Palmerston North Electric Power Station Inc.

Blueprint Drawing No. 1438 of the 1923-4 floor plans

These plans show the ground floor and upper 'gallery'  floor as they were until the arrival of the British Polar engines in 1936. The alternators of the British Polars protrude through what were the walls of the Repair Shop (Engine 216) and the Station Lavatory (Engine 215). The three National engines are shown in the engine room, complete with the space allocated for a fourth that was never purchased. Engine 216 is now in that spot.

The 'Air Reservoirs' (the compressed air cylinders) at that time were beneath the mezzanine floor in the spot where Engine 215 now is. These are now across the door of the Store, which is now accessed through the Repair Shop.

The upper (gallery) floor describes the aforementioned mezzanine floor as the 'Cooler Gallery'. The room we use as our committee room, and which was formerly the Superintendent's office, is referred to in the plan as the 'Meter Room'. The upstairs room we use as a display room didn't exist as such at that time, as the floor was not installed until about 1960. The two steel staircases are also shown in their original (re-1936) positions. The protrusion from the mezzanine floor out over the engine room was almost certainly the start of the walkway that allowed staff to walk along a gangway that passed along the upper portions of the three National engines. Despite their lower output, the Nationals towered over the British Polars.

Note that the many round dots all over these blueprints indicate the lights around the building. Almost all are still there.

Last Updated: 3 May 2001