Well we have been relatively quiet over the past week as I have thrown a lot of resources into the Hutt Valley line, which looked very different in 1939. The line was opened to Waterloo in 1927, but was not further extended to Haywards until the mid 1950s, when it took over as the main line, with the line via Lower Hutt and Melling closed beyond the latter station. This means that the route between Waterloo and Haywards was just an empty corridor, and I have been busy creating mosaics for that section over the past few days and generating tiles to go in the maps.
Waterloo seen in 1939. The original island platform is visible albeit with track only one side of it, and an overbridge access. The subways seem not to have been provided at this time.
Waterloo in its present form. It was rebuilt in 1988 as a transport exchange for the area and this entailed re-adapting the island platform to its original format with track only on one side (Down Main) and another single sided platform for the Up Main. The subway on the south side still exists but it appears the one on the north side, which can be seen in a 1960 aerial photo, may have been filled in, or else there is access to it from within the station these days instead of externally. Subways do not appear to have been installed in 1927 as an overbridge was provided for passenger access off the north side.
