Chain & chisel mortiser;
    3236 - Chain & chisel mortiser.

    Cheers, Vann.
    Gatherer of rusty planes tools...
    Proud member of the Wadkin Blockhead Club .

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    Default Spot the Machine - 3233.

    With this additional info we can play another round of "Spot the Machine".

    The first one is easy...

    Quote Originally Posted by Vann View Post
    OtaWM5.jpg

    snip

    In the right-hand background of the above photo you can see...

    OtaWM6.jpg A view looking south-east.

    ...a Wadkin PK, complete with extension slider (the holy grail of dimension saws). Being a 1950s machine, this will be a Generation 4 machine (and the arrangement of hand-wheels confirms that)...
    So that's machine 3233 - Canting Dimension saw 18".

    Cheers, Vann.
    Gatherer of rusty planes tools...
    Proud member of the Wadkin Blockhead Club .

  16. #15
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    Default Spot the Machine - 3234.

    The next one is also easy.

    Quote Originally Posted by Vann View Post
    ...The following photos were taken on 1 May 1957 (nearly two years after the fire) and show the new eastern end being fitted out with new machines:

    OtaWM3.jpg A view looking west.

    Taking a closer look you can see a couple of men either installing or trialing one of the chain and chisel mortisers. Closer to the camera is a buzzer.

    OtaWM4.jpg
    Quote Originally Posted by auscab
    ...There is a Wadkin LQ behind the two guys on the mortiser...
    The LQ would be machine 3234 - Overhead Recessing mach. 8" x 2" dia. And just to dispel any doubt, by shear coincidence an LQ showed up on Trademe last year...

    Ota3234.jpg


    Note the painted number "3234" on the belt guard, also repeated on the pressed metal tag below the guard. This machine is LQ 854, test 54938, of 1956.

    I saw the number painted on the side of the machine at the time of the auction, decided it was such a high number that it had to come from some government department such as Railways, Post Office, Ministry of Works, Naval Dockyard, or similar - and nearly bid (SWMBO would have been lived, I'd only recently bought my LP).

    Anyways, I know of a gentleman in Auckland who bought an LQ a year or two ago. I was hoping to visit him and check out his machines while in Auckland last week. Alas, he was away on holiday on Great Barrier Island. I wonder if it's the same LQ? Maybe next year.

    Cheers, Vann.
    Gatherer of rusty planes tools...
    Proud member of the Wadkin Blockhead Club .

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