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copyright 2008, by Victoria University of Wellington
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The New Zealand Railways Magazine is delivered free to all employees in the service of the Railway Department, to the principal public libraries in the Dominion, and to the leading firms, shippers and traders doing business with the New Zealand Railways.
It is the officially recognised medium for maintaining contact between the Administration, the employees, and the public, and for the dissemination of knowledge bearing on matters of mutual interest and of educative value.
Employees and others interested are invited to forward to the Editor, the New Zealand Railways Magazine, Head Office, Railways, Wellington, articles bearing on Railway affairs, news items of staff interest, suitable short stories, poetry, photographs, pen and ink sketches, etc. The aim of contributors should be to supply interesting topical material tending generally towards the betterment of the Service.
Contributed articles should be signed. If to appear over a nom-de-plume this should be stated.
In all cases where the Administration makes announcements through the medium of this journal the fact will be clearly indicated.
The Department does not identify itself with any opinions which may be expressed in other portions of the publication, whether appearing over the author's name or under a nom-de-plume.
The old idea that work was the primal curse is being superseded in these modern days by a new conception, where work is regarded as a kind of game in which proficiency brings joys such as the sheerest idleness could never produce.
That the new notion has made much headway in the Railway Service of this Dominion there is ample evidence to demonstrate.
Since the first issue of this magazine—almost two years ago—a page has been set aside regularly in which the remarks of those who have desired to express appreciation of the service rendered them by various branches and on the respective sections have been published. Letters of this kind have now become so frequent that space is available for only a small proportion of them, but they may be regarded as one reliable measure of the progress made in bringing satisfaction to the public who travel by and in other ways make use of the State transportation services.
In another column we publish a tribute from an overseas traveller who, upon completion of a railway tour from Auckland to Dunedin, took the trouble to write to the Mail Agent representing the N.Z.R. on one of the trans-Pacific liners, testifying to the universal courtesy and assistance received from every railway official and employee.
With indications such as these for a guide it may safely be concluded that the general standard of personal service rendered to the public by the staff of our system stands at an exceptionally high level.
But service means more than merely the attitude adopted by the staff in their personal relations with the public, important though this is. It includes the provision of facilities that will increasingly add to the pleasure and safety of travel by rail and to the protection and promptness of transit accorded to commodities entrusted to the Railway's care. On this phase of service much progress has also been recorded. When a world traveller sends for the guard of the “Limited,” as happened the other day, for the sole purpose of informing him that the sleeping car provided was the most comfortable, and the most replete with aids to travel pleasure of any he had found in all countries visited, it helps to give the men of the service pride in the trains they are handling, besides showing that the spirit of service is alive throughout the whole organisation—the spirit that causes cars to be designed and built to ensure travel comfort and that prompts drivers to manage their trains with the utmost smoothness.
The fact is that for express services—that is, for train services where the volume of traffic warrants the prosecution of a progressive policy—the attention given to the reouirements of passengers, both in the way of equipment and personal service, is in advance of what the average traveller expects. And this is exactly as it should be.
When the average passenger finds it hard to think of anything practical that could be done to improve the service it is a sure indication that the “spirit of service” within the Service is right. When we can surprise the public by the care we take of them and the provision we make for them, we are functioning in the right way to increase business.
Given that the “on rail” service is proceeding along right lines, the feature to which attention must now be devoted is the “to and from station” phase of transport; and the indications, both in New Zealand and in other countries, are that this will never be quite satisfactory until the railways provide the connecting services, both for passengers and freight, at each end of the rail journey.
The progress made in popularising the railway for pienic traffic is strikingly exemplified in the most recent figures available for the Northern District of the South Island. In the four weeks ended 4th February nearly 15,000 picnickers were carried in this way, the revenue amounting to £2,170—a record for the month.
How great has been the improvement may be judged by the fact that the revenue to date during the last two years from this source in the South Island Northern District has totalled £12,540, whilst in the two years 1925 and 1926, it amounted to only £5,406.
Evidence of this kind proves conclusively how the public will respond to propaganda (for Canterbury in particular has made special efforts to build up this traffic) and how well suited the Department is to give satisfactory service for the transport of mass parties on pleasure bent.
Plans were recently approved (and construction work commenced) on a large new railway station for the city of Cincinnati, U.S.A. The Pennsylvania, and the six other railroads which operate trains in and out of that city, are collaborating in this project, which has been described as one of the most important in the transportation history of the States. The new station terminal is to cost approximately £10,000,000, and, when completed, will be one of the finest and most up-to-date railway terminals in the world. The station is to be of the through type, thus enabling the maximum number of trains to be received and dispatched daily. The Traffic congestion is being provided against by elevating the passenger tracks above the freight tracks.
In a country where there are 22,000,000 motor vehicles, and thousands of miles of good roads, the expenditure of such an immense sum of money on a railway station terminal can be regarded as an important vote of confidence in the future of rail transportation.
Mr. G. S. Lynde, O.B.E., A.M.I.Mech.E., M.I. Lcco.E., Chief Mcchanical Engineer of the New Zealand Railways, leaves for Australia by the S.S. Maunganui on 2nd March, to attend, as New Zealand's representative, the Australian and New Zealand Railways General Officers' Conference. This year's Conference will be held in Melbourne.
From Hon. F. F. Hockley, M.P. (Chairman of Committee) N.Z. Parliament:—
Let me congratulate you on the Magazine, it is excellent from every standpoint.
Shall New Zealand Railways be Represented?
In our January number reference was made to the fine athletic record standing to the credit of Mr. A. J. Cleverley, an apprentice fitter at Petone Railway Workshops. His choice to represent New Zealand in the boxing ling at the Olympic Games caused a thrill of pride to all railwaymen.
Word has just reached us that owing to an insufficiency of funds, there is some doubt whether it will be possible to send this fine young athlete on the tour.
This Magazine, therefore, desires to make an appeal to railwaymen throughout the Dominion to subscribe to a fund for the purpose of seizing this unique opportunity for the railways to be represented at the Olympic Games. Contributions are accordingly invited. Amounts may be paid through any stationmaster, and contributions will be duly acknowledged.
Immediate action is necessary, as the Olympic team is expected to leave by the middle of April.
The enterprise of the Railway Department in arranging for the services of the mail-agents on trans-Pacific liners in the planning of itineraries for tourists to the Dominion and giving other helpful information to the voyagers is proving advantageous to New Zealand as well as to the travellers. The contacts with the tourists returning home—their comments on the experiences in regard to transport, accommodation and other matters—will also serve a good purpose.
New Zealanders who travel on their own railways are appreciating the active policy of the Department in its ever-extending provision for the safety and comfort of passengers. Of course, it is not claimed that perfection has been achieved, but the Department is moving earnestly and vigorously on lines of progress, and welcomes broad-minded criticism or suggestions for the further improvement of the service. Recognising the duty and responsibility to “the shareholders”—the general public—the management is striving to make the railways as useful as possible to the owners.
To New Zealanders themselves the railways can become increasingly beneficial, despite the modern developments in motoring, and they should be also the main means of transport for visitors, as the lines link up directly with many of the principal scenic, sporting and health resorts, and connect conveniently with roads to other places.
Chambers of Commerce, Manufacturers' Associations, Progress Leagues, Licensed Victuallers' Associations and other bodies are all eager to see a big expansion of tourist traffic. The world knows that New Zealand has scenery and sport worth a trip across the globe, but “the world and his wife” are not coming here in numbers worthy of the natural attractions. The truth is that Nature has done her part generously, splendidly, but man has not done enough.
This subject has been discussed at various conferences, and usually there has been an expectation that some kind of more or less magic move should be made by the Government. A calm and careful survey of the field shows that the Government—through the working of the Railway and Tourist Departments and the Publicity Office—has been active, and continues to be progressive. The position to-day (as disclosed in the remarks of travellers) may be briefly stated thus:—
Modern methods of attracting tourists are being used.
Shipping services to New Zealand are comfortable and regular.
Internal transport satisfies reasonable expectations.
The supply of first-class hotel accommodation is not now equal to the demand.
Previous issues of this magazine have given many tourists' favourable opinions of the railway services throughout the Dominion. A recent visitor, a well-known citizen of the U.S.A., Mr. P. M. Leavitt, has recorded his impressions in a letter to the Railway representative (the mailagent) on R.M.S. Tahiti. Here is an extract:—
I have traversed the islands from Auckland to Dunedin, and am glad to testify to receiving the utmost and universal courtesy and assistance from every R.R. official and employee I have come in contact with that a traveller in a strange land could desire, and further I have noticed the same of those travelling near me. Your rail service is excellent, and I have enjoyed my travel over it very much. I question much whether any great improvement could be made without an increased expense beyond what there is the traffic in sight to pay for.
Mr. Leavtt made some suggestions for some early-morning re-adjustments of time-tables. He remarked that the early leaving of certain trains from termini made it difficult to obtain even an early breakfast. “Another thought which was discussed by many other travellers who felt as I did,” he continued, “was that ice-cream could
A high standard of accommodation is set by leading hotels of the North and South Island, and this excellent example is being gradually followed by others, but the rate of progress is not fast enough to meet the needs. Generally the food and cleanliness are commended by many visitors from overseas, but some houses lack the amenities to which wealthy tourists are accustomed in older countries. This matter is getting attention, and the signs point to advancement.
The Lighter Side of Railway Life.
Merriment Makers At The Railway Picnic.
One of Many Happy Groups.
(Misses R. Beck, F Carr, E. Fitzgerald, I. Aitken, B. Clarke, N. Lee.)
It has always seemed to me that one of the most interesting phases of railway operating is the safety system which the experience of years has evolved for the benefit of the public travelling by rail. For that reason I have chosen—as President Coolidge might have said had he been in a different humour—to speak upon the subject of “Safety on the Railways.”
In these high-speed days, when more can be done in a given time than ever before, it is natural that human life should be more highly prized than in the past. So thought is concentrated, and vast sums expended in making life safe for humanity.
The progress of the medical profession in the arts of saving and prolonging existence ranks among the chief wonders of our modern times. But with all this love of life has come also a recklessness of danger that is both difficult to understand and hard to circumvent. We save life in the hospital, to smash it in the street! In fact, the attitude of a good many towards self-preservation is that of a boy with a toy baloon. He wouldn't—not for anything—stick a pin in it, but he blows and blows till it bursts.
With added joys in life have come greater risks—many of them inevitable; but it is little use asking the wonder-working monkey-gland chief, Voronoff, to make your life longer one day, if you try to beat a train at a railway crossing the next.
When a youth enters the Railway service of this Dominion, raw, and in his most receptive mood, the first thing he receives is a Kule Book, and the first line in that book states that “The First and Most Important Duty of Every Member is to provide for the Safety of the Public.”
That slogan is repeated at the head of the second page, and of the third page, and of every other one of the 154 pages in the book. It is the battle-cry of the railways. It is impressed upon the staff upon every possible occasion, and creates the “public safety” atmosphere within which the whole of their work must be done.
The result is indicated in the record of last year's operating, when not one single fatal accident occurred to any of the 26 million passengers carried. Does the result surprise you! Well, immunity of this kind does not come by luck! Sound management and safe practice lie at the back of it. While the human factor in the realm of accidents cannot be altogether eliminated, it can be—and has been—minimised, by constant improvements in safety appliances of the fool-proof variety, and by the perfecting of various transport checks.
An idea of what has been accomplished on our system in comparatively recent years may be gathered from the following table of safety progress compiled from the Department's annual Statements to Parliament:—
Year 1905, number of passengers carried, 8½ million (exclusive of season ticket holders); number injured, 19 (10 fatally); 1915, 23½ millions, 13 (3 fatally); 1927, 26 million, 3 (none fatally).
Now what accounts for this general tendency towards a decrease in the number of accidents to passengers in spite of an increasing passenger traffic! The men on the railways, twenty years ago, were probably—like the “All Blacks”—as good in their time, as are those of to-day. The trains were slower and fewer. The engines, and their loads, were lighter. The tracks were less congested and time was not so much of the essence of the contract.
For in 1905 the “tablet” system had not come into general operation. There was no “biscuit” held by a driver as tangible evidence of his right of road, and taken from a machine so constructed
The confidence which the electric tablet system lends to train operators is, in itself, a further aid to safe transit, for all who work the tablets know that the system does effectually accomplish its purpose, that of preventing more than one train being between any two tablet stations at the same time, and, when no train is in the section between the tablet stations, permitting of a train being started from either end. Short of double-tracking and one-way traffic, no system could provide greater security against the possibility of head-on train collisions between stations.
Another safety mechanical contrivance which is now applied to all the railway rolling-stock in this country, is the Westinghouse brake. In its adoption of this help towards life preservation, New Zealand was (and still is) ahead of many Continental countries.
The Westinghouse brake is an emanation of pure genius, and the art of it lies in the fact that power is required from the engine to lift the brakes on the vehicles composing the train, so that with any failure of this power, the brakes are automatically applied. Thus, should a train part through the couplings breaking, the resultant break in the Westinghouse pipe-connection releases the compressed air in the train pipe, and the air in the reservoirs of the braking-gear of all vehicles presses the brakes hard on. Consider the effect of applying the Westinghouse brake of a ten coach train, weighing altogether something like 500 tons. The brakes bite onto every one of the train's hundred wheels, under the powerful impetus of compressed air, and the hurtling mass of metal, travelling at a speed of 40 or 50 miles an hour, is brought up standing, in little more than its own length.
What New Zealand owes to the Westinghouse brake it would be difficult to estimate, but the general effect has been to add enormously to the safety of train travel.
Then, just in case of accident, every guard's van has its own fire-extinguisher, its ambulance box, its case of tools, and its supply of detonators. If a train fails on an unprotected section, the detonators are used on the rails some distance before and behind the breakdown, to warn any approaching train that the line ahead is blocked.
The system of interlocking railway yards has been extended to all the busy centres. Under it the signals, and the various points at the station interlocked, are so arranged that a “clear” signal cannot be given for a train to come into the yard unless all the points are properly set and interlocked for its approach. The responsibility still rests upon a signalman to see that the track for the approaching train is clear, but having done that, the fact that the signal can be pulled to “clear” is a definite assurance that all the relative points are properly “set.”
Then, at stations where standard mechanical or electrical interlocking has not yet been found necessary, a species of simplified interlocking has been achieved under the “Woods locks” system. Prior to its introduction, the question which every stationmaster at a wayside station had to keep in mind, before signalling in a train, was “are the main line points locked”? There was no absolute check on this, and the only safe course was to go and see; a task which meant, in some cases, wearing out boot leather over the rough ballast in a walk of several hundred yards, the possible waste of time just before a train was due, and also waste of energy if the points were found to be—as they should be,—properly locked. The key of the Woods lock, however, cannot be removed from the main line points unless they are locked, and, as the same key is required to manipulate the semaphore to signal the train in, it is obvious that if the key is available for the signal, the points must be locked.
The latest phase of signalling development is the automatic, under which automatic signals are track-circuited in such a way that the position of the signal is regulated by the trains passing over the section of track to which it relates. By the position (or colour) of the signal, the driver knows whether he may go full speed ahead (that's the green), slow down to keep his
Distant control of main line points is now being introduced at various way-stations, the points being motor-worked, the control operating, if required—and with perfect safety—up to a distance of over half-a-mile from the signal cabin.
The condition of the track and the speed of trains are two other facts upon which safety in transit depends. That the tracks in New Zealand are kept in excellent order is recognised; but it is not so well known that the Fay-Raven Commission expressed the opinion that the permanent way was kept even at a higher standard than the requirements demanded. There has, however, been some publicity given to the opinions of one or two non-professional visitors from overseas, that some of the train speeds, over certain portions of the track, are too high. In reply to this I would say that train schedule speeds everywhere are limited by certain maxima applicable to each portion of the line, the grades and curves being allowed for with meticulous exactness and in strict accordance with what engineering practice the world over has proved to be within such limits as are necessary to provide an ample margin of safety. Predictions of disaster are as unfounded as those old-time ones that said a ship would sink because it was made of iron; or the sayings of later critics who have held, without the slightest pretence to engineering knowledge, and in all the valour of ignorance, that London Bridge was too weak, or the Wool-worth building too high, for safety.
There are some things that no safety system can provide against—earthquakes and cloud-bursts, and the acts of King's enemies. The possibility of human carelessness or mental aberration cannot be entirely eliminated. But, these things aside, you can see there is no danger in travel by train under the conditions provided by the Railway Department in this country.
It is natural, in a talk on safety by train that the road crossing problem should be taken into account.
Holiday Crowds Waiting On Auckland Station.
Now, according to the legal theory of road use, the foot passenger has “the right of road.” But if you are walking you don't stop to enforce this right. When the motorist toots, you skip. If you are driving a car, you expect the pedestrian
One should note here that it is the increased use made of the rail for travelling that has encouraged the introduction of its modern safety methods. The more the railways are used, the greater the safety by train becomes, for increased rail traffic invariably means further improvements in the safety system of our Railways.
When you make a train trip, it is like an oasis of safety in a desert of danger. I must confess, after seeing something of the inner workings of the Railway safety system, that the romance attaching to the safety it provides makes me feel almost lyrical.
Once aboard the train, the electric spark of the railway signal-towers tells that your train is on the wing. The surfaceman, the ganger, the workshops staff; the civil, the electrical and the mechanical engineer; the signalman, the station-master, the driver and the guard, have all conspired to make your journey safe.
The guardians of the metal track cry “right-of-way” for the queen of the road. Then switches click, the roads are set, and “two two nine”—the “Limited” crack—goes speeding through the night. Signals dip and swing to “clear” as the care-free passengers are borne along on the track of steel, smoothly, swiftly, safely to their journey's end.
View Of Opunake Beach, Taranaki.
[Photo N.Z. Publicity Department.]
A record excursion was run recently from Wanganui to Opunake, over 700 people travelling by excursion train.
Did you ever read an article or a book wherein the author seems to have side-stepped all the recognised straight jacket methods of dealing with his subject, and hands out a few sentences that make you know that he knows what he is talking about—and no blarney about it either?
The other day I read such a book (“The Human Element in Organisation,” by Frederic Meron, M.E., E.E., University of Liege, Belgium) in the form of an educational treatise on the handling of men. It is the first time I have ever found a work of a Continental engineer written in such an aggressive and “live” strain. So much, in these days, is written in the “dry as dust” formal style, that it is not to be wondered at that much of it never gets read at all.
If you are for maintaining the ancient order of things and “know all about everything” this book would hurt your feelings.
If, however, you are not afraid of a new view-point, a fearless exposition of some home truths—to have what we know are our real problems laid bare—there is a lot of profit to be had out of the above book.
Right after his opening remarks the author's first sub-heading is “Elimination of Waste in the Factory.” That's how important he considers waste in the modern organisation problem. M. Meron goes on to say:—
“As everybody knows, when a wounded soldier on the battlefield is brought to the surgeon, the first thing the latter does is to have the wounded man's dirty clothes changed for clean ones.
“After this, the man's wounds must be washed, particular attention being given to disinfecting the wound.
Only after all this has been done is it possible for the surgeon to begin the methodical curing of the affected part.
The same thing happens in the factory.
The first thing to be done is:—
To eliminate unnecessary waste which, in many cases, is very considerable and means the loss of large sums of money.
Until this elimination of waste is effected it is impossible to go ahead with any degree of success in the introduction of a new system.
We must diminish the cost, but how are we to do it?
Find readily all the losses as well as their causes.
Find the proper means to reduce to their lowest value the causes of these losses by means of the least possible expense, both of money and time.
Indicate in every case a special system of supervision allowing the head officer to follow, without difficulty, day by day, the exact amount of the losses, of their causes, and of the effect produced on the latter by the means adopted to combat them.
To know how to employ men and have records that are simple, clear and precise, so that all those concerned can judge at a glance how the business is progressing.
To the four general rules just enumerated I can (goes on M. Meron) add the following:—
It is absolutely necessary:
To know how to eliminate, as much as possible, all kinds of unnecessary waste which exists in almost every factory.
Waste is to be found in all factories, in some less, in others more, it depends only upon how the factory is managed.
To determine exactly the actual maximum output of the machines and workmen which
To find out the best means of increasing the output of machinery and men to the maximum.
To find out the source of the best machinery used by competitors.
To determine the exact unit cost before the prices are given in the factory, and not afterwards.”
I quote the foregoing because of its general application to the management of any industry, whether in office, warehouse or factory.
Those associated with the production methods and reorganisation work we now have in hand will recognise the principles—in those lines cited. As I have often stated, there is no justification at all for waste, whether it be in materials or labour. To do work efficiently at the lowest cost does not mean doing harder work in the muscular sense, it means more brain work to conserve the physical labour for where it is needed. In my experience the men who get the best results never appear overloaded, and, what is more, they are not. This is a matter of organisation.
The danger of our isolation from the progress of the Northern Hemisphere is that we may think we are “it.” Don't make that mistake. The successful executives of the most progressive concerns are those who most appreciate how much they don't know. Moreover, they are always trying to learn.
The photographs on this page show two interesting uses to which scrap boiler tubes have been put by the Workshop Foreman, Mr. Pullen, at our Invercargill workshops. The bins so constructed provide a good and orderly method of utilising this scrap, which otherwise has an extremely low scrap value.
Before tubes arrive at this stage, however, they go through a series of processes, all designed to obtain from them the maximum use as boiler tubes.
When new, at their original length, they serve their first period.
When removed from the boilers in which they have been first placed they are reclaimed—sometimes by cutting down—so as to fit shorter boilers. More often, however, it is only a few inches of the tube (at each end) that require renewal. Tubes that are in this condition are reclaimed by welding on a new end section in the tube reclaim shop now established. By this process tubes are brought up to their original length, or longer, as required.
Finally of course, the tubes become pitted and thin and are unfit for further service in steam boilers. The best of these make good poles for tennis court netting supports, and also, when two are put together, they make good aerial masts for the radio enthusiasts. In fact so good a business has developed in these two directions that difficulty has sometimes been experienced in finding sufficient second-hand tubes to meet the demand.
The field of material reclamation is one of the greatest possibilities we have in the Railway. In the new workshops a special shop has been set aside at each centre especially for the purpose of sorting scrap and repairing, converting and reclaiming disused material into serviceable articles.
In reference to the great honour secured for British aviation by Flight-Lieutenant Webster's victory in the recent Schneider Cup race (in the course of which the great speed of 284.14 miles per hour was attained by Lieutenant Webster) Sir Samuel Hoare paid a tribute to the excellence of British (Sheffield) steel. “A notable contribution both of material and workmanship to this British success,” he said, “was that of Messrs. Vickers, Ltd., who were responsible for the steel and manufacture of the crankshaft and the connecting rods of the Napier “Lion” engine installed in the Supermarine-Napier s.5.
This constitutes the fourth record-breaking achievement during 1927 in which Vickers steels have proved their incontestable excellence.”
Mackinnon Pass, Milford Track.
The Milford Track has been described as “The Finest Walk in the World.” It is certainly a most beautiful and interesting one. If you look at your A.M.P. map you will notice that, after leaving the train at Lumsden, you go almost due west in the motor to Te Anau. There is little of interest between Te Anau and Lumsden, a wide plain with the mountains in the background. The party of which the writer was a member was due at Te Anau about 6 p.m. on a recent afternoon. Just as we began to ask ourselves how soon the lake would appear in sight we saw it beneath us, with the accommodation house nestling in the trees.
The standard of this house surprised me—they have nothing to learn from city hotels. Of course it all has to be paid for, and it is the tourists who pay.
Saturday morning found us early astir as the steamer leaves for the head of the lake at seven sharp. There was scarcely a ripple on the water as we cast off, and the hills at that hour were swathed in mist. In the distance, one or two peaks could be seen glistening in the sun, though before long the mist rose leaving everything in clear view. The lake is 32 miles long and you sail almost due north for about five hours, passing, in order, the south arm, the middle arm and the north arm. One of the islands on the lake is known as Lion Island. Seen from a certain angle it is very like a lion couchant. We stepped ashore about 12.30 p.m. and walked through a charming bit of forest to the accommodation house at the Glade. Here we made close acquaintance with the sandflies, or rather the sandflies with us. The scene from the front door of Glade House is one to delight the eye. At your feet you have the Clinton River, beyond that the beech forest in wonderful hues of green and brown, and in the background, the everlasting hills.
After lunch here we forthwith set out in the track for the Pompolona Hut—about 10 miles distant. To reach the hut you pass through a magnificent beech forest with surprising growth on all sides. I have never seen such large tree trunks; they out-rival those at Paradise, although not so straight, being often twisted into queer shapes.
We stopped frequently to admire the view. Being somewhat tired and weighted down with our packs our progress was by no means rapid. However, Pompalona was reached at 6.30 p.m. Full justice was done to the good things set before us in the hut. Wekas are quite common on the track, and it was delightful to see how fearless they were. Round about the huts they run, big and little, and as tame as a barnyard fowl. The Pompalona Huts are at the mouth of the Clinton Canyon. At the other end, against the skyline, you see the Mackinnon Pass, over which we went in the morning.
Sunday was Christmas Day, and never before have I spent it in such unfamiliar surroundings. We were early astir, and after a hearty breakfast took to the track once more. At this spot you leave the beech forest behind, temporarily, and enter a ribbonwood grove. The trees, unfortunately for us, were not yet in flower, although I noticed the flower buds were swelling. At various points along the track you see delightful flowering shrubs and plants—cellinisias, mountain daisies, veronicas, etc. After walking some distance we boiled the billy for morning tea in a disused hut, and then tackled the climb up the pass, a long zig-zag one. Near the summit the far famed Ranunculus Lyalli may be seen in flower in all directions.
The summit of the pass is 3,800 feet up—the altitude of the hut at “Pomp” is about 1,000 feet—so we had climbed 2,800 feet since breakfast. The view from the top is grand. Down below, ever so far down, you see the next group of huts—the Quinton Hut. On your right you have the Clinton Canyon, and on your left, one
Boxing Day broke fine and we were once more early astir. The track from the latter hut to Milford is the easiest of the lot, five of the thirteen miles being covered by launch down the Arthur River and across Lake Ada. The track round the side of Lake Ada, owing to a washout over portion of it, was not in use at the time of our visit. We therefore missed seeing the Giant's Gate Fall, although we saw the “Gate” as we passed down the lake. We stepped ashore at the landing at 2.30 p.m. and had another half hour's walk through the forest to the hut and Sand Fly Point—well named, my word! (There are millions of sandflies and you can't get away from them. You start swotting them before rising from your bunk in the mornings. However, they are but a memory to me now and I hope to do the track some other day in spite of the sandflies.)
After tea we went for a cruise in Milford Sound. It was a fine clear evening and we saw the Lion Rock, Mitre Peak and the Pembroke Glacier. The Lion Rock is most imposing. Much of it is cloaked with dense bush. Mitre Peak—the top of which is shaped very much like a bishop's mitre—looks every inch of its 5,500 feet.
We sailed down the sound to the Bowen Falls—504 feet in height. They are a most graceful sight, the water coming down in two leaps, the first one of which lands in a bowl and then leaps out, giving a beautiful cart wheel, or as I should say, mill wheel effect. From the Bowen Falls we passed on to Sutherlands, saw the site of their house, also their graves—over which we raised our hats out of respect to their memory—and then went back to the launch and to Sandfly Point.
(N.Z. Publicity Dept. Photo.)
Mt. Elliott And Jervois Glacier, Milford Track.
There was a very warm wind blowing up the Sound which did not promise well for the grand trip on the morrow. We awoke on Tuesday to find it raining heavily and at one time it was doubtful if there would be any trip. However, at 10 a.m., the rain eased off and we embarked. From a sight-seeing point of view the day was practically spoilt. The Lion Rock was in clear view, but the Mitre Peak and the Pembroke Glacier were obscured. I have never seen such steep mountains before, and it puzzles me how the trees manage to grow on them. There is a fringe of bush along the base of the Mitre Peak; above that, bare granite.
Wednesday we turned our faces homeward. It was raining again and rained all day and all night. By the time we got back to the Quinton Hut we were all pretty wet. However, we were bent on seeing the Sutherland Falls again,—which we did. They were much more impressive than when we saw them on Christmas Day. I suppose as much water again was coming down the fall. It was here we met the Tararua tramping party (about thirty of them) and a jolly lot they were.
Thursday was dull and misty, but as we got further back from the coast the mist lifted, and from the top of the pass the huts at Pompolona were seen in bright sunshine. The “washing” could be seen through glasses, flapping in the breeze. This was our last night on the track. Just before tea time our numbers were swelled by fifteen new trampers.
Friday morning broke clear and fine and after bidding good-bye to those starting out on the track we ambled down to Glade House, arriving at 2.30 p.m. I asked one of my mates had he ever seen a crested Grebe—he admitted (as I did) that he had seen a stuffed one! The very next day, however, we saw a pair of them swimming and diving in the lake. That was a coincidence for you. Birds are fairly numerous along the track. Every now and again you see a pair of paradise ducks with their young in the water, and sometimes a pair of Blue Mountain duck, or grey duck. In the trees you see the wee tom-tit flitting about, also the wax-eyes, sometimes a pair of pigeons, and once we noticed a pair of kaka. In the evenings you see the keas wheeling overhead and calling out “kee ah.”
Monday morning we bade farewell to Te Anau. Soon after leaving it began to rain and the rain could be seen falling over square miles of the flat country.
At Lumsden our party broke up, each going his separate way.
(N.Z. Publicity Dept. Photo.)
Junction Of Chiddan And Esperance Rivers, Milford Track.
The Prime Minister and Minister of Railways (Rt. Hon.
Auckland's new goods yard became an accomplished fact on February 5th, when a gang of over sixty men completed the reconstruction work which had been in hand for some time.
The job entailed connecting up the outward goods tracks from Campbell's Point overbridge to the new goods shed at Breakwater Road. The work now in hand is the demolition of existing goodshed buildings and the construction of No. 2 marshalling yards.
Work was commenced early in the morning, and by 5 p.m. the job was completed. It involved, in the main, shifting a 25-ton weighbridge as well as 30 chains of rails and eight sets of “turn-outs.” In addition a large “scissors crossing”—160ft. long and 33 tons in weight—was moved into position, a hundred yards from where it was originally placed. This particular work was carried through by 30 men in four hours.
The engineer-in-charge, Mr. J. Drew, remarked that the work accomplished with this change-over really broke the back of railway reconstruction in the Auckland railway yard.
It is proposed to put in a series of new sidings on the area adjoining Quay Street.
In less than an hour after the work was completed shunting operations were resumed, and next morning everything was working smoothly.
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In view of the projected “Great White Train” for New Zealand's secondary industries, it is interesting to learn that the agricultural development department of the Santa Fe Railway co-operating with the Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College, will operate a “Farm and Home Special” demonstration train in Texas and Louisiana during the last half of January and most of February.
The programme which the college will present to the farmers will be diversified, but will feature soil improvement and better methods of feeding live stock. Other subjects to be discussed will be dairying, poultry raising and home economics. Attention will also be given to the boys and girls 4-H club work.
The train will consist of eight cars, four of which will be loaded with exhibits. The exhibits will include beef and dairy cattle, hogs and sheep, crops, soil samples and poultry. The home economics department of the college will prepare an exhibit for the farm women, and part of one car will be devoted to a club exhibit.
The campaign will last for a period of six weeks, commencing January 16th and lasting until February 25th. All of the Santa Fe's lines in Texas, also a line extending 80 miles into south-western Louisiana, will be covered, the schedule calling for 117 meetings.
* * *
Sir Herbert Walker, General Manager of the Southern Railway, England, is one of the optimists of the railway world. Speaking at the recent annual dinner of the staff of the General Manager's and Secretary's departments of the Southern Railway, Sir Herbert referred interestingly to the question of rail and road competition. Charabancs, he said, could be coped with but the private car was a much more difficult problem. A man nowadays took his wife and family and toured from resort to resort in a small car. This was undoubtedly the cause of a large proportion of the decline in passenger traffic, but, nevertheless, private cars created a travel atmosphere, and the number of journeys among the population was increasing rapidly. “The Railways,” he said, “had no cause for dejection; they could and would meet the competition, and ultimately they would come into their own again.” It is the conviction of this railway authority that, as the people become fonder of travel (and the evidence points that way), the railways were bound to reap the benefit.
The grouping of the Home railways has been very much more than a mere paper move. To the visitor from overseas making the tour of Britain to-day, the railway system of the land presents a vastly different picture from that of pre-war times. Stations have been remodelled to meet the changed situation, locomotives and rolling-stock of all types have been standardised, time-tables have been subjected to considerable revision, staff uniforms have been altered, and the whole face of the Home railway world has assumed a different aspect.
In the remodelling of important passenger and freight termini much has been accomplished tending towards more efficient and economical operation. Probably the most striking instance of station remodelling arising out of grouping is the fusion of the Exchange and Victoria depots of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway at Manchester. The Exchange station was the property of the former London and North Western line, and the Victoria depot housed the trains of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. Both these systems are embraced in the London, Midland and Scottish group, and the two stations in question are now being combined to form one vast terminal.
The linking-up of the Exchange and Victoria stations at Manchester involves the construction of what will rank as the longest platform in Britain, and probably in the whole world. The new platform will be 2,199 feet in length, and will compare with the 1,692ft. platform at York, and the 1,680ft. platform at Waverley station, Edinburgh. It will accommodate three trains simultaneously, and the whole area will be under cover. Passenger traffic in the Manchester area is exceedingly dense, and in the remodelling which is now proceeding arrangements are being made to convert the Exchange section of the new depot into a closed station, with barriers to every platform. The Victoria section has for several years been of the closed type. All over Britain the closed type of passenger depot is gaining favour, and the necessity for collecting tickets at outside points is thus being done away with.
Although Manchester, in common with London, can boast of a really commodious passenger station, there are few really imposing railway stations on the Home railways. Compared with the enormous termini found in the United States and on the mainland of Europe, the Home passenger stations are on very unpretentious lines. Utility, rather than architectural magnificence, has been the aim of the British station designer, and it is only in recent years that the pulling power of a really imposing railway station has come to be realised at Home. Among Europe's most beautiful city railway stations may be named the central depot at Leipzig, in Germany; the Amsterdam terminal of the State Railways of Holland; Bergen station on the Norwegian State Railways; the Orleans terminal in Paris; and the central station at Helsingfors, the capital of Finland. Helsingfors station has been styled the most beautiful railway depot in the world. It stands alone in one of the central squares of the city. Built of granite and having as one of its most striking features a massive tower roofed by a copper cupola, the structure may be classed as a true architectural masterpiece. The spacious entrance hall, containing booking, luggage, parcels and telegraph offices, is flanked on either side by magnificent waiting and refreshment rooms. In the latter rooms a woman cook, dressed in spotless white, presides at an electric stove, and in front of her are the cooked dishes, with glistening electro-plate covers which can be raised or lowered by mechanical means to display their contents.
The ticket offices in the main hall at Helsingfors station are in sets of three. Each booking-clerk has sole control of his own series of tickets. When he goes off duty he closes the window and locks up his office, the adjoining window being opened by the clerk who relieves him. Book stalls and other amenities are much in evidence, and throughout the depot there is displayed the sincere desire of the Finnish railway authorities to please the traveller and attract him to the rail route.
At the World Motor Transport Congress recently held in London, official representatives of more than fifty nations unanimously carried a resolution calling for sane co-ordination between rail and road transport in the interests of the carriers and the public. All over the
The Home railways are now seeking fullest powers to operate road services of their own on both the passenger and freight sides, and it is anticipated that these powers will be duly granted by the government at an early date. Pending the securing of permission to undertake road transport in all its forms, the group lines are extending to a considerable extent the road motor services already operated by them in rural areas. Following the lead of the London and North Eastern and Great Western lines, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway has recently introduced road collection and delivery services between the railhead and farms in a number of agricultural areas. Warehouses have been opened up, at selected centres, in which stocks may be held by manufacturers, and from which farmers' supplies may be delivered in suitable quantities for immediate consumption when storage accommodation on the farms is limited. In the return direction, road motor transport is furnished between farm and railway depot for agricultural produce of all kinds.
Self-help is a gospel of which the Home railway worker never loses sight. There are many institutions operating in the Home railway world, supported by the voluntary contributions of the employees, which prove invaluable in furnishing aid to the railwayman in times of stress and sickness, and self-help movements of this type are rightly given every encouragement by the group lines.
One of the most interesting institutions operating at Home are the Railway Convalescent Homes. Eight of these homes are conducted at selected points in Britain. By paying as little as one halfpenny a week through the paybill a sick railwayman may enjoy a fortnight's rest in one of the homes free of charge. Recently a special convalescent home has been opened up in Kent, exclusively for the use of the female staff of the Home railways. The whole of the business of the Railway Convalescent Homes is supervised by an honorary board of trustees drawn from the official ranks of the railways, and since the first home was opened twenty-seven years ago, many thousands of ailing railway workers have been restored to health and strength through their agency.
Bergem Station; Norwegian State Railways.
Railway electrification proceeds apace in Europe. The electrified lines of the Southern Railway in the London area continue to expand, and across the Channel there has been completed the electrification of the railways of Holland between Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Electric trains have for some time been running between Amsterdam and Haarlem, and between Rotterdam and The Hague. Now these sections
In connection with main-line electrification, a curious position has arisen in the central European country of Austria. A most ambitious electrification plan was some years ago embarked upon by the Austrian State Railways, but it would seem that when this scheme was first given effect to the possibility was quite overlooked of a drop in the price of locomotive coal, while the estimates of the cost of conversion from steam to electricity were apparently on a far too low basis. Coal has now dropped considerably in price, and there has been vast improvement in the technique of generation of steam from coal dust and inferior fuel. As a consequence of the changed situation, the Austrian railway authorities have stopped all electrification works and come to the decision that in future steam working is to be adhered to on all tracks not completely converted to electricity.
Although innumerable experiments have been tried in the past with a view to encouraging passenger traffic by rail, there are still many promising means of attracting passenger business which remain untapped. A reminder of this fact is given by the recent action of the Great Western Railway in instituting “day” and “half-day” excursions from London and other points to the company's locomotive works at Swindon. Excursions of this kind are now regularly run, and they are proving immensely popular with the public.
Passengers by the Swindon excursion trains are requested by the conductors to divide themselves into parties each consisting of about twenty, and on arrival at Swindon each party is met by a guide wearing a distinctive rosette, and taken round the locomotive works of the line located at that point. From London to Swindon is a distance of 78 miles, and the fare for the round trip, including the conducted tour of the engine shops, is five shillings. Something like 700 passengers are conveyed by each train. The running of these excursions is proving of real worth in the betterment of public relations. They afford the public a rare opportunity of visualising the “behind the scenes” activities of a modern railway, and emphasise the care which is taken by the railway in the production and maintenance of the most efficient and safe equipment for the conveyance of the traveller and his possessions.
The Famous L.N.E.R. “Flying Scotsman.”
Milk forms one of the most important of railway traffics. By the Home railways there are annually carried more than 280,000,000 gallons of milk, of which 95,000,000 gallons are handled by the London, Midland and Scottish, and 85,000,000 gallons by the Great Western lines. Until recently all milk traffic dealt with by the Home railways was conveyed in small metal churns, which involved a tremendous amount of handling, and called for the utilisation of a vast number of covered milk vans. Now the L.M. & S., and G.W. Railways have brought into use special tank cars for the conveyance of milk, each of 3,000 gallons capacity.
The new milk tanks are mounted on a steel underframe, 18 feet long, and they are glass-lined and fitted with an outlet cock at each end. Special arrangements have been made to avoid any undue variation of the temperature of the milk during transit, and each tank is encased with two layers of slab-cork, each one inch thick, and finally covered by thin metal sheets welded together at the joints. Special milk depots have been established at selected points, where milk from surrounding farms is concentrated, passed through a cooling plant and loaded into the tanks. At the point of delivery, the milk is unloaded from the tanks at the rate of 150 gallons a minute, and speedily conveyed to the consumer by motor and horse trucks.
To the several interesting types of passenger locomotives introduced on the group railways at Home during recent months there has now been added a new series of engines of the three-cylinder single-expansion type, with 4–4–0 wheel
The principal dimensions of this new type of locomotive are as follows:—Cylinders, 17 inches diameter and 26 inch stroke; boiler length 11 feet 4½ inches, diameter 5 feet 6 inches; heating surface, 1,397 square feet; boiler pressure 180lb. per square inch; total wheelbase 48 feet 5¼ inches; total length 58 feet 8¾ inches; total weight of engine and tender in working order, 118½ tons; coal capacity 7½ tons, water 4,200 gallons. The engines are painted in the standard green of the L. & N.E. group, and they present a remarkably spick and span appearance in traffic.
Just ninety years ago the Great Western Railway of England was opened between London and Maidenhead-on-Thames. In a recent volume entitled the “History of the Great Western Railway,” by E. T. MacDermot, published by the Great Western Company, there is unfolded the wondrous story of the birth and development of this unique transportation system, which has played so vital a part in Britain's progress. Railway working in the “good old days” was a very primitive business. For long, traffic was conducted in such a happy-go-lucky fashion that trains were not always restricted to the correct “Up” or “Down” road, while fixed signals were almost unknown. The trials and troubles of the early railway officials make especially interesting reading, and this ably penned record of the birth and growth of Brunel's far-flung railway undertaking is one which will appeal to railway-men of all grades the world over. It should certainly find a place in every railway library.
Electric Train, State Railways Of Holland.
The electrification of the Dutch railways is proceeding steadily, and the throughout main line between Amsterdam and Rotterdam has recently been converted from steam to electric traction.
The flotsam and jetsam left by travellers on the railways generally finds its way into the lost property depot. The forgetfulness (or indifferentism) which characterises some people in regard to their movable property is surprising. It is no less remarkable how much luggage is never claimed—if that dealt with by the country station of which the writer is in charge, may be cited as an example.
Last year for instance, one hundred and forty-six packages were dealt with. Of this number only fifty-one could be delivered to owners, the remainder, because of there being no identification on them, or enquiries made concerning them, being sent to the lost property depot, where the packages will remain until sold by auction at the end of the year. It is interesting to mention, in passing, that only twenty-two out of the 146 unclaimed packages were inscribed with the owner's name and address.
Special interest attaches to two lost gold rings. One was claimed—the climant having lost it two months previously whilst getting through a railway fence, the ring being found subsequently by a surfaceman raking the gravel in the yard. The owner of the other ring could not be traced. Of five purses found only one contained coin amounting to one shilling. This purse, along with three others, will be eventually sold under the auctioneer's hammer.
The varied assortment of lost property handled during the year comprised, among other things, two gold brooches, four men's hats, five kit bags, twenty-three ladies' umbrellas, four walking sticks, two pieces of music (songs), five overcoats, five suitcases, eight books, one parcel of cake, two parcels of fruit, one parcel of fish, one pram (claimed), one halter, two whips, two butchers' aprons, one horse-cover, one mattress, one violin, two bottles of beer, one scythe, and one fountain pen.
It would be more satisfactory to all concerned if such property could be restored to its rightful owners.
Scores of parcels, however, are found bearing no name or address, and are never inquired for. They are therefore sent to the lost property depot for ultimate sale.
If passengers took the precaution of addressing all their packages (even if carried with them on railway racks) the railway staff would be able to institute definite inquiries from particulars shown, and be thus enabled to perform a further service to the Department's customers by restoring their missing goods.
Mitre Peak. Milford Sound, South Island.
Great inconvenience, and much irritation, is often experienced by passengers in losing their luggage and other property. In very many cases, however, the fault lies with the passenger and not with the Department. The Department can be depended upon to restore property which has been left behind by train passengers, but for the complete success of such efforts the co-operation of the passenger (in seeing to it that his parcels, etc., bear adequate identification marks) is necessary.
The cylindrical, plane, or surface grinding machine is the product of comparatively recent years. By many tradesmen it is regarded as a specialised machine for repetition work, or for jobs that are too hard to be machined or filed in the ordinary way.
The grinding machine, however, is essentially a finishing machine for a great variety of work. Its speed and the accuracy with which it functions cannot be denied. It is doubtful if there is a turner or machinist anywhere (no matter how skilled), who, using a lathe or other machine, can finish work as quickly and as accurately thereon as the same work can be done on a grinding machine when correctly handled.
Interior of Invercargill Workshops.
Top: A corner of the machine and fitting shop. Bottom: Improved tool rack.
Although a grinding machine is a precision tool, it nevertheless requires less skill to operate (when employed on accurate work) than the lathe, milling machine, or planing machine, etc. As a finishing machine it has dispensed with most of the skill demanded of the old time craftsman (the use of file and emery cloth) for finishing and polishing work to fine dimensions.
If a workshop foreman twenty years ago had requested his best turner to turn a dozen piston (or valve) rods, all to a given size, and, at the same time have stipulated that there must not be more than .0015 of an inch variation in the finished size of the rods so turned, such a turner would have been perplexed and worried as to whether or not a request of the kind could actually be carried out.
In modern workshop practice, however, measurements much finer than the above are quite common.
It makes very little difference upon what class of work a workman may be engaged, whether it be work demanding the greatest accuracy and fine finish (or vice versa), or that the material to be worked be of hard or soft metal, cast or forged,—the grinding machine is the all round finishing machine tool. Just as high speed steel has increased production by displacing carbon steel in many processes, so has the grinding machine increased production by displacing the file, the scraper, the lap and emery cloth for finishing.
It is a mistake to regard the grinding mamachine as essentially a repetition machine. This is entirely erroneous. Whilst the said machine does show to advantage on repetition work (owing to its automatic trip and its all but fool proof accurate feed control) it nevertheless has a much wider scope of usefulness. In the case of the individual article for instance,—after the size is known and a trial cut has been made—the feed control eliminates the problem of human error and reduces the said article to the pre-determined size far more quickly and accurately than any other machine.
The grinding machine has, in the space of a few years, became so universally used that the
Lest there should be any misunderstanding I should like to observe in passing that grinding is a distinct cutting process and is subject to much the same conditions as are those of the lathe or planing machine. A grinding wheel can be too sharp for certain work or too dull; it can be too soft, or too hard. Just as an ordinary tool with only one cutting edge will remove a chip of metal proportional to its strength, so does the grinding wheel with its multiple cutting edges function similarly. The metal removed by a grinding wheel when placed under a microscope bears a striking resemblance to the chips removed by a lathe or similar tool.
The re-turning of an axle or the re-boring of a cylinder involves the removing of more metal from either than would be necessary if the same operations were done on a grinding machine. This is due to the fact that a worn axle or cylinder develops a hard skin, which necessitates that before any progress can be made with the tool, the turner must take a cut sufficiently deep to get under the skin. Afterwards a second (or finishing) cut is necessary.
The grinding machine functions equally well on hard or soft metals, therefore, when re-grinding an axle or cylinder witness marks may be left in, and only the bare minimum of metal removed. This produces a smoother and truer surface, adds considerably to the life of the parts that have been thus treated and creates a big saving in regard to renewals, etc. Furthermore, the grinding method has proved conclusively that, re-grinding, apart from these advantages, is also quicker than re-turning.
This is a competitive age, an age that right or wrong casts out the unfit. The machine tool manufacturers and the motor car industry live and flourish under the fiercest conditions known to this said system. Both of these important and exact branches of engineering have adopted successfully the grinding method. This is no mere fashion of the age, but the recognition that the grinding machine has been found indispensable where quantity, quality, and sound economics, govern the industrial and social programme. But for the grinding machine, says a well known American Trade Journal it would cost as much to produce a Ford car as it does a Rolls Royce.
(To be continued.)
New Methods at East Town Workshops.
One of the four special planing machines recently introduced into the Workshops, for the manufacture of frogs, Switches and scissors crossings. These machines are electrically driven.
The poet Longfellow, in one of his most suggestive passages, describes the reflections that crowded on his mind when he first entered Italy by rail, and, amid the historic scenes of antiquity
“Saw the iron horses of the steam
Toss to the morning air their plumes of snow.”
That was indeed a strange experience for a scholar capable of discerning the contrast between the old order of things and the new; but, to our mind there is something even more strange and startling in such a scene as that witnessed on Wednesday, the 3rd of November, 1886, at Waikanae when a thousand of the British public suddenly arrived by train in a wilderness which has absolutely no history beyond the scanty legends of a decaying people who are themselves alien to the soil. It is, as it were, civilisation ready made, at a stage which it has taken ages of slow progress to arrive at in the Old World. Even to colonists, accustomed to lightning changes, it seemed a wonderful thing to go forth from Wellington, which within our own memory was in a state of nature only varied by barbarism,—to go forth in a splendidly appointed train, drawn by three powerful engines, the whole travelling machine as perfect as it could be, and to pass from the town in a few hours into a new country waiting to be inhabited. To anyone of a reflective turn of mind there was something very memorable in that journey…. The whole of the day's proceedings were wonderfully successful.
A common topic of conversation amongst the excursionists, who numbered over 700, was the singular change that had come over the colony since the old days when the only method of travelling was on foot or on horseback, or, by good fortune, in a bullock dray along a bush track. On the arrival of the train at Paremata an incident occurred which illustrated this change opportunely enough. There drove up to the station a two-horse coach, both vehicle and animals being of a particularly antique pattern; but there were no passengers for it, and as it rattled away again disconsolately, the whistle of the engines taking the train on its journey sounded like the irresistible voice of the New Style ordering the Old to move on and move off and make itself scarce for ever. The tide was in and Porirua Harbour looked lovely in the bright sunshine, the island of Mana standing out boldly, and the high land of the Middle Island being distinctly visible.—Apropos of that, some of the passengers learnt with surprise that the opening of the Manawatu line may lead to a development of which little has been said at present. A glance at the map will show that the nearest point of the North Island to the Middle Island is at Porirua; and at the northern end of the harbour there is a spot where excellent shelter for shipping could easily be furnished by the construction of a deep water wharf. If that were done a large part of the trade between the two islands would probably go through this little port and by the Manawatu railway; for from that spot the run across to Picton would be very short, and would often be a fair weather passage when bad weather prevailed further south.
At Paikakariki there was quite a crowd collected, the township being en fete and a number of passengers having arrived earlier by the ordinary train. Thenceforward the scenery and the character of the line are very striking and many were the exclamations of astonishment and delight from those of the travellers who had never seen such a sight before. At Waikanae groups of natives were assembled at various points, and the women hailed the approach of the train in customary fashion, waving their shawls or mats, holding out green boughs, and singing their monotonous “haeremai.” At Otaitanga a triumphal arch, composed very gracefully of Nikau fronds and branches of trees and gaily decorated with flowers, spanned the line, and as the train from Wellington passed under this at slackened speed, the train from Palmerston, bringing about 300 passengers was seen slowly approaching, and the two trains came to a standstill with their engines almost touching. The passengers then alighted. After a few minutes delay his Excellency the Governor and staff accompanied by the Premier, the Minister for Public Works, the Native Minister, the Minister for Justice, the Chairman and Directors, the General Manager, and Engineer of the Company, and the ladies of their party, advanced to a spot
In September, 1882, the first contract was commenced and, to-day, 3rd November, 1886, or in four years and two months, the last contract has been finished, and the works may be said to be completed. On the railway itself, for formation works and rolling stock over £700,000 has been expended in completing and equipping 84 miles of railway. As to the importance of this railway as a main link in the chain, of the trunk line it may be stated that by using the company's line when the inland portion from Marton to Te Awamutu is completed, it will be possible to run at express speed from Auckland to Wellington in 16 or 17 hours. Even now, with a fast line of steamers between Taranaki and Auckland we hope to see a service between Auckland and Wellington of 24 hours. The importance of this line as a link in the development of settlement in these vast and fertile lands between the two great and fine ports of the colony cannot be overestimated. Wellington and Auckland may be said to possess the only two harbours in the North Island. There is lying between them a vast extent of the finest land awaiting settlement, the one essential being rapid and easy communication to and from these fine lands to these two harbours, easy of access to ocean going steamers and sailing ships. But the line that would divide this traffic, as between the two ports as far as cheap transit is concerned cuts across the Island at the points which give the largest area of land suitable for settlement by fourfold to Wellington, and through this so described land we have the New Plymouth line running a distance of 166 miles, the Inland Trunk line 150 miles when finished, the Napier (when completed to Palmerston) 130 miles, all
The new method recently inaugurated by some of the British railway companies for transporting milk in bulk in 3,000-gallon glass tank wagons is, according to an article in a recent issue of “Modern Transport,” operating with efficiency and success. The enormcus milk traffic over the railways of the Home land may be gauged from the fact that over 280,000,000 gallons of milk are conveyed annually by rail. Of this amount 95,000,000 gallons are handled by the London, Midland and Scottish, and 85,000,000 gallons by the Great Western Railway. Under the churn system of conveyance it would require a train no less than 2,333 miles in length (more than twice the length of New Zealand) to transport the quantity of milk which the railways are called upon to deal annually. In this respect the tank method effects a very considerable saving—a saving of about 70 per cent. That is, a train 689 miles in length, is sufficient to cope with the haulage.
The tanks are built of steel and are lined throughout with glass enamel. They have no corners or seams—which fact simplifies the process of cleaning and sterilising. A most important factor in the use of glass-lined tanks for the conveyance of milk is that of their superior hygiene. They enable milk (which is most susceptible to contamination) to be maintained at a constant temperature of 38deg.—bacterial growth being inhibited at that temperature.
Goods Train On The Rimutaka.
Centre-rail Incline (1 in 15 grade).
The complicated action and re-action met with in burning coal may be divided into three processes. First, the conversion of coal into gases; second, the burning of the gases; and third, the separation and disposal of the ash and refuse. None of these processes are easily carried out in the ordinary locomotive firebox where bituminous coal is used.
The conversion of coal into gases can be managed without difficulty if it were possible to hold all of the coal on the firebars until gasification was completed; but under ordinary working conditions from 5 to 15 per cent, of the coal is picked up by the draught (or blast) and ejected at the smoke stack as cinders or sparks. Under bad conditions as much as 25 per cent, can be lost in this manner.
The loss of solid coal through the firebars and drop-grates generally averages from 1 to 2 per cent., but my observations lead me to believe it is nearer the vicinity of 10 per cent.—not through a badly designed fire-grate, but owing to careless and indifferent firing.
Under the most favourable conditions and at low rates of combustion, about 94 per cent, of the solid combustible matter is converted to gases. At medium rates about 85 per cent, is so converted, and at high rates only 75 per cent.
The burning of the combustible gases in the spaces above the fire is also attended with difficulties—due to lack of air, imperfect mixing of the gases, and insufficient combustion chamber volume (that is, the firebox isn't big enough).
The amount of air supplied through the grates depends upon the air opening through the ashpan and finger bars, the thickness of the fuel bed, the nature of the coal (as to size and ash and clinker forming contents), and above all, to the skill of the fireman. But even if all these conditions are favourable there is a gradual decrease in the air supplied as the rate of combustion increases. At high rates of combustion the supply of air is generally deficient.
Under ordinary conditions, with the firebox fitted with a deflector plate and a brick arch, the loss due to the escape of unburned gases varies from 2 to 10 per cent. The losses are much greater without the brick arch, as the saving of from 10 to 16 per cent, effected by the arch is largely due to the decrease in the amount of combustible matter that escapes unburned in the form of gases, coal dust, sparks and cinders.
The separation and disposal of the ash and clinker forming impurities is an unsolved problem which is largely responsible for the low average daily mileage of our locomotives. The frequent necessity for cleaning fires, dropping fires through the drop-grate (which often causes the tubes to leak) is due largely to imperfection in firebox design and to methods of burning coal that our great designers are always endeavouring to overcome.
The foregoing remarks will convey some idea, of the complicated structure of coal and the complexities of the problems yet to be solved in this direction. I trust, too, that firemen may be encouraged to study the problem of combustion. The firebox with which they are working becomes vastly more efficient for its purpose when an intelligent hand guides the coal and air supply.
One pound of coal—good coal—is nearly one pound of carbon, and one pound of carbon properly burnt results in the liberation of 14,650 heat units or B.T.U's. (B.T.U. means British. Thermal Unit, the amount of heat required to raise one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit.) A unit of heat will raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit.
In order that the importance of an ample and uniform air supply (and the necessity of intimately mixing the air and the coal gas by every possible means), may be grasped, the following; figures are given:—
One cubic inch of air contains 443 billion billion (443,000,000,000,000,000,000) molecules; 93 billion billion of these are oxygen molecules. One molecule of oxygen is required to burn one atom of carbon. One cubic inch of air, therefore, contains oxygen sufficient to burn 93 billion billions of carbon atoms—this number of atoms
Those wishing to study more widely the problem of combustion will find the works of Millikan, Lodge, Comstock and Troland, Crowther, Rislieu, Deeley, Jones, Roscoe and Schorlemmer, Thomson, Campbell, Gibson, the U.S.A. Bureau of Mines and Professors Goss, Cranford, Fry and Dr. Brislee, of considerable interest and importance.
The first comprehensive and thorough study of this subject was made by the “American Engineer” (news journal) and appeared in April, 1908.
On November 20th, 1908, the International Fuel Association (to bring about economy in the use of fuel) was organised at Chicago with a membership of 35. Since the formation of the Association every railway has taken up this most important subject. There are to-day some who think that fuel economy is a new-fangled idea and a fad, but it is time we all woke up to the fact that fuel economy is the most important factor in railway operation costs. When the cost of coal is high it often depends on the amount of coal saved or wasted whether or not there be dividends.
The New Plymouth Express Leaving Wellington.
We must bring up the work of the fireman to a higher plane and teach the chemistry of the firebox. To obtain the best, results enginemen must understand the theory which underlies the combustion of coal, and they must combine this theory with practice. It must be remembered that drivers and firemen are, for the greater part of their time, beyond the limits of direct supervision. If rules and regulations for controlling the use of coal are laid down for their guidance the reasons should be thoroughly explained, so that such rules, etc., not only appeal to their intelligence, but inspire interest in carrying them into effect.
The system of imparting instruction by those in charge of locomotives is by means of lectures, by the personal help of the older and more experienced enginemen, and by the inspectors on the footplate.
The function of the supervising officers is to see that the best use is made of the coal. The basis of any efforts directed towards securing greater fuel economy is the recognition that the human element is by far the most important factor.
Lect