Signal box to be put back in place after upgrade

The signal box at the historic Wingatui Railway Station will return to its usual spot after work...
The signal box at the historic Wingatui Railway Station will return to its usual spot after work on the foundations. PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY
The heritage-listed signal box at Wingatui Railway Station will soon have strong foundations for its future.

The building has been temporarily shifted a few metres while the basement is cleared out, filled with ballast and capped with concrete.

It could be lifted back into place by spring.

Both the station and the signal box are Heritage New Zealand category 2 buildings, owned by the Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand.

Trust executive officer Barry O’Donnell said some repairs and maintenance would be completed on the signal-box building and it would return to sit on new foundations.

Some timber in the basement had rotted, which was discovered about 2019.

The Dunedin-Mosgiel line opened in 1875 and the existing station building at Wingatui was in place by early 1914.

The accompanying signal box was built to service the junction with the Otago Central Line, at the west end of the station, the trust said on its website.

"In its heyday the signal box was heavily used, and it stands today as a reminder of a once-busy station and junction."

Building contractor Stevenson and Williams managing director Jason Esplin said the foundations were being upgraded so they would stand the test of time.

grant.miller@odt.co.nz

 

 

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