East Town was commissioned in August 1880,[1] and was the second North Island railway workshops established as part of Julius Vogel's Great Public Works policy.
The Points and Crossings Shop previously located at the Addington Workshops was relocated to East Town.
In August 1931, it was decided to amalgamate the facilities into a single operation, a move that proved to be beneficial for the staff in the form of improved conditions and schedules.
The Tarpaulin Manufacturing Shop was razed by fire on 5 August 1954, requiring an increase in the output of the Addington Workshops until the destroyed facility at East Town was replaced mid-1955.
[3] East Town closed on 17 October 1986 as the result of an effort by the New Zealand Railways Corporation to rationalise its workshop facilities around the country.
At the same time the Aramoho Plant Zone workshops were retained and slightly expanded, [4] at a cost of $866,000, but they have also since been closed.