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The importance of the railways in the life of the community was never more certainly established than at the present time, when it is freely admitted that the whole scheme of public finance in New Zealand must be regulated according to the returns from this national transport service. It is not so to such a marked extent in countries where the railways are privately owned; but even there the State has to take serious cognisance of their operations. And now, from both sides of the Atlantic, comes the plea for protection of this industry on account of the interests involved and also on account of the fact that, for the general welfare of the country, they are required to work under very definite State regulations which do not hamper the operations of their road competitors to anything like the same extent.
There are two principal causes of the present situation upon most railways. These are depression and competition. While the former cause is, in general, beyond the control of railway authorities anywhere, it has been thought that the latter—competition—might have been allowed, in the case of privately-owned lines at least, to work out its own salvation. But Mr. D. Willard, President of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and a recognised authority upon railway thought in America, points to an element which makes such a solution inequitable.
In addressing the Board of Trade of Washington, he said:
“I think the highways should be free for the private use of all individuals—free with the exception of such charges as may be necessary for police purposes and may be collected in the shape of license or gasoline tax. I am opposed, however—because I think it is unfair—to the unregulated use of such Government-built facilities without charge by individuals or corporations engaged as common carriers, in competition with Government-regulated railroads.”
The feature of unfairness to which Mr. Willard draws attention is the free use of Government-built highways by private operators for competitive commercial purposes, against privately-built railways. The demand in this case is for the Government to treat private competitors alike. When the State is in competition with private operators, as it is in New Zealand, equality of treatment appears to be equally necessary. This need would be seen with even greater clearness were the State running road services in competition with privately-owned railways. From the trend of recent discussion effective regulation which will aid in producing a rationalised system of transport throughout the Dominion appears to be one of the possibilities of the near future.
An astonishing revelation of negligence by motorists is contained in a bulletin issued by the Board of Railway Commissioners of Canada, entitled “Dangerous Practices of Motorists, Drivers of other Vehicles, and of Pedestrians at Railway Crossings” (says the Canadian National Railways Magazine).
The dangerous practices listed, with license number of the automobile, in this bulletin, make suggestive reading. Among those in Ontario are: “Crossing gates were down, bell ringing, red lanterns burning, automobile crashed through gate arms”; “disregarded watchman's stop sign and crossed tracks in front of yard engine”; “motor truck towing other truck stopped with front wheels on crossing, attempted to back clear but could not, was struck and thrown against other truck, both being damaged”; “automobile travelling at fairly high speed struck engine, driver tried to beat train to crossing, speed of train six m.p.h.”; “automobile drove through gates, driver claimed brakes not working properly”; “drove under gates when they were being lowered, tearing top off automobile”; “driver did not notice gates were down and ran through both, demolishing them”; “driver stopped and started again, apparently intending to cross ahead of train, but motor stalled and engine struck truck.” The other provinces present many similar cases with added vagaries of their own.
Motor accidents of this type are becoming more frequent, and the bulletin expresses the hope that publicity will be given to them in the expectation that motorists and others may be educated to be more careful. The newspapers have already published reports of them, and when unfortunately necessary, have also reported the evidence at coroners’ inquests. Notwithstanding these warnings and the existence of safety devices and cautionary signals, many people take chances against an approaching engine or train. The only thing to do with the survivors is to deprive them of the right to drive before they kill others as well as themselves.
Referring to the demolition of the old Auckland station, an anonymous correspondent writes feelingly as under to the General Manager, Mr. H. H. Sterling:—
“Undoubtedly you will have no time to read this, but I was looking at the old Auckland Railway Station to-day. The dismantling effected in a few hours has made such a difference to that old land mark of historical interest—for forty years more or less that has sheltered passengers and trains; for forty years railway business has gone on there. There must have been many incidents and co-incidents take place during the life and bustle of that old Auckland Railway Station. I am sure that many of the boys of the ‘Old Brigade’ will look back to those days of ‘boyhood’ where memories will never grow old nor fade: like the verse—
‘Make new friends but keep the old; These are silver, those are gold.'”
An indication of the world-wide depression in railway business is given in the records of the principal railway companies operating in the various countries. In Great Britain for the first seven weeks of 1931, and following a year which produced heavy declines when compared with the previous one, the four group companies shewed these decreases—Great Western 16.2%, London, Midland and Scottish 9.7%, London and North Eastern 10.5%, and Southern 4.3%. Amongst other overseas and foreign railways which published weekly returns there have been even more serious declines in most of the principal companies, and decreases to some extent in every one of them.
Under such conditions the only course to pursue in regard to outgoings is to reduce expenditure to the utmost extent consistent with efficiency. Upon this point it is interesting to hear that the Rt. Hon. Viscount Churchill, Chairman of Directors of the Great Western Railway, in commenting on the financial results of his Company for 1930 remarked that there was a decrease of £1,837,186 in receipts and that the gross expenditure had decreased by £982,314.
“This,” he continued, “is more than 50 per cent. of the reduction in the gross revenue, and is a result which, I think, you will all agree with me, reflects the greatest credit on all concerned …”
Acting on a like principle the London, Midland and Scottish Railway effected savings of £2,080,735 against a reduction of £4,953,839 in gross railway receipts, or something less than 50 per cent.
In following a similar line of action upon our railways here the decrease in expenditure for the year ending 31st March will be in the vicinity of 75 per cent. of the reduction in the gross revenue, a result which compares very favourably with that achieved by the most successful of overseas railways.
These are difficult times, and the economies now enforced are of a kind which normal conditions of trade would not require; but they have this advantage, that when business does recover we will be in a position to make the best use of it by reaching the present maximum operating capacity more quickly than would otherwise be possible, and then letting out sail only upon such courses as the future trend of our business demands.
Adjustments and Economy Measures.—Since the New Year we have been busy adjusting the railway machine to the new conditions produced by slackness of trade. This has involved a wider spread of the load to be carried by individual members of the service, and in this work I wish again to acknowledge the helpful adaptability of my chief executive and other officers and the staff generally in such readjustment.
Typical of the economy measures now in train is the evolution by our technical staff of a new type of locomotive which will save a large percentage of the banking now necessary in various parts of New Zealand, and help to produce a better operating figure in train and engine mileage. In this and other ways our costs of operation are being reduced to assist in striving towards our ideal—all needful service at the lowest possible cost.
General Manager.
With a view to ascertaining the present condition regarding locomotive rolling stock on the New Zealand Railways in so far as obsolescence and cognate factors influence the question of locomotive efficiency and economy, responsible officers of the mechanical engineering staff have recently made a comprehensive survey of the position and embodied their findings in a report to the management.
Following upon the recommendations of the engineers the commencement of a programme of locomotive replacements has been authorised.
In accordance with this policy, Mr. P. R. Angus, A.M.I.Mech.E., Assistant-Chief Mechanical Engineer, has put in hand the design of a general utility engine of powerful type.
The new engines are being designed to meet the special conditions obtaining in New Zealand, and will embody the latest improvements in locomotive practice overseas. They will have a capacity approximately 50 per cent. greater than units of the existing “Ab” class engines, with the added advantage that the trailing bogie of the new engines will be so built that a “Booster” can later be conveniently fitted if provision of this added power is found necessary.
The outline drawing which is featured below will give readers an impression of the general characteristics of the proposed new locomotive units.
The design of the new engines is already appreciably advanced in the Department's drawing office in Wellington, and it is confidently anticipated that constructional work will be commenced during the present year.
The distance the air is from being either really safe or fully comfortable for human freight is indicated in two recent news items. The first gives the record of the British Royal Air Force and shews 53 crashes and 63 fatalities for eleven months of 1930. In the second the discomforts and what might be termed the subsidiary dangers of air travel are surprisingly revealed in the plea of Imperial Airways for the sale of intoxicants on air-liners “experience having shewn that they are required by passengers not wholly in connection with meals, but also because of air sickness.” A further claim is made that pilots should be free to drink during a flight if they wanted to, as they “occasionally required a stimulant owing to the intense cold at high altitudes.”
Snow-Pinnacled Grandeur of the New Zealand Alps.
(Photos, J. D. Pascoe.)
The above illustrations depict some of the beautiful mountain scenes in the little-known region of the Southern Alps (Mathias Pass), between, Whitcomebe Pass to the south and Browning's Pass to the north. This region was recently traversed by members of the Canterbury Mountaineering Club (shewn in illustration 10) who succeeded in reaching the summit of fifteen virgin peaks in the area. (1) Shews a flooded canyon creek; (2) an unnamed peak; (3) the base camp; (4) valley of the Whitcombe River; (5) panorama shewing various peaks; (6) a hanging glacier; (7) valley of the Upper Mathias River; (8) Kea Pass from the Agassiz Range;—(9) rock peak of Mt. Marion; (11) Shafto Peak and Mt. Bryce.
The following is an elementary and non-technical explanation of surveying, surveying instruments, and the methods employed in their use, more especially in relation to Railway Engineering. It is not intended for the enlightenment of the technical staff, the writer's object being rather to give a simple review of this interesting subject for the benefit of the reader unacquainted with the subject.
Members of the Railway Department have no doubt observed surveyors on Railway property taking innumerable measurements, with strange instruments, have seen them waving their arms, driving pegs, placing coloured flags in position, and have no doubt wondered what purpose the various operations were intended to serve.
I will endeavour to take the reader along by easy stages from the more simple to the more advanced surveying methods, avoiding, as far as possible, technicalities.
For a better understanding of the subject, rough diagrams are given. Any dimensions shewn on these diagrams are, with a view to simplicity, in approximate figures only. (See page 13.)
Surveying may be described as ascertaining by measurement the shape and size of any portion of the earth's surface and representing the same, on a reduced scale, in a conventional manner, so as to bring the whole under the eye at once.
Engineering surveying is a supplementary branch dealing more particularly with the configuration of the earth's surface and the subsequent location of lines, curves, grades, levels, angles, etc., of all works and structures included in the profession of Civil Engineering. The unit of measurement is the link and 100 of these go to the chain. A chain also equals 66 feet, so that a link is approximately eight inches. The one chain measure is divided into 100 links, and in accurate measuring the links are further divided into tenths. The colonial practice is to have a steel band 6 or 11 chains in length and about one-eighth inch wide. This band is wound upon a drum. The end length of the steel band, for a distance of one chain is marked in links by brass studs, and each chain by a numbered disc. This length of measuring band permits of a rough surface to be spanned in one operation, correction being made from standard tables, for the sag in the band, and varying expansion through temperature.
The unit of area is an acre, which equals 10 square chains, or 100,000 square links, practically a metric system. The area of any rectangular section can be found by multiplying the frontage by the depth in links and taking off five places of decimals thus: 100 links frontage by 250 links depth = 250 × 100 = 25,000, and with five places of decimals off = .25 or quarter of an acre. (In surveying, all measurements and areas are the horizontal equivalent.)
If you reside on a property with a natural slope, you have a surface beyond that shewn on your title deeds, but you could not place a larger building upon
Let us first consider a survey made with the chain measure only, and without the use of an instrument (theodolite). (Such a survey can be undertaken by any layman and will be approximately correct.)
In figure No. 2 is shewn an irregular shaped field. Each of the four sides is measured on the ground, and diagonals as check lines. Having these measurements and deciding upon a suitable scale, the various measurements are taken, one at a time, on a pair of compasses and arcs drawn, the points of intersections of the arcs being the corners of the field. If the ground is on a slope, the measurements are taken on the horizontal, and a “plumbob” used to mark this length on the slope. (See Fig. No. 3.)
The width of a river, too wide to be spanned by direct measurement, may be ascertained by proceeding as shewn in figure No. 4. At C, in the line AB, a line CD, is laid off close to the river bank and at right angles to AB. The line CD is halved at E, and the line DF laid off parallel to CA. As soon as the point F comes into line with BE then DF equals CB. Deducting the distances of B and C from the actual river bank, the width of water is given. In laying off the right angle a triangle with sides measuring 3, 4 and 5, or any multiple thereof is set out with the chain. (See Fig. No. 5.)
A survey of a stream meandering through a field may be completed with the use of a chain only, as shewn in Fig. No. 6. Check measurements or tie lines across the angles, as shewn by line ABC, ensure the accuracy of the survey. The distance of the stream bank from the adjoining survey line is observed and noted at each chain, when measuring along the lines.
For accurate surveying an instrument of great precision, called a theodolite, is used.
Though to the uninitiated this instrument appears extremely complicated, its manipulation is simple. The theodolite is used only for measuring angles, both vertical and horizontal, and for placing marks, or stations, in a straight line in any desired direction. It is not used for the purpose of making calculations, as it is popularly supposed.
There is a story of a bush surveyor buying a dead pig for camp meat from a Maori. The price agreed upon was 3d. a pound. The Maori was told to hang the pig on a tree. The surveyor had a look at it through the theodolite. He estimated the pig would weigh 100lbs., so he told the Maori the instrument gave the weight as 60lbs., which at 3d. a pound, the instrument calculated as 12s. 6d. The Maori accepted this sum with bad grace, but returned the next day with a battered ready reckoner wherein 60lbs. at 3d. a pound was correctly shewn as 15s. The surveyor asked to have a look at the book, and then informed the Maori that the book was no good as it was last year's and out of date, so the Maori was quite satisfied, being convinced of the calculating powers of the theodolite.
The instrument is mounted on three strong legs to give rigidity, and is set up directly over a mark, or station, by a “plumbob” hanging from the instrument. The machine is levelled up true by thumb screws operating a spirit bubble, similar to that on a carpenter's level. For horizontal angles two flat circular plates, about six inches in diameter and half an inch thick, move one above the other. The edge of the lower plate is graduated with great precision shewing degrees and half degrees, and on the upper plate is a scale shewing further graduations in minutes. The moving of one plate on the other permits of any angle through which the plates have moved being read. A magnifying glass is used for accurate reading. For vertical angles two similar plates with the graduated markings are mounted vertically on the machine. The complete circle is divided into 360 degrees, each further divided by the upper scale into 60 minutes, and further divided into 60 seconds. The circle is thus divided into no less than 1,296,000 parts. In practice it is only possible to read to one-
Mounted on the horizontal axis of the instrument is a small telescope, in the eye-piece of which fine cross lines at right angles fix the central point in the line of sight.
To observe any angle, either horizontal or vertical, made by two objects with the position occupied by the instrument, all that is required is to bring one object into focus with the telescope centre, clamp the lower plate in that position, read the bearing or angle made by the adjoining plate, and swing the telescope to the second object. The top plate turns with the telescope, and on reading the bearing now made by the two plates, the angle traversed by turning the telescope from one object to the other may be read off the scale.
To place a number of marks or stations in any given direction the horizontal plates are clamped together, the telescope pointed in the desired direction and then moved vertically and focussed on each mark as required. This is a brief and very elementary description of a theodolite and its use.
Varying in accordance with their magnitude, the angles and sides of triangles have certain relationships to one another. This relationship is called trigonometry and books of tables giving this information are used. When certain sides and angles of a triangle are known, the remaining sides or angles are readily found. I have shown in figure No. 7 the various cases, with known sides or angles in full lines, from which the remaining sides and angles are obtainable. It will be seen that practically all contingencies are met.
It is advisable to make a special note that the sum of the three angles in any triangle equal two right angles or 180 degrees, and that the adjoining angles made by a straight line meeting another straight line also equal two right angles or 180 degrees. I also bring particularly under notice the relationship of the sides of a right angled triangle i.e., a triangle having one of its angles a right angle, or 90 degrees, as this will be referred to again. This relationship is that the longer side multiplied by itself equals the sum of the two other sides when multiplied by themselves. (See Fig. No. 8.) It is interesting to note the figures 3, 4 and 5 make a right angled triangle, and should you desire to set out a right angle, such as for marking out a tennis court, these figures are easily memorised.
I mentioned previously that all measurements are horizontal, and if taken on the slope are reduced to the horizontal equivalent. In figure No. 9 is shewn an inclined measurement, and the method of arriving at the horizontal distance. The angle A of slope is observed at the instrument, the angle B is known to be a right angle, and as the sum of the angles of a triangle equal two right angles, the angle at C must be the difference between a right angle and the angle at A. We thus have a triangle ABC with all angles known, and also the side AC. The tables are looked up for the side AB, and the horizontal measurement AB is given.
In figures No. 10 and 10a are shewn the methods of ascertaining the height of inaccessible points. The observed measurements are in full lines. It will be seen the inaccessible angle and sides are computed. In arriving at the height of the mountain peak in figure 10a the side BC in the triangle ABC is first found. Then in the triangle BCD the angle BCD is known, as it equals 180 degrees less angle ACB. The angle D is a right angle, therefore the angle CBD equals a right angle less angle BCD, as the sum of the angles must equal two right angles. The height of the mountain can now be computed.
I will now deal with surveying in its general application, and take the period when New Zealand was a virgin country, as far as surveys were concerned.
The first work undertaken was the major triangulation, or the accurate location of prominent landmarks such as mountain peaks, hills, or in flat country,
Surveying in Relation to Railway Engineering.
Particulars explanatory of the above drawings are given in the accompanying letterpress.
The first operation is to locate a base line some 10 to 12 miles long on level country. This line is measured with great accuracy many times, and the mean measurement adopted. Extreme care is taken in this measurement, and allowance is made for the expansion of the measuring band through changes of temperature. Permanent monuments are placed at the terminals, and the bearing of the line in relation to true North is obtained by repeated theodolite observations of the sun by day and certain stars by night, the true bearing being found from astronomical tables. The base measurement and its bearing having been fixed, the horizontal angles to some distant prominent major mountain peak, or hilltop, are observed from each end of the base line, and the angles made with the base line are recorded. (See ABC in Fig. No. 11.)
A triangle is thus obtained with the base as the known side, two angles known and the third computed, being the difference of the sum of the two known angles and 180 degrees. The unknown sides are then computed. These sides are then used for bases of other triangles, without actual measurement, and observations are made from these sides to other major points, and the process is carried on ad infinitum. Minor triangulation is a further breaking up of the major triangulation to provide points of ready accessibility for surveyors.
It will be seen that the whole of New Zealand can thus be surveyed with the taking of only one actual measurement, i.e., the original base line, all other measurements being computed. Cook Strait could be spanned by observations to prominent landmarks on each side. There is no possibility of error provided the original base line and angles are correctly observed, as each subsequent triangle in the triangulation automatically checks itself with the adjoining triangles. Minor triangulation is further subdivided in town areas into a standard survey for the town, and standard blocks or stations are placed permanently at street intersections. These are placed with great accuracy as the value of the adjoining property is high and any discrepancy would be costly.
An instance of this may serve to lighten this somewhat serious subject. An ingenious person once “raised the wind” by obtaining the loan of a decrepit theodolite, and planting it in the main street of a small town, spent most of the day making great pretence of taking observations and measurements to the hotel on the corner. Later in the day he waited upon the publican and informed him he regretted that he found the hotel encroached about two feet on the public street. The publican was very disturbed, and gave the man £10 to say nothing about it.
Surveyors use standard blocks when surveying (usually at daylight) in town areas, so as to avoid interruption from street traffic, and have probably been seen doing so by many persons. All surveys are connected by measurement to the nearest trig station in the country, and to a standard block in a town. This permits of any survey being subsequently reproduced with great accuracy from the trig or standard block.
We will assume it is desired to survey an estate for subdivision. The surveyor proceeds to a convenient trig in the vicinity, takes an. observation to an adjacent trig, the bearing and distance of which is recorded on the triangulation maps. Survey lines are then run around the boundaries of the estate, the bearing of each line and its accurate horizontal measurement being recorded, and so back to the starting point at the trig. If the work has been well done the distance travelled north will equal the distance travelled south, and the distance travelled
In plotting the plan it is interesting to note that each point north, south, east or west, of the original starting place of the survey at the trig, is plotted in relation to the trig and not in relation to the previous point, as the plotting of the different points proceeds. For instance, a joiner has a piece of moulding 36in. long, which he desires to mark off in inch lengths. If he measured one inch and then another inch, and so on to the end, he would
Early Days on the Wairarapa line.
Wellington-Masterton excursion train at Cross Creek, North Island, New Zealand, 1st November, 1880.
The plan having been completed, the subdivision lines are decided upon, and these are reproduced on the ground, using the points of the original survey for check purposes. If it is desired to subdivide a piece of land of unknown area the survey is made and the area is computed from the plan. On the other hand, if it is desired to subdivide a given area the subdivision is computed from the plan and reproduced on the ground.
Surveys are made of all mine workings underground, for it is by this means all material that can be safely removed is brought to the surface. The only method of ascertaining the proximity of adjoining headings and galleries is by accurate survey and plotting on plans.
(To be continued.)
The following is the second instalment of the text of a little booklet, explanatory of the services and facilities of the New Zealand Railways, recently issued by the Railways Publicity Branch and distributed to all schools throughout the Dominion.
As the people own the railways, the policy of the State is to give the best possible service to the people in various ways. Therefore the ordinary fares are kept on the lowest possible scale, and there are
What is the “family concession ticket”? What does it mean? It means that father and mother and all of their children under 16 years of age can travel together, second class, at the cost of only three full tickets. The journey must be one of not less than 20 miles, and the children must be accompanied by at least one of their parents. For example, for a distance of 25 miles the ordinary full second-class return fare is 5s. 6d., and the holiday excursion fare 4s. Father, mother and six children (under the age of 16 years) could travel on the “family concession ticket” for 16s. 6d. (ordinary) or 12s. (holiday excursion).
The Railway Pocket Guide gives full information of other important concessions.
(To be continued.)
The success of the special loading provisions made for handling motor cars by train between Springfield and Otira, through the tunnel section of the trans-island railway, is exemplified by the increasing traffic carried by this means. Reports to hand show that, especially during holiday periods, a great deal of use is made of this easy means of transport for motorists between East and West. For instance, last Christmas Day fifteen cars were trucked through the tunnel. No one who has traversed the dreary country by road between Porter's Pass and Arthur's Pass, including the treacherous crossing of the Upper Waimakariri, will be surprised that motorists find the railway the cheapest and best way in the long run, for overcoming the alpine barrier between Canterbury and Westland.
A good deal of well-intentioned fun has been directed at the Safety First movement of late, following the somewhat caustic remarks concerning Safety First emanating from a well-known flying woman. “I do not believe in Safety First, because I do not think it gets us anywhere; but I do believe in taking every precaution you can, and then taking risks.” Thus broadcasted Miss Amy Johnson on the conclusion of her England-Australia “hop.”
As a matter of fact, the idea underlying the “Safety First” movement as we know it in the railway world, is not solely one of appealing to human fears. Rather is it one of building up affirmative and constructive thought, whereby there are developed the benefits and advantages of safety in contrast with the disastrous consequences of its neglect. “I do believe in taking every precaution you can,” says Miss Johnson. And that is precisely what the disciples of “Safety First” have been seeking to impress upon the railwayman's mind for the past two decades. The main principles of Safety First, Accident Prevention, or whatever you prefer to call the movement, are sound in the extreme. Railwaymen the world over would be well advised to be ever watchful of their own safety and of that of their fellows, for nothing is of greater value than human life, and nothing is easier to destroy or blemish through careless action.
Safety of travel on the railways is incidentally acknowledged in certain free accident insurance schemes. Thus we find the Auckland Star in a recent issue holding out the inducement, to subscribers, of free insurance “up to £4,000 in the event of husband and wife being killed in a railway accident.” The same scheme provides a benefit of only £250 in the case of a motor car fatality.
In view of the New Zealand Railways five years’ world's record in the safe transport of over 125 million railway passengers—it is not surprising that circulation stimulators should find backing the railway so heavily in preference to the motor a safe security on an insurance gamble—they have irrefutable statistics to justify their optimism.
In his current Letter, our special London Correspondent gives some interesting particulars of recent publicity activities on the Home railways, and discusses the trend of public opinion in France concerning the question of rail-road coordination.
At a time when railways the world over are finding themselves hard hit by trade depression and the competition of the road carrier, it is fitting that attention should be paid to every possible means of attracting the traveller to the rail route and perfecting each piece of equipment that goes to form the rail transportation machine. There are many ways, and inexpensive ways, too, by which passenger travel may be brightened and rendered more attractive to the public. One of these is by giving to the city and country railway stations a more pleasing appearance through the employment of better lighting arrangements; strict attention to cleanliness in and around station premises; the better exhibition of posters, excursion bills, and other advertising matter; and the adoption of the most courteous and friendly attitude towards patrons and prospective patrons on the part of the station staffs of every grade.
A passenger station is, in many ways, the shop window of a railway undertaking, and it is really surprising how attractive a show may be made in this window by the exercise of a little ingenuity and painstaking endeavour. On the Home railways a great deal is being done towards brightening up passenger stations, and as part of the salesmanship campaign of the four big group railways much care is being devoted to the improvement of station appearances. On the newly electrified London suburban tracks of the Southern Railway especially, very happy results have been attained in station brightening. Quite apart from the improvements achieved through money spent on platform lengthening and widening, and the provision of roomier concourses and the like, the Southern Railway has worked wonders in the London area in brightening its stations by rearranging the lighting systems favoured at the different points, by insisting upon absolute cleanliness everywhere, and by encouraging the staffs to adorn the railway premises with pleasing flower gardens, hanging flower baskets, and similar decorations. Among the stations where this improvement plan is much in evidence are those at Wimbledon, Staines, Windsor, Richmond, and Hampton Court. At most points on the London suburban electrified tracks of the Southern Railway lending themselves to treatment, novel flood lighting is being employed with considerable effect. Outside each station the words “Southern
Electrification, of course, lends itself to many pleasing station improvements. At the present time Great Britain carries more passengers electrically than any other country in Europe, and the London suburban electrifications of the Southern
A Shop window on the home railways.
The attractive exterior of Wimbledon Station, Southern Railway, England.
Ten years ago an Advisory Committee set up by the Government decided in favour of direct current, at a voltage of 1,500 at the substation busbars, as standard for all Home railway electrifications. A sub-multiple of 750 volts, or a multiple of 3,000 volts, could be approved by the Ministry of Transport in cases where such stock is either at 600 volts—the urban voltage in London—or at 650 volts for suburban work, such as on the Southern line, has been recognised by the recommendation that, while electric motors should be designed to give the best results at the voltage for which they have to work, all motors in future should be capable of working at 750 volts or at 1,500 volts as the case might be. Overhead collection is standardised at Home for 1,500 volts, but third rail collection is permitted in special circumstances, with uninsulated return by the running rails.
In a recent paper read by Mr. Roger T. Smith (formerly electrical engineer of the
A Peep at Picturesque Holland.
The approach viaduct to Rotterdam Central Passenger Station.
In France there are in use some 757,700 passenger-carrying road vehicles; 328,500 motor cycles and side-cars; and 330,700 commercial trucks. In the main, road transport services running in direct competition with the French railways are not encouraged by the Government. Support is, however, given by the French Government to motor services acting as feeders to the railways. Through the utilisation of railway-operated road transport, the French railways are hoping to extend their influence into territory as yet untapped, and also to provide on a greater scale convenient store-door services embracing both rail and highway conveyance. Road services are replacing rail services on many French branch lines, while on other branch routes steam and petrol rail-motors are being largely employed. Public opinion in France now insists that taxes or burdens should not be unequally placed upon the several modes of transportation, and Government encouragement of rail-road co-ordination is recognised as an important need.
European railways are now putting in hand their passenger publicity campaigns for the 1931 tourist season, extending from May to October. The first big passenger movement of the year is that of conveying to and from Holland the large numbers of travellers who annually make the pilgrimage to the Netherlands during the spring bulb season. Holland is the biggest bulb-growing country in the world, and during late April and May the whole countryside is one vast mass of bloom, the combinations of colours forming a sight probably unequalled the world over.
Owing to the flat nature of the country, railway operation in Holland is a comparatively simple business. There are in
During the Dutch bulb season the Home railways secure attractive publicity for their continental services by the display of large bowls of the brightly coloured blooms in the windows of the various city offices and tourist bureaux.
This is an age of scientific publicity, and in advertising their passenger and goods services the Home railways make use of many clever publicity devices. One of the latest advertising plans is that of
Passenger publicity in its Latest form.
Miniature golf course at Charing Cross, London Underground Railways.
A somewhat more out-of-the-ordinary publicity plan is that recently adopted by the Underground Railways of London in installing at their Charing Cross station a miniature golf course. The hazards at the moment are those normally supplied on miniature golf course sets, but it is shortly intended to introduce hazards in reference to the Underground Railways. The course is situated in the circulating area of the station, and is open to the public free of charge. On the opening day some 370 people made the “round” of the course, and a great deal of excellent publicity is being secured by the Underground Railways in this novel fashion.
Panoraming the longest tunnel in the Empire was a task I had allotted to myself before leaving the South Island. But it was not only the Arthur's. Pass tunnels (there are sixteen of them), with their whole minutes of increasing darkness and retreating pin-points of daylight, that were romantic in themselves. For the ordinary passenger intent, say, on reading his daily newspaper in comfort, I did realise the attraction of an inside seat in a first-class compartment.
The rear riding rail of the last carriage was a very good friend to me at several points of the journey, a great part of which, incidentally, is through the steepest mountain country in New Zealand. A wonderful experience for the more adventurous tourist would be to climb right outside the bar and sit on one of the bumpers. The unadventurous tourist had better give bumpers a wide berth, however, for it is by no means an easy matter to regain the gangway once you have succeeded in the perilous task of climbing down. There is at least one part of the shining metal track that I shall remember well!
Catching the 10 o'clock Christchurch to Greymouth Express, I first secured a seat in the rearmost compartment. Then, armed with a special permit from the authorities, I approached the guard.
“Guard,” I said, “I wish to ride at the very back of your train through the tunnels.” He looked at me, that blue-eyed guard. He looked at me, and—he sighed. Rare, I imagine, are English journalists upon that line, and few of them carry movie cameras. Fewer still, doubtless, dress in rags for the occasion. I happen to possess one suit—and I did not want to spoil it—so I had put on a pair of aged “plus fours” and a threadbare raincoat. All things considered, I suppose I must have looked a bit of a tramp. But the guard was most courteous as well as immaculate, so he sighed and almost shook his head, but he let me do as I wanted. It was at my own risk, he told me. It would be useless to expect the train to stop if I fell off. For the simple reason that no one would know.
Within a few minutes I was in position, movie camera in one hand and grasping the safety catch with the other. From Christchurch to Greymouth is one hundred and forty-five miles, and the journey takes about four hours. The moment I had passed Springfield it began to dawn upon me that I was taking a big risk. To begin with, however, there was a very gradual slope, and, even without a bar to steady me, I was able to film a few feet of landscape round about the Kowai bush country. After Staircase the train began to climb steadily, winding in and out along S-shaped gradients and over steel-girdered viaducts, which thereabouts link together the brown and grey cliff sides of Broken River.
To an Englishman, there is nothing more wonderful than the way these forested ravines are spanned. Looking down at the blue-green water, ninety feet below, I realised what even a momentarily carelessness on the part of the enginedriver would mean. It says much for the personnel of the New Zealand railway staff that not a single fatal accident has occurred since the opening of the line. More than one motor car has “piled up” on the more dangerous parts of the roadside. Between Avoca and Cass we passed the scene of such a puncture tragedy. Fortunately there were others rendering help.
“Safety First” is a steadily pursued motto with New Zealand engine-drivers.
As we went through tunnel after tunnel in quick succession, I used up three containers full of film, taking the entrances and exits of these “defiles”—they really were rather black inside for photographic purposes, yet it was with a triumphant and wholly pleased sensation that I at last jumped to the ground at Arthur's Pass.
The longest tunnel in the Empire. Arthur's Pass! The name alone always held a lure for me—the lure of green forests, snow-covered heights, gold, rivers, bridges, viaducts. But the greatest advantage a railroad traveller has over the motorist in this trip is that he can break his train journey and walk over the pass. There is good accommodation for the night at either end of the track, either at the Hostel at Arthur's Pass itself or at the Gorge Hotel near Otira Railway Station. Then, rested and refreshed, the next day the traveller may continue on his way by train down the beautiful Otira Gorge, with its stately trees and rushing torrents. Personally, however, I decided to double back early in the morning for the trip through the five and a quarter mile tunnel. Having leisure hours to spend before continuing the next day, I was able to secure some more “movies,” which I deemed prudent to leave in the carriage where I had a seat, before I again ventured out on to the back. Arthur's Pass was looking particularly attractive the morning we approached the tunnel portal.
But, to my complete surprise, an electric engine was now drawing the train. The rows of clean white lights on either side clearly illuminated the tunnel, giving one the impression of travelling through an immense and exquisitely arranged glow-worm cavern. Ever and again from above, the blue electricity sparked and flashed merrily, for all the world like a Chinese cracker. Presently, looking ahead, halfway through, I saw a small white dot of light; and looking back it was the same size—an infallible test (I was informed by the guard who was now with me) of the straightness of the tunnelling. Presently, as we neared the far end, drops of moisture began to trickle from the coach. Then daylight came again, and we passed out of the tunnel with the blue Otira river now far below on our right.
Putting on the Finishing Touches.
(W. W. Stewart, photo.)
W.G. Class locomotive in the final stages of repair at the Hutt Valley Workshops, Wellington.
There are other scenes in that journey I shall never forget. The gangmen along the line busy at a job of work was one of them. They represent the railway police force, which is as efficient as those who maintain law and order in New Zealand cities. They watch out for possible marauders, and daily inspect portions of the line. Right down to Greymouth you will see them “on the road.” If anything should go wrong, well trained and equipped emergency workers are ready to go out to do immediate repair work. Nothing, as far as I can see on the New Zealand railways, is ever left to chance. Nor shall I forget the courtesy of every one of the railway officials with whom I came in contact. This “human touch” is one of my most pleasant recollections of travel on the New Zealand Railways.
This extract from a recent speech by the Governor-General of the Dominion should be pasted up in every city office, and recited at every meeting of Chambers of Commerce, as a prayerful preliminary to the business of the day:-
“It is up to the townsman to remember that his ultimate economic salvation lies not on his own urban doorstep, however well scrubbed it may be, not even in his comfortable office with his typewriters, dockets and files around him, but in the fair green countryside where New Zealand's butter, cheese, wool, meat, fruit, honey, and flax and timber are being produced, ay, and up in the back-blocks where conditions are hard and life is strenuous, but where the vital spark of the nation is still aglow and the spirit of the sturdy resourceful pioneer, who laid the foundations of her economic structure barely one hundred years ago, is still determined and resourceful.”
It is a fact that is too little realised by the comfortable city dweller, who is apt to be hypnotised, in a manner, by the sight of the luxuries of his town, by the big buildings going up all around him, by the heavy traffic of business, and the still heavier traffic of the town pleasure-seekers. Lord Bledisloe, essentially a country-lover, is exactly the man for the times. Only too well he realises the necessity for directing more attention to the country, and to its industries, upon which all the towns depend. The Railway Department's periodical commerce trains, too, have their splendid uses towards this end, for they compel, in an attractive way, the city man to focus his attention for a while on what the country means to him.
Recent mention of the small steamer Taniwha striking a snag and sinking in the Waihou River, near Puriri, in a fog, recalled to one's memory a little incident of goodness knows how long ago. It was on the maiden trip of that Gulf and river packet from Auckland to the Thames and Paeroa. The Taniwha was quite a smart ship, and the owners hired a band for the cruise, and invited various prominent citizens. We were steaming serenely up the Waihou on a beautiful Sunday morning. The peach-trees were all out in blossom as we went round Thorpe's Bend, and opened up a long vista of smooth, shining river, fringed with weeping willows that dipped their trailers in the water. The brass band, on the foredeck, was playing “List to the Convent Bells,”
Suddenly there was a tremendous bump, a shiver of the steamer's hull, then another bump. The passengers fell into each other's arms, and slithered about the deck. “Convent Bells” stopped with a horrible discordant jerk; band and instruments went over in a tangled heap. It was not serious; we had only run on a submerged mud-bank. It was within tidal influence, and it was not yet high water. So the skipper set all hands to work running in a body from one side of the deck to the other, to roll her off. There were men of weight and substance there, and soon we were afloat again, and steaming away as smoothly as before. The band did not recover so quickly from the shock. It wasn't used to such startling interruptions of its harmonies, and the ship's steward found it necessary to administer first aid in many long pewters before jangled nerves recovered. “Convent Bells” were not resumed, but by the time Paeroa wharf was reached the band was playing “A Life on the Ocean Wave” as bold as brass.
Our American visitors in the luxurious liner “Malolo” were pleased with us, it was pleasing to hear, and they particularly admired Wellington Harbour, which was very nice of them. But one passenger was very disappointed at seeing no Maoris while he was motoring around the Capital City; at least he saw one native, but he was dressed just like anyone else. This is a frequent complaint, or rather comment, by overseas visitors. They have seen so much of the poster and illustrated-annual type of Maori, all in his primitive glory, that it comes as a kind of shock to find that the ancient race has discarded all the warlike fixings, in ordinary life, and wears high collars and often plus fours—and drives his motor car and talks quite polished English. The tourist makes the mistake, quite naturally, of accepting the poi-girl haka-warrior Maori of entertainment occasions at Rotorua as typical of the race throughout the country.
Kerikeri, the scene of that bullock-team ploughing for wheat-growing, is a place of remarkable historic interest for us, quite a story treasure-place, slumbering there beside its tidal river-basin. It has the oldest wooden building and the oldest stone building in New Zealand. The timber structure is the mission house now occupied bv the Kemp family; it was built in 1819. The fort-like stone store, built in 1833 as the base for mission supplies, on the little seaport where the track went in to the Waimate station, looks fit to stand for centuries yet; and the mission house built of the best timbers in the land should last for many a generation, like the well-built country homes in the Old Land.
Some of our New Zealand birds—the bellbird is one—are mimics and seem to take a delight in forging notes to deceive the bush-traveller. But the long-tailed cuckoo, called by the Maoris the koekoea, or the kohoperoa, is the arch-deceiver. You may hear one quite close by you, in a tree, but immediately he detects your presence he adopts protective tactics. The next shrill cuckoo call will come apparently from a distance, and you may imagine the bird to have taken flight to the tree from which the cry seemingly came. But Mr. Koekoea has not stirred; he is sitting as still as can be on the same branch, maybe watching you through its leaves to see how well he has fooled you. He is a quite unscrupulous beggar this same cuckoo, like his cousin the shining cuckoo, or pipi-wharauroa. He eggs on his partner to lay in the little grey warbler's nest, throwing that long-suffering bird's eggs out to make room for hers, and so foisting his offspring on the patient riroriro and evading his own clear duty as food-provider.
It should be made more widely known that Rotorua is not only the focus of the
He can live on the products of bush, sea and creek. And even the Rotorua folk, who charm the eyes and ears of tourists with their entertainments, are hardworking toilers on the land most of their time.
A veteran North Island sawmiller, who has had to do with the bush all his life, was discussing with me the other day the importance of the inter-relation of forest and native bird life. “Birds,” he
A Hieroglyphic Puzzle.
(Photo, A. P. Godber.)
The interesting tattooed rocks at Raglan, the inscription on which offers an interesting problem to the student of hieroglyphics.
According to a writer in the London Times the Great Western Railways “Cheltenham Flyer,” which is probably the world's fastest train, being booked to run the 77.3 miles from Swindon to Paddington in 70 minutes, start to stop, recently covered the distance in 65½ minutes. This fine achievement brought the average speed, start to stop from 66 to 71 miles an hour. Fifty consecutive miles were run at an average speed of 78 miles an hour, while a speed of 82 miles an hour was maintained for several miles near Didcot.
Pretoria is a charming city—to those New Zealand Rough Riders who thirty years ago lined up along Church Square, sitting in their saddles in the hot sun, waiting to be inspected by Lord Roberts, the charm of the place still remains. But the years between now and then have brought changes. The forts on the hills above, on which the Kruger Government spent millions—from which not a shot was fired—are now abandoned to the roving breezes and the creeping shadows. From the look-outs no horseman can be seen patrolling across the boundless veldt, and no gunfire startles the quiet of the sun-scorched spaces.
But to the range finder the puzzle of the distances is the same—everything seems near. A pillar of smoke rising up from the Premier Diamond Mine, thirty miles off, seems within reach, and the Maollisberg Ranges—fifty miles away as the vulture flies-seem just under your hat-brim. And the moon shining at the Fountains, and the Waterkloof, is still the moon of other days, and the roses in the garden at “Jerr's” cottage still blow in the breezes just as they did when the Rough Riders from Maoriland rode by, all on a summer's day.
The railway station at Pretoria is an imposing stone building where quiet and order reign. The trains leave on schedule time, and the rolling stock appears to be kept in excellent repair, the engines are big and powerful, and the carriages are designed to make travelling easy over long distances (from the Cape to the Zambesi one is five days and four nights in the train), and the officials are courteous and well-informed.
The tracks are well ballasted, and running conditions are smooth. The curves are wide, with little side sway when the trains are running fast.
Under the compartment system one has privacy, while the platforms along the full length of the train give ample opportunity for walking about. The beds are clean and comfortable, and night travelling is a pleasant experience. Electric reading lights are at the head of each bed, and the attention is equal to that on a well-conducted steamer. Morning coffee at 6.30, breakfast in your compartment or in the dining carriage at your choice, and—your ticket is looked at once a day.
Booking may be done days before travelling, and your name appears on an official list at the station, and also on the window of the compartment where your seat is. There is no rush, and everyone knows just where to go. Leaving Johannesburg at 8 p.m., level crossings are numerous.
There is a lot of signalling, and travelling is slow till the open veldt is reached, when the train then quickens up to a long easy running swing as it starts to eat up the 1,000 miles between it and the Zambesi.
The South African nights on the high veldt are full of stars and stillness. The lights from the carriage windows shine on strange sights, here and there a Kaffir camp, where dark shadows fall across the firelight and greet the train with strange calls as it rushes by like a long arrow of light, into the darkness in front; and one wonders who and what are these unknown railway men that “push” these big engines across a dark continent.
The train reaches Mafeking at 7 a.m. The land around is as level as a prairie, with nothing but the grass, the sky, and the sun. The distances are so great that the speed of the train seems only as the crawl of an insect across a world. The earthworks are standing where Baden Powell made history, and near to the
“With those that bred, with those that loosed the strife,
They had no part whose hands were clear of gain;
But subtle, strong, and stubborn gave their life
To a lost cause, and knew the gift was vain.”
Scenes on the South African Railways.
The Kruger Statue, Pretoria.
(Photo, E. Peters, Capetown.)
Victoria Falls as seen from the Gorge.
North of Mafeking the train travels for six hours across the Kalahari Desert, with the temperature at 110 deg. in the shade. The sun's rays strike as through a burning glass, and the desert sands throw off heat like the ashes from a fire. At 4 p.m. the desert is crossed, and the country changes to hills and grass.
Night saw a South African storm. Waves of light shone with startling suddenness across half the sky, but at first there was no sound. Forks of fire played along the sky-line, as the electric current came in contact with the iron ore on the hill-tops. Rain fell in waves driven forward by hurricanes of wind. The lower sky was blazing like a world of picture palaces. Then the thunder rolled and the noise split the ears like the sound from millions of machine guns. Yellow flames stabbed the sky, followed with a noise like the crash of worlds, and the country round seemed to be on fire.
The train reaches Bulawayo at 8 a.m. Within one and a half hours drive by motor are the Matopo Hills, where, on the top of a smooth monolith of granite, is the grave of Cecil Rhodes. North of Bulawayo the train passes through country like that round New Zealand's Woodville—good grass and heavy timber, but without the snow-clad Ruahines.
The country is full of lions, and the railway men say they come at night round the tanks for water. The line here runs seventy miles as straight as a theodolite can shoot it—the second longest non-curve run in the world.
The train arrives at Victoria Falls at 10.30 p.m. The hotel adjoins the station grounds. A swarm of “boys” take your luggage to the finest hotel beween the Cape and Cairo. The Turkish carpets are soft under foot, the fountains throw their spray on gorgeous palms, the plaza is ablaze with light, and bright silk frocks
Mosquito nets are in evidence, for it is a fever country, and only 1,200 miles from the equator.
Time and space would fail to tell of the beauty of the Falls. They and the railways are the two striking features in a great country. After viewing the former an American tourist cabled to his President, “Scrap Niagara.” On the railways some £25,000,000 a year is spent. The distances are great—from the Cape to the Zambesi, and back is a journey of 5,000 miles, and east and west are further distances—distances not measured in miles, but in days. The railway guides read: First day, second day, third day, and so on. There, “The Over Lords of all the Earth,” contend with the great spaces of a continent without a rival, and when you have come
Publicity Methods On The New Zealand Railways.
The striking flashing electric sign recently erected by the Department on the Central Booking Office at Auckland.
“We farmers are to blame to a large extent for the position of the railways,” was the candid admission of Mr. D. B. Higgins, a Matamata farmer, who was a member of the deputation which waited upon the Government recently, at which four Cabinet Ministers were present.
“There was a general feeling,” said Mr. Higgins, “that it was possible for the farmer to have made the railways pay, but they had taken the traffic from the railways. Mr. H. H. Sterling, General Manager of Railways, had met them to discuss the matter, and they were going to ask all farmers in their district to put their freight on the rails. If they showed a little consideration and supported the railways, they would soon put some of the American lorries off the roads, and would enable the railways to work at fuller capacity….”
Here and There on the Auckland-Rotorua Line, New Zealand
Some interesting snaps obtained during a recent trip on the “Rotorua Limited: (running daily between Auckland and New Zealand's Thermal Wonderland). (1) Mr. T. D. Street, the driver of the “Rotorua Limited”; (2), (3) at Frankton Junction; (4), (13) Mr. T. A. Cox (guard) giving familiar signals to the enginedriver; (5), at Hamilton Station; (6) descending the Mamaku Hill; (7) crossing the Waikato River at Hamilton; (9) at Morrinsville Junction; (10) at Matmata; (11) at Rotorua; (12) at Putaruru.
From Mr. J. F. Laing, Greymouth, to the General Manager of Railways, Wellington:—
I wish to convey to the Station-master, Ohakune Junction, my heartiest thanks for recovering a travelling rug I left in the Auckland Express recently. As this rug was a present to me I was very pleased to recover it again and regret any inconvenience which my loss occasioned the Department. The action on the part of the stationmaster and his men will ever be remembered by me.
* * *
From the Secretary, The Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Society, Dunedin, too Mr. J. Boswell, Goods Agent, Dunedin:—
I desire on behalf of the Committee to express their thanks and appreciation for the satisfactory manner in which all stock was handled at our recent Summer Show. We have received no complaints from exhibitors, many of them expressing themselves as well satisfied with the attention they received, especially in the prompt despatch that was given to all stock after their arrival in Dunedin.
* * *
From Mrs. M. Biggins, Dallington, Christchurch, to the General Manager of Railways, Wellington.
Have just completed a tour of North and South Island and must write and tell you how pleased we were with the cleanliness of Ashbur-ton station. The waiting room was one of the cleanest we have ever been in. We were much impressed with the beautiful garden, in fact cannot speak too highly of everything connected with Ashburton railway station. It reflects great credit on the Station-master and staff.
* * *
From the Secretary, “Waikato Times” Sports Club, Hamilton, to the Station-master, Hamilton:—
It again falls on me to express the appreciation of my committee for the help and assistance rendered our picnic by your staff. May I also add my own personal thanks to you all for the help, advice and valuable assistance given me in organising the trip.
I will look forward with confidence and pleasure at some future date to again securing such courteous treatment.
* * *
From the President, the South Island Fruit and Produce Brokers’ Association, to the Stationmaster, Bluff:—
Mr. Mclndoe, the Government Orchardist Instructor, who inspected a consignment of bananas on behalf of the Government and the Brokers’ Association, advised the writer that yourself and staff did absolutely everything possible to facilitate the handling of the fruit, and to protect the merchants against any probable loss by delay and deterioration.
On behalf of the South Island Fruit Brokers' Association, and the members interested, I wish most sincerely to thank you for the very efficient manner, the kind courtesy, and the very capable services that each and everyone, from your good self, to the humblest porter, rendered our Association. It is such service as this that will eventually enable the Railway to overcome its difficulties.
Commenting on the Railway Department's mobilisation of rolling stock, which, after the prompt restoration of rail communication, was concentrated on Napier in readiness to effect, if necessary, the evacuation of the town after the recent big earthquake, the “Evening Post,” Wellington, says:—
“The speed with which the Railways Department restored communication has already been noted, but it may not be realised that the Department had so mobilised its rolling stock that, had it been necessary to evacuate 15,000 or 20,000 people from Napier, the thing could have been done in about six hours. There were available 150 railway cars and 50 railway wagons, or 200 in all, each with a capacity (in emergency) of 100 people, or 20,000 people in all. It is estimated that 19-car trains could have left every half-hour, and that eleven of these trains, going out at half-hourly intervals, could have done the job.
The capacity of a single track railway is indeed far higher than is generally realised. It has the advantages of singleness of control and complete possession of its own track. Its controlling authority can so order traffic that a movement outward or inward goes on without interruption. It is not slowed or stopped by rain-soaked roads, and the permanent way is not breakable except by some major blow, the effects of which, unless constantly renewed, can be quickly repaired.
The thousands of motor-cars on the high quality Hawke's Bay roads (much bitumen - surfaced, the rest metalled) made a great show, in good weather and in a favourable environment. As small independent units, they were highly efficient. But as a transport system the potentialities of the railway (once restored) were increased. Had it been a question of mass movement instead of individual movements, the railways would have come into their own. And New Zealand's railway service is so manned with experts that devastated areas could have been filled at short notice with disciplined teams of workers (navvies, artisans, etc.) had it been decided to carry on a reconstruction campaign in that manner.”
Railway Mechanical Craftsmen in the Making.
(Photo, A. P. Godber.)
The first annual examination of apprentices held at the Hutt Valley Workshops, Wellington, in November, 1930.
(continued.)
In anticipation of the opening of the line, the Provincial Council passed, on 19th August, 1863, the Ferrymead Railway and Wharf Tolls Ordinance. This authorised the Superintendent to arrange for working the railway, and to make bylaws for the control of the traffic. The Ordinance contains the first railway tariff in the colony. This tariff is a simple document. The charge's authorised were:—Passengers 3/- each. Horses 5/-each. Horned or neat cattle 3/- each. Sheep, pigs, and goats 1/- each.
General goods by weight or measurement, not exceeding 12/6 per ton. General goods in parcels of less than one ton, per parcel, not exceeding 12/6 per ton.
The schedule of wharf tolls was more elaborate and provided fixed charges for a list of articles of general trade in alphabetical classification. For example:— Anchors per cwt. 2d. Beef or pork per cwt. 2d. Beer or cider per cwt. 4d. Grain per bag 1d.; and so on to timber (per 100 ft.) 2d. and wool per bale 3d.
Goods unenumerated:—Heavy goods, 2/6 per ton; per package, tun or butt 1/3 per puncheon 8d.; per hogshead 6d.; per barrel 3d.; per keg 2d.; per jar or can 1d.; per bundle or case 4d.
The purchase of rolling stock was entrusted to Messrs, Holmes & Co. The engines and carriages were imported from England, and the trucks constructed in Melbourne. The schooner “Choice” (168 tons) was chartered to convey the rolling stock from Melbourne to Lyttelton, and arrived at the latter port with the first locomotive on board 2nd April, 1863. As the schooner was too large to navigate the Heath-cote River the locomotive was transhipped into a smaller vessel, the schooner “Saxon,” assistance in transhipment being rendered by Captain Rose of the ship “Mermaid” who gave the use of his ship's yardarm tackle. The “Saxon” left Lyttelton for Heathcote in tow of the steamer “Mullough,” but when outside Lyttelton Heads the “Mullough” broke down. The locomotive however, was safely landed at Ferrymead on 6th May.
After the arrival of the rolling stock good progress was made with the platelaying and ballasting of the line from Ferrymead to Christchurch, and the Railway, the first to be constructed in New Zealand, was opened for public traffic on 1st December, 1863.
The Canterbury Association (by utilising the various streams in the vicinity of Christchurch, and connecting these streams by canals) had planned a system of inland waterways which would provide communication for boats between the town of Sumner and the area between the Selwyn and the Wai-makariri rivers. The Sumner road was to connect Sumner with the port at Lyttelton. The canals projected were: From the Estuary to the Avon (eliminating the use of the lower reaches of the river); from the Avon to the Purarekanui (Styx); and from the Heathcote to the Halswell. Land was reserved for these canals, but the financial position of the Association did not permit any construction work to be undertaken. When the property of the Association was transferred to the Provincial Government these reserves were retained (they still appear on the district maps) though no further progress was projected.
During the session which commenced on 1st October, 1858, the provincial Council recommended that a Commission, consisting of Messrs. Bray, Cass, Harman, Whitcombe and Wylde, together with the Provincial Engineer (Mr. Dobson) and
In the following year (on 29th September, 1859), the Superintendent, in his opening address to the Council, stated that he had prepared a scheme by which
Forty-five Years Ago.
The blacksmith's staff at Addington Railway Workshops in 1886
A notice in the Provincial Gazette, dated 12th April, 1859, reserved for railway purposes land of a width of three chains in the pastoral districts and one chain in the agricultural districts for the whole length of the lines as indicated on the plan of the Railway Commission. The Council, by resolution of 11th October, 1859, confirmed the reservation of the land, but no further steps were taken at that time.
During the next two years the Provincial Government was chiefly concerned in dealing with the Lyttelton and Christchurch
At this time there was some dissatisfaction in the outlying districts, particularly in South Canterbury, regarding the expenditure of the land funds, which was the principal source of income available for public works. There was even a suggestion that, taking advantage of the Act of 1859 of the Imperial Parliament to provide for the establishment of new provinces in New Zealand, a separate province should be formed in the southern district of Canterbury. In order to remove any impulsive tendency to the dismemberment of the Province, the Superintendent asked that the Council establish a general principle that, in the ordinary course, the sums collected from the sale of land
As Seen From the Air.
(Courtesy, The Sun Newspaper, Ltd.)
A recent aeroplane photograph of the new Railway Workshops at Otahuhu, Auckland.
The Provincial Council Extension Ordinance was passed on 29th November, 1861, and submitted for the approval of His Excellency the Governor with the request that if his assent were given the existing Council be dissolved. After voting supplies the Council rose on 22nd January, 1862. On 9th January the Superintendent advised the Council that there was a large amount of money in the Treasury, and he proposed, as a gesture to would-be purchasers of the debentures of the Lytteiton and Christchurch Railway Loan, that the Province should purchase and cancel the first year's debenture issue of £50,000. To this the Council agreed.
(To be continued.)
Never has there been so good a Christmas and New Year record for time-keeping and train handling as that attained during the last Christmas and New Year rush period. In the North Island particularly the improvement was most marked, and some interesting discussion has taken place amongst railwaymen as to its cause. For one thing there was a complete absence of engine failures, due doubtless to arrears of locomotive repairs having been overtaken in the new workshops, and to the special system of inspection recently adopted. Another helpful feature has been the new flat route into and out of Auckland via the Westfield deviation. The Remuera bank, over which all traffic had to be worked prior to the opening of the new route, was a perpetual source of anxiety to train operators. Engines would, quite unexpectedly, “lie down” on the bank, and, particularly when slippery rails were encountered,
‘Ring Out the Old, Ring in the New.”
(Photo, W. W. Stewart.)
The last train (bound for Hamilton) to leave the old station at Auckland, before the changeover to the new station.
Friends depart, and memory takes them to her caverns, pure and deep.—T. H. Bayly.
“Athwart the swinging branches. Soft rays of sunshine pour.”—Longfellow.
(Rly. Publicity photo.)
Fair blossoms on a giant pohutukawa tree, Whangarei Harbour, North Auckland, New Zealand.
When business is harder to get than normally, no forward-thinking business executive would consider weakening his sales force. At such times greater sales effort is needed. It must be recognised that the advertising pound has a harder job to do, that it must do more work to accomplish the same result. However, the facts are that more intensive effort, applied when many competitors are shortening sail to “ride out” the depression, turns a difficult situation to advantage. Gains made in the face of adverse business conditions, even at a temporary sacrifice in profits, establish the basis for tremendous future returns.
The timid advertiser and the executive who consider this year's profits of primary concern are prone to inaugurate short-sighted economies, and one of the most harmful of these is a drastic reduction in advertising. Such a policy may show a favourable relation between
One of Australia's Locomotive Giants.
“Mountain” type 4–8–2 locomotive in service on the S outh Australian Railways. The following are the chief particulars of the locomotive: Cylinders, dia. 26ins., 28ins. stroke; wheels, dia. 5ft. 3ins.; total wheel base (engine), 39ft. 2ins.; superheater 835 sq. ft.; grate area 66 sq. ft.; boiler pressure 200 lbs. per sq. in.; tractive force at 85 per cent, boiler pressure, 51,000 lbs.; total heating surface 3,609 sq. ft.; total weight in working order 218 tons 15 cwt. 2 qrs.; tank capacity of tender 8,000 gals.; coal capacity 12 tons.
In most highly successful organisations, it is a fixed policy to exert the greatest efforts towards increasing business during-such periods when many concerns feel satisfied to hold their own, or even to accept a less powerful position.
Mr. A. D. McDonald, a locomotive fireman; employed on the New South Wales Railways, is desirous of making reciprocal exchanges (with a member of the New Zealand Railways service) of photographs depicting scenes and rolling-stock on the New Zealand Railways.
Interested readers may obtain further particulars from Mr. A. D. McDonald, New South. Wales Railways, Merrylands West, New South Wales, Australia.
The following story, written by an ex-railway official with an intimate knowledge of the facts, describes some amusing incidents associated with the alternating appearance, and disappearance in transit, of a large trunk which contained the belongings of an English tourist who visited New Zealand many years ago.
Leonard Mayne Bolton inherited from his father a small business in London. The business was of a personal character, and required his close attention during working hours. His leisure was spent with his mother, who was an invalid, and who, though not entirely confined to the house, was incapable of any exertion. Life for him ran in a narrow groove, and he became so habituated to the regular round that, when after some years his mother died, he had no inclination to change his mode of living.
With the years his assiduous devotion to his business brought increased income; the surplus, in excess of his simple needs, was placed in a safe investment against the days when he could work no more. Time passed almost unnoticed, and though he had latterly employed an assistant he was not conscious of any failure of personal capacity. He was, therefore, surprised when on reaching his office one morning he was seized with an attack of vertigo, and was unable to continue his work. He returned home, and sent for his friend, the local medical practitioner, who could find no evident cause of trouble, but advised him to consult a specialist. After a careful examination, the specialist stated that there was nothing organically wrong, but his constitution was exhausted by a long term of monotonous existence, without variety or recreation. He advised complete rest from present work, and a change of surroundings to awaken interest in matters other than business. Such rest and change as might be obtained by taking a long sea voyage would probably restore him to normal health.
On recovering from the shock of contemplating an entire change in his lifelong habits, Mr. Bolton found, on looking into his affairs, that he could well afford a trip, and he had confidence that his assistant could fill his place in his absence. He had hazy notions of geography, but was aware that the P. and O. Company ran steamers to distant countries. So he applied to the P. and O. Company for information. The Company suggested a voyage to Sydney and back, and advised him to consult a firm of outfitters regarding the requirements for the voyage. The outfitters sized up the would-be traveller and listed an outfit that comprised clothes, with the proper accompaniment of hats. caps, boots, sticks, and umbrellas, for all occasions and every variety of climate. After rejecting kits for yachting, polo, golf, fishing and shooting, there still remained a considerable wardrobe for which suitable and adequate packages were required. Now the firm had in stock one of those huge trunks, like a Noah's Ark on casters, known as a Saratoga. Though then popular in America, trunks of this kind were slow of sale in England. This appeared to be an opportunity for getting rid of the Saratoga on favourable terms,