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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.
Comparative figures computed for the last two financial years of the New Zealand Railways show that an average loss of 5.29 days per employee oecurred through sickness and accident in 1925 as against 5.19 days in 1926. This reduction, amounting to an aggregate of 9,331 working days, represents to the employees and the Department a saving for the year just ended of £7,616 compared with the previous year's cost on account of sickness and accident amongst the staff. Certainly there have been improvements in equipment, yard lighting, etc., which would help to reduce the likelihood of mishap, but the main gain indicated above must be attributed to improved attention on the part of members to the observance of safety practices.
Surveying the whole field of safety endeavour, it should be noted that advances may be made in general health, in vigilance against accident, and in mechanical safety efficiency.
Regarding general fitness, if the ordinary rules of health—that are common knowledge to everyone—were constantly obeyed we would all be one hundred per cent. fit, would probably come through life without a scratch, and possibly live to the age of Methuselah. We know, for instance, that it is a good thing to gargle against infection, to keep reasonable hours, and to take healthful exercise; but do we keep these rules? Instead do we not rather take chances, constantly trusting to our good luck, our strong constitutions, our recuperative powers? We over-run the signals that stand on the margin of safety.
The type of boy is well known who follows a broken thumb with a sprained ankle and who, after recovery, fractures his ribs. Pure coincidence may account for the whole-hearted way in which he finds trouble, but a psychological examination would probably demonstrate that he suffers from an insufficiently developed safety instinct—the instinct which teaches one to make due allowance for the occasional perversity of both animate and inanimate creation.
Twenty-nine simple hints to protect employees against shunting accidents, etc.—hints compiled on the advice of experienced shunters—were recently printed and distributed to all concerned. In such matters as crossing over between fastmoving wagons, methods of applying wrakes, or working under stationary wagons—are the rules of safety being constantly obeyed? In general, are we perpetually on the alert against the unusual?
Safety in mechanism is the third means of avoiding accidents. Here every man engaged on train operations or in workshops has opportunity for observing where safety appliances might with advantage be introduced or other improvements effected, whilst the Department is ever ready to adopt suggestions likely to assist in preserving the margin of safety.
In modern business, statistics are being more and more used in attaining efficiency. Applied to safety practices they supply a useful measure and enable “budgeting” or “targeting” to be made effective. A special “safety section” in the United States has recently set out to obtain “a 35 per cent. reduction in casualties during a six year campaign.” This is certainly looking ahead. Is the movement in New Zealand to aim at—and accomplish—this, or something better? Let each employee ask himself, “Am I a safety man?” and on his conscientious answer to that question, shape his conduct.
Certainly improved training can do much, and adequate supervision more, to bring about a reduction in casualties. But
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A series of lectures of a very high order delivered under the auspices of the Railway Officers' Institute and open to all members of the service, has been given in Wellington this winter.
The second lecture arose out of a visit recently paid to Australia by four New Zealand railwaymen.
Lectures such as these are a most valuable aid towards the education of railwaymen, and show how profitable for practical railway purposes a University course could be if the already wide curriculum were extended by the institution of a Chair of Transportation.
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A scheme, which has for its object the more speedy transport of both outward and inward goods between the Frankton Junction and Hamilton stations, was recently put into operation by the Railway Department. These stations are only a mile apart, but as each has a heavy goods traffie, their proximity furnishes opportunity for trying out the economy of short haul motor service for less-than-wagon-load lots. Under the new scheme Hamilton goods for the Rotorua line (which hitherto went from Hamilton to Frankton by an afternoon shunt and were not despatched till the following day) are transhipped by the motor truck from Hamilton to Frankton, loaded into railway trucks along with other goods assembled there for similar stations and despatched that afternoon. There is thus a saving of twenty-four hours in the despatch of goods for stations along the Rotorua line. Similarly goods for the Thames and Cambridge sections are delivered much earlier. This innovation is likely to fully justify its introduction and be of value to consignors and consignees as well as to the Department.
This is the fifth issue of our Magazine and judged by the many flattering remarks as to its literary and artistic merits, we may feel fairly well satisfied with it.
While, however, literary and artistic excellence are very desirable and necessary, there are other elements required in a publication such as ours in order that it shall fulfil its object completely.
Of these other elements one, and perhaps the most important, is that our Magazine should convey a direct—a human—interest to as many individual members of the staff as possible.
The one-big-family idea is worth encouraging. The spirit of friendliness helps greatly in the accomplishment of correlated work. There is a social as well as a business side to our relations with each other, and the cultivation of the human touch adds to the happiness and contentment of members when engaged in the performance of their multifarious duties. The Magazine furnishes an outlet for news of this nature.
On the first page of each issue there has appeared an invitation to send in contributions for publication, but although many members of the staff have responded to the invitation, as have also a number of the public the response has not been so widespread as could have been wished. The Board is, therefore, making this direct and personal appeal to all members of the service to display an active interest in the production of Our Magazine, one purpose of which is to enable us to disseminate our views, aims and aspirations, not only to the public, but to our fellow members in the service, and to develop the idea, and maintain it in our minds, that this is Our Magazine in which—within reasonable limits—we may express ourselves with freedom.
Movement of staff from one locality to another is unavoidable in such a service as ours, but invariably we maintain an interest in the doings of our old station and our friends there. We want to know whether the lectures or socials are still held; how the cricket or football club is getting on; and many other similar things, small in themselves, but in each case carrying a very direct and human interest to a number of our readers.
Nor do such items by any means exhaust the possibilities, for among our 17,000 members there must be many who feel the impulse to express themselves on some subject—not necessarily “shop”—which would be of sufficient interest to warrant its appearance in Our Magazine. There would be no difficulty in keeping the columns of the Magazine filled with technical and instructional articles, but the Board wishes it to grow in other directions also, and with this object in view very cordially asks the staff to assist in developing the “human interest” side by individually taking a direct and active part and by forwarding to the Editor contributions whether of personal, local or general interest.
This excellent little publication, which made its first appearance in May is full of good readable matter.—The Railway Gazette.
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Please accept my thanks for your courtesy in forwarding a copy of the first issue of the New Zealand Railways Magazine. It contains some excellent information which will be of assistance to us.—
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May I congratulate you upon the excellence of this little volume. I read substantially all of the articles with a great deal of pleasure.—C. B. Sudborough, General Traffic Manager, The Pennsylvania Railroad.
It is a very good journal, and I have read it with interest.—
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The new publication is conceived on sound lines, and will do much to foster a spirit of understanding and goodwill between the administration, the users of the Railways, and the staff.
—The New Zealand Dairyman.
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We have rarely found the first issue of a Magazine so illuminatingly interesting……The special articles are interesting and instructive even to the lay-reader and the Magazine is a thing of typographic beauty.—Feilding Star.
During the term of the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition held at Dunedin, the New Zealand Railways exhibits, including the “Ab” class locomotive “Passehendael,” the new sleeping car (both of which were constructed in the Department's workshops) and the advertising and general display, created unusual interest and won unstinted praise. A photograph of the special Diploma of Merit which the Exhibition authorities awarded for the sleeping car exhibit is reproduced above. Similar diplomas were awarded for the “Ab” locomotive and the advertising and general display.
A pleasant little gathering took place on the 23rd ultimo in the office of the Chief Engineer, when Mr. F. J. Jones was met by a number of the senior officers who had been associated with him in the Maintenance Branch. The occasion was the presentation to Mr. Jones of a life-sized portrait of himself to be hung in the Chief Engineer's room as a link in the series of portraits of men who in past years have controlled the Maintenance Branch. The portrait bears on back the inscription:—
Presented to Mr. F. J. Jones, M. Inst.C.E., by senior officers associated with him in the Maintenance Branch in token of their high appreciation of him as a man and as an Engineer.
The presentation was made by
Mr. Jones in thanking the officers for the presentation expressed his pleasure at having his portrait hung in such illustrious company.
The collection of portraits comprises the following past Chief Engineers, N.Z.R.:—
The following figures show the steady expansion in business between the east and west coasts of the South Island since the Otira tunnel, piercing the Southern Alps, was opened:
As one-third of the total tonnage is represented by the weight of trucks the net tonnage for the 12 months ended July last, was therefore 254,000 tons or approximately 1/30 of the total goods tonnage conveyed on the whole of the New Zealand Railways.
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To know what is right and fear to do it, this is cowardice.—Froude.
If any good is to come from the “Safety First” campaign recently inaugurated by the Department, it behoves everyone to do something towards making it a success. There is no doubt that in every wood working machine shop many safety devices could be with advantage installed that would cost but little to make. In fact many of these could be rigged up by the machinists themselves in the course of their work. The use of such devices would be the means of preventing many accidents that are not only very painful to the injured at the time, but may permanently impair his efficiency.
In bringing before you these two small devices (see illustrations) I do so with the idea that they might result in an exchange of similar ideas through the medium of the Magazine, and thus be beneficial to all users of wood working machinery throughout the service.
The pressure bar (illustration 1) I have used extensively and I found it to be a very serviceable and useful tool, conducive to better work, as it holds the work firmly down to the table thus ensuring a first class job and also acting as a guard against having the hand pulled back into the knives.
Looking at the illustration 1, A. is the shaper top or table, B. the pressure bar, C.C. the right and left hand spindles, and D. the timber being worked. The pressure bar itself consists of a piece of sound and tough wood, such as red beech, about 4 in. wide and 1 in. thick, long enough to project over each spindle a matter of 4 in. The plan of the bar at E. will give you the idea of the shape; one end is slotted just big enough to take the spindle, the other end is slotted large enough to pass freely over the small collars. At this end a curved piece (as shown) is screwed across the grain for additional strength—this piece is slightly rounded on the bottom edge so as to allow the work to pass freely underneath.
When this bar is fastened between two of the collars on the spindle not in use, any pressure that is required may be had by raising or lowering the idle spindle. This appliance, which can be made with an expenditure of an hour's time, will make the work not only easier and better, but much safer; for if the stock should be drawn back into the knives the operator's hand would be thrown clear by the rounded end of the bar.
If both spindles are required at the same time, then the bar can be secured to the table and the necessary pressure applied with thumb screws.
Figure F. gives us a variation of the same idea. This, however, is not so useful, as it is a guard only. It is about the same size as the other, the hole being large enough to pass over the small collars. It will rest upon the collar that is holding the knives, the outside edge being large enough to cover the projecting part of the knife. It is then fastened to the table with a thumb screw, and holes can be bored (as shown) if the operator wishes to obtain a clearer view of the work.
In case of a cross grained piece of timber breaking when this guard is in use, the operator's chance of getting his hand caught in the knives is considerably lessened.
“Planer Protection” is really a misnomer, for, after all, it is not protection for the planer that is required, but protection for the operator. In examining illustration 2, you will see that A.A. is the planer top, B. the fence, C. the work being jointed, D. and E. the cover for parts of the knives not in use; F1 and F2 are wing nuts, the former holding the guard to the top of the table, and the latter holding the two parts of the guard together.
The cover for the knives is a piece of tough wood two feet long by seven-eights of an inch thick, and wide enough to cover most of the mouth of the planer with a piece of 3–16 in.
There is no doubt that the use of some such guard as this, together with care on the part of the machinist, would diminish the danger and help to prevent accidents.
I am sure that there are many such devices known to wood workers throughout the service, and that an exchange of ideas on these lines would aid in the adoption of some really good appliance leading to the reduction of accidents. If these were reduced by only one or two per cent, everyone concerned would be well repaid for any trouble taken.
Railway passengers on the main line southward of Christchurch are evincing much interest and curiosity regarding what appears to be a veritable sea of railway sidings, stretching from Addington to Middleton. These sidings have sprung into being in a very short space of time. They form part of the big railway sorting yard for Canterbury, which is making rapid progress under the organisation and methods of the District Engineer's staff. This yard will be worked on the hump system, the conformation of the site having proved very suitable for a hump layout. The large quantity of ballast required for the job will be obtained from the shingle deposits on the ground, obviating heavy railage charges. When completed the yard will contain about 11 miles of sidings and close on 100 turnouts, to which further additions can be made as business demands.
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The true philisophy is to retire within oneself, and listen to the voice of reason, amid the stillness of the passions.—Rousseau.
The forty-second annual meeting of the Hillside Railway Workshops' Library was recently held. The year's report indicated that the Library is in a sound position financially. The number of volumes approximates 16,000. The report continues:—“The subscribers as a whole are very considerate, and losses or mutilations of books are rarely reported. The Departmental officials have, as usual, met us in a generous spirit when we have approached them, and we are of the opinion that they, like ourselves, are proud of the institution.” The following motion was carried unanimously:—“That this meeting of subscribers of the Hillside Railway Workshops' Library wishes to place on record its satisfaction in the fact that the Department has seen fit to start technical classes for apprentices, and, as far as Library subscribers are concerned, they will do all in their power to assist the scheme by giving free use of their technical works, etc. A copy of this resolution is to be sent to the Chief Mechanical Engineer.”
We New Zealanders are a restless folk; we love to travel, and the thought of older lands, of great far cities, is a lure and a call to which our hearts long to respond. Perhaps it is part of our pioneer heritage, akin to the adventuring spirit that sent our fathers and mothers ten thousand miles across the seas to make their homes in a new, far land. Anyway, there it is, and there it was in my own heart when I waved a last goodbye to Auckland and set off down the travel-trail that leads by Pacific shores, and into the heart of the Golden West.
Three days later our ship steamed into Levuka, the little township on the shores of Ovalau. Here for the first time I saw the quaint sight of business-places, private houses, and even large trees, all firmly secured to the ground with heavy ropes and chains, so that the terrific hurricanes might not hurl them bodily into the sea. A flower-scented, lovely spot was Levuka, where native boys climbed the tall cocoanut palms and threw down nuts for us, beheading them afterwards with great knives, and offering us a cool, sweet drink, brimming to the top and delicious as the nectar of the gods after the heat of a walk under the tropic sun.
Then came long, hot days in the tropics, when not a breath of air stirred the oily surface of the ocean, blood-red sunsets and stars that flashed and shone like great silver flowers in the dark blue fields of the sky. After two weeks at sea, came a wonderful day in Honolulu, Paradise of the Pacific, where the natives threw about our shoulders ropes of frangipanni and hibiscus blooms and coaxed us to buy cats-eye necklets, postcards, fruit which we could not eat, hat-bands and girdles made of threaded seeds. Here I saw the most wonderful aquarium in the world, filled with fishes that were like an Arabian Nights dream come true. Some had faces like cats and dogs, others were grotesquely human; they floated about in trailing robes of pink and silver, scarlet and blue, green and gold, bits of splintered rainbow transformed into finny, flashing, living shapes.
A week later, our ship passed slowly down the fiord-like passage of the Straits of Juan de Fuca, through the Narrows, and into Vancouver Harbour. As we drew into the wharf, there floated out over the quiet water the sound of tolling bells, until I thought all Vancouver must be on its way to church……..And thus I came to the land where all the engines are fitted with bells.
For three days, the great C.P.R. and then the Southern Pacific train, bore me down the Pacific Coast, over the Canadian-American frontier at Sumas Junction, through Seattle, into Portland, “City of Roses,” and finally across the Sacramento River, where our train was divided into three sections and carried across the river on the largest ferry-boat in the world. So I came to journey's end in San Francisco, the beautiful light-hearted city that has risen triumphant from the dust and ashes of dire tragedy. Many a day I spent in Chinatown, the city of golden pagodas, little ladies in long silk trousers and sandalled feet, and Eastern restaurants (where one was served with chop-suey, beche-de-mer, birds' nest soup, fungus stew), a city very different
In the golden spring I came to know the Californian fields and forests, with their exquisite treasury of wild flowers. When spring comes to California, every field, every strip of wayside grass is ablaze with blue and golden lupins, poppies, and larkspurs blue as the sky, while in the great redwood forest, she spreads a carpet of wild violets, pansies, harebells, mission bells and trilliums. The wild lilac clothes the mountain sides in clouds of misty blue, and in the forest depths shines the glory of tiger-lilies and wild irises. Later on we gathered the ripe huckleberries, all warm and covered with rich purple bloom. For a whole month I camped in a tiny log cabin in a
Then at last I took my farewell glance at the city beyond the Golden Gates, bid good-bye to the bright North Star, and turned again to the long Ocean and the Land of the Southern Cross……But always in spring time my thoughts go back to the Golden West, its gracious beauty, its bright skies, and the scented glory of its springtime flowers.
The success of apprentice instruction in New Zealand is to a very large extent dependent on the co-operation of those men who come in daily contact with apprentices. That co-operation is of paramount importance and cannot be stressed too much.
An employer when he engages a boy for any trade is legally bound to teach the lad all branches of the particular trade for which he is indentured, so that the Railway Department, by pioneering a scheme of instruction for all trades in their workshops, is entitled to first place among employers of apprentices in this country. There are many difficulties in the initial stages of launching such a scheme, and the most critical and watchful eyes upon the progress of the classes will be among workshop staffs—and rightly so, provided it is a helpful and constructive interest. It must be understood that instructors can at most be masters of only one trade; but so many subjects and practices are general, that until there are records, and it is found exactly what is most helpful to the making of good, all round tradesmen, there is ample in which to instruct every apprentice. An interested apprentice is a good apprentice and, obviously, if that interest is maintained throughout his indentured period, not only will he make a better tradesman, but he will be a better student.
It remains for the men working with these boys, to take them, figuratively speaking, under their wings. For forty-one hours of the working week, boys are in the shops, so that if the instructors do not get the support of the shops' staff, then their work is going to be seriously hampered. I do not care what is the position of the man in the shop, he can impart sound advice to a boy and cultivate a feeling of respect which should be an important feature of a boy's apprenticeship. I would suggest that every man act towards, and advise, boys as they would expect men to act towards their own sons.
My point is—more shop discipline for the boys' sakes. At a later stage I intend to write something for apprentices dealing with their shop life and the advantages to be obtained from good discipline.
Within the last few weeks I have been asked what is going to be done for the present 4th and 5th year apprentices as the present arrangements include only boys up to their third year. Such inquiries give an indication of interest and are very gratifying. It is the intention of the Department, when the present classes have been placed on a good foundation, to provide suitable instruction for these boys also.
The accounts of the New Zealand Railways for the year ended 31st March, 1926, as published in the Annual Railway Statement are of special interest in that they set out the results of the first year's working under the financial reorganisation operating from 1st April, 1925.
It is very gratifying to note that after paying interest charges amounting to £1,913,311, providing fully for depreciation and transferring £58,000 to the Betterment Fund there was a net surplus for the year of £21,023.
It is proposed in this article to outline the the Accounting system and to give some details showing the method under which the many hundreds of thousands of financial transactions which are concentrated in the final figures are collected in the Chief Accountant's office, Wellington.
The accounts which are framed on commercial lines may be classified into seven general groups as follows:—
(1) Capital Expenditure.
(2) Betterments Expenditure.
(3) Operating Expenditure.
(4) Indirect or Suspense Expenditure.
(5) Recoverable Expenditure.
(6) Reserve and Equalisation Funds.
(7) Balance Sheet Accounts (Assets and liabilities).
(8) Revenue.
In dealing first with expenditure it is necessary to state that it is comprised of:—(a) Salaries and wages. (b) Stores and materials. (c) miscellaneous charges. These items will later be followed from their origin to the final accounts.
Capital expenditure on open lines is kept distinct from that on unopened lines. The construction of new lines is carried out by the Public Works Department out of moneys provided in the Public Works Fund and such expenditure is not brought into the railway accounts until the lines are handed over for working. Additions and improvements to open lines are carried out by the Railway Department out of moneys provided in the Public Works Fund or under the provisions of the Railway Improvement Authorisation Act.
Expenditure on minor improvements to existing assets is charged to the Betterments Fund, which is built up by appropriations from net revenue.
Operating expenditure is divided under the following headings each of which is represented by a control account:—(1) Maintenance of Way and Works. (2) Maintenance of Signals. (3) Maintenance of Rolling Stock. (4) Locomotive Transportation. (5) Traffic transportation. (6) Head Office and General Charges.
For purposes of showing details of expenditure-each of the operating expense headings is subdivided into primary accounts. For example: the expenditure under Traffic Transportation is classified under the following primary accounts.
General; District.
Supervision; Platform; Signalling; Shunting; Goods shed and yard; Wharves; Fuel and water; other miscellaneous expenses; Stationery.
Running; Cleaning; Sleeping cars.
Claims; Compensation; other traffic expenses.
The other control accounts are similarly subdivided by primary accounts to give suitable detailed information of the expenditure.
In order to keep the operating expenditure accounts pure, all subsidiary services are kept separate. These services are:—(1) Lake Wakatipu Steamers. (2) Refreshment Services. (3) Advertising Services. (4) Dwellings. (5) Refreshment Rooms, Bookstalls, etc., occupied by private lessees and Refreshment Service.
The accounts of each of these subsidiary services are kept on commercial lines. Interest, insurance and depreciation charges are debited in the accounts, and income and expenditure accounts are prepared four-weekly.
The principal item under this heading is stores. All stores and materials are under the control of the Stores Branch. No debits are made in the expenditure accounts for stores and materials until the actual goods are issued out of stores stocks, i.e., all stores purchased are debited to an Indirect or Suspense account and all issues are credited to this account. The debit balance is represented by actual stock on hand. Stores Branch expenses are distributed by means of a percentage commission on all stores issued. This ensures that the accounts record the correct cost of all stores and materials used.
Workshops expenditure also comes under this heading. The whole expenditure incurred in the workshops is debited to a shops clearing account which is credited with the value of the output.
Overhead charges including interest on the capital cost of shops and plant, depreciation and insurance, are distributed over the output by means of a percentage commission.
These accounts record the expenditure and receipts in respect of work carried out for other Government Departments and private parties, such as repairing privately owned locomotives and rolling stock, provision and maintenance of private sidings, etc.
To make provision for the depreciation and renewal of the assets and also for the equalising of expenditure arising out of slips, floods and accidents, special reserve funds have been created.
Working Expenditure and Revenue Account
Four Weeks Ended 21st August, 1926
Working expense accounts are debited each four-weekly period with amounts to cover these charges and the funds are credited. Renewal work or other expenditure for which these special provisions have been made is not charged to operating expenses but to the appropriate fund.
The operating expenditure accounts for each four-weekly period thus include proper provision for the depreciation and renewal of assets, etc., irrespective of the amount that is actually expended on renewal work.
As a result of the new policy distortions in the expenditure figures are avoided and substantial funds are now being built up for the specific purpose mentioned.
The Railway Department now carries its own fire insurance risks. All assets liable to destruction by fire come under the provision of the Fund.
As with the Depreciation and Equalisation funds operating expense accounts are debited each period with the premiums and the Fire Insurance Fund credited. Fire losses, the upkeep of Railway Fire Brigades, and fire appliances are charged to the Fund.
To cover payments under The Workers' Compensation Act all wages expenditure is loaded with a percentage which varies in the different branches in relation to the nature of the work. The total amount of the loading is credited to the Workers' Compensation Fund, from which all compensation payments are made.
These accounts record the fixed assets on which the capital of £47,608,676 has been spent, also the stocks of stores, Debtors and Creditors, Investments, Cash in hand, and Cash in the Working Railways Account.
The revenue is divided under main headings of operating, miscellaneous and subsidiary services. Operating revenue is further subdivided, to show revenue from passengers, ordinary and season tickets, parcels, luggage, mails, goods and demurrage, labour, etc. Miscellaneous revenue is also subdivided to show detailed information. The revenue from each subsidiary service is kept separate in the accounts.
A very considerable portion of the expenditure comes under the heading of salaries and wages, the actual amount for the year ended 31st March last being £4,610,662 or 60 per cent. of the total expenditure.
The method of dealing with wages expenditure is as under:—
Wages sheets are compiled by District Engineers, Stationmasters, Locomotive Foremen, Workshops Managers, etc., from time records. The compilations are carefully checked and the total expenditure appropriated to the various accounts provided for in the expenditure classification.
The amounts of money required at each banking station to meet wages payment is telegraphed to the Chief Accountant, who makes the necessary arrangements for credits with the bank.
Stationmasters, or other officers appointed for the purpose, are authorised to draw these amounts by cheque to meet wages payments. The receipted pay sheets are subsequently forwarded to the Chief Accountant to support the credit arranged with the bank. With each fortnight's pay sheets a wages schedule is prepared by certifying officers and a wages summary showing the wages expenditure classified to primary accounts is submitted four-weekly. These summaries form the journal from which entries are made to the primary accounts in the expenditure ledgers.
The total debits to each control account are also extracted and entered into the classified expenditure journal for posting to the control ledger, but whilst the primary account is necessarily kept for each separate district and section, the control ledger accounts apply to the whole system. By this means the control accounts form an effective check on the totals of the primary accounts in the expenditure ledgers without the necessity of keeping detailed information in the control ledger.
Stores required for use are obtained by means of a requisition on the Stores Branch. The requisition form must be signed by an authorised officer, and must give the number of the account to which the charges are to be debited.
Each four weekly period the Stores Branch prepares summarised stores debit sheets showing total charge to each primary account. These summarised sheets form the journal for posting to the expenditure ledgers.
The total debit for each control account is also extracted and entered in the classified expenditure journal for posting to the control ledger. Here again the control account entries provide an effective check on the stores debits in the expenditure ledgers without burdening the control ledger with unnecessary detail.
The total stores issues for year ended March 31st, 1926, amounted to £2,327,126, or 30 per cent. of the total expenditure.
Miscellaneous charges consist mainly of voucher payments for water, light, personal expenses and small sundry items of expenditure. Each certifying officer schedules all vouchers passed to the Chief Accountant weekly and also submits a summary at the end of each fourweekly period of voucher schedules showing the total debit to each primary account. The same procedure is followed as that outlined for wages schedule summaries. The importance of avoiding any unnecessary duplication or repetition of entries in books where the original entries could be used for posting purposes was kept constantly in mind in framing the present system.
To provide a posting medium for Renewals, Insurance, and Equalisation Fund contributions, a special columnar journal which shows the debit for each primary account in respect of each class of asset with further subdivisions for each distriet or shops debit is used.
The Working Railways Account within the Public Account is so far as the Railways Department is concerned a bank account, into which all receipts are paid and from which all disbursements including interest on capital are made. The balance in this account is watched closely from day to day and full advantage is taken of the authority given under the legislation passed in 1925, for the investment of surplus funds in the Working Railways account. The Balance Sheet as at 31st March, 1926, shows that £175,000 was so invested at that date.
This concludes a brief summary of the expenditure of the accounting system. The Traffic Transportation portion of the “step-ladder” statement showing the method of presenting the final figures each four weekly period is reproduced in this issue. The complete “step-ladder” shows details of expenditure under each main heading, and is compiled for each section as well as for the whole system.
It is proposed to deal with the revenue side of the Accounting System in a later issue.
The Railway Board has decided to erect a Social Hall at Taumarunui for the convenience of members of the Service. The hall will be available for meetings, educational classes, and social gatherings.
The need for something of the kind has been felt for many years, and in May last representative railwaymen interviewed the Prime Minister on the matter.
Letters of thanks have now been received from Mr. R. C. Dobble, Local Secretary of the New Zealand Locomotive Enginedrivers, Firemen and Cleaners' Association, and Railway Social Club expressing their appreciation.
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Understanding is the first great need in all human relations.—Ibsen.
After the war, when Mackechnie came back to Inverell station to his old job as a porter, wearing the ribbon of a D.S.O., the rest of the staff, from the office boy to the Station-master, were very proud of him, and made so much of him that Jock, to put it in his own heathen lingo, “begoud to mak' nae sma' swats o' himsel'.” After a bit, however, the thing began to pall on us all, and we would refer to the porter as “the blanky ‘D.S.O.,’” till Mackechnie, in disgust, took the ribbon off his breast and laid it away in his “wee kist” with his medals, to be worn, like them, only on high days and holidays.
That, by way of introduction. While Mackechnie was away beating the Germans, we had a “medically unfit” reject added to the staff at the station, and some of us soon found to our cost that it wasn't for any deficiency in “cheek,” or thinness of “hide,” that he was rejected for service abroad. Of all the coves to borrow he was the very dizzy limit of my thirty odd years' railway experience— and of these same the “service” can show some most excellently seasoned samples. But “Slippy,” as we nicknamed him, could give points to any of those I had ever met, and then beat them some. Well, some weeks after Mackechnie had resumed duty, “Slippy” confessed to his cobber that he was in a tight corner and sorely in need of a loan of five quid to put him even. “Sorry, old chap,” was the reply to the delicately insinuated request, “but I haven't a bean. Rent too high an' tucker too dear to have anything left over out of a porter's wages these times. Indeed, speaking only for your own private ear, ‘Slippy,’ I've mortgaged our next rise for twelve months to keep things going as it is.” Then an idea seemed to strike him, “But I say,” he added, “why not ‘put the nips’ into the blanky ‘D.S.O.,’—Mackechnie, you know? He got a tidy lump sum on coming home, an' he doesn't smoke, nor bet, an' his wife won't let him taste the boose. He's a good chap, is Mac., an' if you ‘gentle’ him nicely he'll part up with a smile, I know he will, for before he went away, Mac. was often ‘our refuge an' our help in time of trouble,’ as Shakespeare or some other poetic bloke says. Try ‘im!”
Now, the truth was that Mackechnie, except when he was in the way of “takin' a tot,” as he called it, was as close as—a—as close as a—Scot……and what could be closer? But “Slippy” didn't know this—not just yet. So, full of hope, as he was of cheek, he bowled down the platform an' breasted up to Jock. After a little preliminary palaver, he quite casually, like, remarked, “Oh, Mac., would you lend me five quid for a week, old man?”
“I dinna ken,” replied Jock. “Ye'd better tell the weak auld man to understudy
Jock's literary allusion was completely lost on “Slippy,” who, quite unabashed, explain-atorily replied, “You don't seem to understand me, Mac. I said ‘week,’ w-e-e-k, not w-e-a-k, but ‘week,’ meaning the length of time.”
“But, gin he is only a bit ‘week auld,’ hoo cam' ye to ca' him a ‘man?’” asked Jock, suspiciously.
“Dear, dear, dear!” exclaimed the somewhat confused “Slippy,” a little irritably: “the ‘old man’ applied to you.”
“Ye're a dagont leear!” rapped out Jock, apparently losing his “wool.” “He did naethin' o' the kin.' I dinna ken him; never saw him—the auld buffer!”
“Grapes an' gooseberries!” cried “Slippy,” in a final despairing effort to get that bone-head of a close-fisted Scot to comprehend. “I mean you are the ‘old man.’ See?”
“Ay, of coorse, I see!” snapped Mackechnie, aggressively. “Did ye kid yersel' I was blin'? A' the same, if I'm the ‘auld man,’ I canna for the life o' me see whit wey ye're sae anxious to get me to len' mysel' five pounds. I dinna want five pounds—that is, I hinna got it, an' gin I had it I wadnae want it. Naw, naw, naw! I mean I wadnae need it. Naw! no' that aither, I wad need it; but I wad ha'e nae need to ha'e you gang roun' sketchin' for it for me. D'ye get me?” he concluded almost biting the point off of “Slippy's” too inquisitive proboscis.
“Cheese an' Crust!” muttered “Slippy,” as he turned away dejectedly, “‘get’ him? I ‘get’ him right enough; but it wasn't him I wanted. It was his five flamin' flimsies!”
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Great men are meteors that consume themselves to light the earth.—Thomas Hardy.
There are two things that men should never weary of—goodness and humility.
In pursuanee of the Railway Department's policy regarding Instruction Classes for Apprentices employed at Railway Workshops, a commencement was made on 26th July of what is probably the first apprentice class to start under the Department's scheme. The members of the first class to start at 8 a.m. on 26th July were Apprentices C. A. McDowell, R. F. Marriott, J. F. Olsen, A. E. Davies and B. T. Maedonald.
One of the largest trees in the world—if not the largest—is in the bush at Waihou, Hokianga, New Zealand. It is a kauri tree, the vast trunk of which rises to a height of 75 feet before being broken by the first branch, and measures 22 feet in diameter, or approximately one chain in girth. It is estimated that the tree contains over 195,000 feet of timber, sufficient to build three double storied houses of 20 rooms each from floor to ceiling. This remarkable tree should be zealously guarded from destruction, and preserved to show future generations what the lordly kauri was at its best. From a marketable point of view it would be impossible to fell it, much less to break it down, for no mill possesses saws large enough to tackle it. Its age is estimated at 2,000 years at least, and carefully conserved, it should have another thousand years before it.
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Discretion of speech is more than eloquence. —Bacon.
At the recent sixty-fifth anniversary dinner of the United Kingdom Railway Officers' and Servants' Association, Sir Charles Cheers Wakefield, the President, referred in the course of a speech to the responsibilities from which railway men are never freed in carrying out their daily duties. “There are few people” said Sir Charles, “who have more lives depending upon them day by day, than the driver of a long distance express train. To the child, the engine driver is the hero, and certainly his duties are onerous enough. But there are many others in a modern railway service who share his grave responsibilities and I think it unfortunate that so few people realise the vital importance of the duties that fall upon many not highly-paid railway officers and servants.” He went on to say that upon the railways the price of safety was eternal vigilance. Not many of those who chafed at a two-minute signal stop outside some busy junction appreciated the fact that a moment's relaxation of their watchfulness and care, on the part of any one of a dozen or more railway officials would mean certain danger and possible death to hundreds of passengers. The extraordinarily high average of safety that obtained upon British railways had always been very justly a matter of pride in the railway world. The motto “Safety First” had a modern flavour, but upon the railways for generations there had been this watchword—“The Safety of the Public First!”
During the year 1924 (says “The Engineer”) there were 371 more accidents to railway servants on the Great Western Railway than in 1923. Special efforts, were, therefore, made in 1925 to effect an improvement, and so successful were they that the total was 114 less than in 1924. Had the 1924 figures been maintained in 1925 the number of accidents would have been 3,370. Instead it was 2,832, and the “Great Western Railway Magazine” thinks it fair to estimate that the difference of 538 has been prevented by the co-operative efforts of the staff.
Committee Four of the United States Chamber of Commerce reported recently that the great sphere of operation of the motor trucks as related to steam railroads was in terminal work, store door delivery and in short haul zones within which the motor truck is pre-eminently fitted for service. The American experience in this respect is similar to our own. All attempts to compete with the railway over long distances have broken down. Now it but remains for the Administration to round off their work of transportation by arranging a complete system of door to door deliveries, using motor trucks as adjuncts to our own service in order to supply the modern demand for through service.
Here is what the D.T. and I. Railroad News considers that one scoopful of coal will do:—
In British Thermal Units it totals 187,000.
Foot pounds amount to 145,000,000.
It represents 73 horse-power hours.
This amount of energy if applied without loss would:
Lift a Ford coupe vertically 15 miles.
Light a 40-watt lamp for 1,360 hours. Evaporate 221 pounds of water (at 180 pounds pressure per square inch).
Lift a 3-ton elevator 4.6 miles.
Heat 1,040 pounds of water from freezing to boiling point.
Melt 1,300 lbs. of ice.
It is equivalent to 1.7 gallons of gasoline and as such would:
Drive a Ford car 34 miles
.
Plough 2.6 acres of land.
Drive a 33-foot racing yacht 2 4/3 miles at 60 miles an hour.
Propel a hand power car 340 miles. With its energy released in a boiler it will:
Move 128 gross tons miles.
Blow a locomotive whistle 42 seconds.
To promote scientific research in the universities and industries of the United States, the Engineering Foundation of New York is conducting a drive for a £20,000,000 Endowment Fund.
The smallest railway in the world is located in Cumberland, in the North of England, and connects the villages of Eskdale, Beckfoot and Boot with the London, Midland and Scottish Railway at Ravenglass. The line is seven miles long, of 15 inch gauge and is known as “The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway.” As originally laid down in 1876 as a 3 ft. gauge mineral railway to carry ironstone from the mines at Boot, it was a success. When the value of the ore, in later years, began to deteriorate, the receipts from the traffic carried over the railway also fell in sympathy, and about 1902 the goods and passenger services were discontinued and the line was abandoned.
During 1915 several gentlemen who had gained experience with various minature pleasure railways in parks at Rhyl, Geneva, Southport and elsewhere, conceived the idea of purchasing the railway lock, stock, and barrel, and converting it to the 15 inch gauge. The scheme intended was to run the line with scale model locomotives quarter full size types, but, recently, owing to the great increase in traffic larger locomotives approximately one third full size prototypes have been adopted.
In 1916 the main line was completed and passenger and goods trains commenced to run. The great supporter of the railway is the holiday traffic, but a small service is also maintained during the winter months. From the first, the success of the novel railway was assured. The seven mile journey, in small open cars drawn by realistic working models of modern express engines, has proved a fascination for children of all ages, and the advantage of viewing the magnificent mountain and lake scenery in such a novel manner has served only to heighten the popularity of this little line.
On public holidays, upwards of 1,200 passengers have visited Boot and travelled over this unique railway in one day. Taking the average train load as 100 passengers this would mean 24 trains have had to be run over the seven mile journey, and over a single line possessing only very primitive signalling arrangements and inadequate crossing facilities.
In fact it is not an uncommon thing during the summer months for a main line train to arrive at the London, Midland and Scottish Railway station with over 500 passengers all anxious to proceed by the first train to Boot, on the Eskdale line. As the line only possesses four engines, the largest of which barely weighs 8 tons in working order, it is an extraordinary matter how such a line can deal expeditiously with such comparatively large
Of course it is quite true that the passengers could be handled in far greater numbers if the gauge was altered to the standard and proper full sized trains run, instead of the diminutive rolling stock now used, but the circumstance is generally overlooked that it is chiefly the size and novelty of the railway in this case which draws all the traffic. It would, therefore, be poor business on the part of the management to convert the 15 inch gauge to the standard.
The grades on the line are not all easy. There are several stretches of 1 in 40, and 1 in 50, with a short piece at 1 in 34. As the trains frequently reach the equivalent of 500 scale tons, it can be seen that the diminutive engines have no light task in hand in hauling the trains. Many regular main line engine drivers who have paid the line a visit are said to have been genuinely astonished at the work the engines perform.
The engines, as previously mentioned, are one-third size models; the first type, the “Atlantic,” named “Sanspareil,” shown in the accompanying photo, has already travelled over 100,000 miles in the course of its career. Perhaps a few of the leading dimensions will interest our locomotive friends: cylinders 4 1/8in, by 6 4/3in.; driving wheels 20 inch diameter;— tender holds 60 gallons of water and 2 cwt. of fuel; total weight, engine and tender, 2 tons 5 cwt.
A later development is the 4-6-2 “Pacific” type with almost identical dimensions as the foregoing type, with the exception of a larger boiler. The respective adhesion weights on the coupled wheels are however 2,800 lbs. for the “Atlantic” and 3,800 lbs. for the “Pacific.” The latter engine is very fast and has done the seven miles in under 20 minutes, equalling 21 m.p.h.
Both these types have now given place to the pride of the line, a “monster” one-third full size 2-8-2 goods engine named “River Esk.” If it were a full sized engine it would be the largest goods engine in the British Isles, and also the only one with that wheel arrangement known as 2-8-2 (two leading wheels, eight drivers and two trailing). Another novelty is the employment of a patent valve gear using poppet valves, similar to those employed on a motor car. The engine has proved a success, and the London and North Eastern Railway have since equipped one of their locomotives experimentally with a valve gear of the same type.
The cab is very roomy, and the driver and a companion (none of the engines carry a fireman) can shelter in the cab in wet weather or in winter. The locomotive is capable of working, with ease, a 30 ton stone train, or a heavy passenger train of 220 passengers. It can perform the entire journey of seven miles without the fire having to be once touched. This is because a large wide “Wootten” firebox is fitted, and this engine like all the others on the railway burns the finest grade
A rather humourous provision in the timetable—at least to a railwayman accustomed to full sized trains—is the remark that the “down” non-stop express will slip two coaches at Irton Road for passengers desirous of alighting at that station.
Recently a granite quarry has been opened at Bedfoot and a considerable stone traffic is now carried by this diminutive railway all the year round. The new heavy goods locomotive is largely used on this duty. Its larger cylinders 51/4 in. × 81/2 in. and eight coupled wheels give plenty of power; also, having a large bogie tender holding 1,700 gallons of water and 5 cwt. of coke, it is superior to the earlier type with a tender capacity of sixty gallons of water and only two cwt. of fuel, and capable of more trips without returning to the shed to re-fuel and water.
The rolling stock is all four wheeled with the exception of bogie covered cars used in the winter months. It is naturally very important to keep the tare-load as light as possible, and this is demonstrated by the fact that the tare-load is only one hundredweight per passenger for the four wheeled open coaches. The rails are twenty-four pound flat-bottomed type spiked to heavy standard railway sleepers cut into three pieces. This interesting little line, besides carrying passengers and goods, also delivers the mail regularly to the main line trains at Ravenglass. In the early days shortage of locomotives necessitated the use of a tiny wheel propelled by a 4-h.p. Douglas motor cycle engine—very similar to the motor jiggers of the four-wheeled type as used by the Public Works Department.
Now a “Ford” on rail wheels has been purchased and is used for miscellaneous duties, shunting, etc., and it is rumoured that the fame of the “Smallest Railway in the World” is increasing yearly to such an extent that a further increase in the locomotive stock will soon have to be considered to deal with the ever growing demands of the summer passenger traffic.
Perhaps because of the great success of the Ravenglass and Eskdale Miniature Railway, similar railways are now being constructed elsewhere.
A line to be known as the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Light Railway is now almost completed in the South-East corner of England. It is of 15 inch gauge and will be worked by one-third full size “Pacific” class locomotives having three cylinders. Huge model locomotives of the 4-8-2 type may be built later on. Some of the engineering difficulties encountered in making the line, include crossing forty-three streams or dykes and two tunnels under main roads, the longest being 36 feet. Standard semaphore signals will be used in conjunction with telephone train operation and most of the station buildings will be very substantially built in reinforced concrete, and conforming to the most modern methods of building in this material. Strange to say the line has a strong road motor service to compete against.
It is interesting to speculate at this stage whether we will ever see a similar kind of light railway in New Zealand. Rotorua, with its thousands of tourists who visit Whakarewarewa, Wairoa, etc., in the summer season offers a great field for private or Government enterprise in this direction. The climate is also far more congenial to “open air” travel than the average holiday maker in England usually experiences.
However, “Coming events cast their shadows before,” and from what the writer has heard there exists at least a possibility of a miniature railway of this type being built in Auckland in the future.
We, as railwaymen, are face to face with ever growing road competition and competition which may mean a great deal to us in the way of less business, perhaps less wages. We are faced with a situation which is found to be acute and only our loyal co-operation and team work will enable the men at the helm to pull through. Therefore, we must put our heart and soul into the work and “play the game” for the good of the Service.
Let us consider the incentive, the mainspring which must actuate a body of men who would make good. The men in the railway are sometimes called upon to do things infinitely more difficult than anything civilian life can put forward, without hope of reward, financial or otherwise. Sometimes they make good; sometimes they fail. Why? Of what does the soul of the railways consist?
To express it in a single word or a phrase is well-nigh impossible; the nearest approach one can make is to say that it is the desire to “play the game.”
The first great principle involved, therefore, is the principle of “playing for the side.” The Railways are just a team—a team of men who are training for a certain work. The harder the work the harder the training, and in our work the stakes are more business for the railways. In cricket, in football, unless a player is prepared to sacrifice his chance of individual glory on occasion that his side may benefit, he is not worth his place in the team. The whole soul of sport is “playing for the side”; a feeling of pleasure and pride in your individual achievement because it helps the team.
Unselfishness is one of the great essentials. The selfish player can never feel the soul of sport. With him his performance is all that matters Everyone knows the selfish three-quarter, the man who will not pass while he sees even the faintest chance of getting over the line himself though the man next to him has a clear run in. When he does pass it is generally too late. To the spectators it has been a brilliant run, a fine attempt, a very near thing, but the players know it was just selfishness. The good captain, the good leader, replaces him by a less brilliant, less spectacular, less selfish player, because, to the good leader, it is only the side that counts.
It is this ideal of unselfishness, of team work in the highest sense, which a man must follow before he can be of value to his side in any game; it is the religion which a railwayman must learn before he can give of his best. Like all religions it helps the man who has acquired it, when he feels the need of something outside himself to help him, when he has reached the breaking point and can stand no longer alone. It is a religion of to-day, to a certain extent, perhaps, a material religion invented by men for men, yet I venture to think it takes its believer a little nearer to the heart of things than he would have reached by any other means.
Last year the Stores Branch of the Railway Department issued for use material which cost over two million pounds to purchase. That's real money. If you owned that yourself, I'll bet you would think so! You can also bet your sweet life that if you owned it you would take a whole lot of precautions to see that you didn't waste it and to see that nobody else lost what you paid for. You wouldn't leave it around haphazardly; nor would you put it in a box with a hole in it.
It is a very good way to get the true perspective of a situation, by putting yourself in the other fellow's place. Scattered all over our railway system, in yards, sheds, workshons and depots, of all kinds, are stocks of material Material is money in less negotiable form, with this difference—that a sum of say £1,000 in the bank for a year earns interest, becomes bigger, whereas £1,000 worth of material if not used, if not taken care of, or if not really wanted, gets smaller, it wastes, and we might even lose it entirely.
If any one of us borrows £1,000 to build a house, we have to pay interest for it. Similarly, if we carry over one million pounds worth of material in stock, and we do, we lose the interest on that amount of money while it is in stock, and it doesn't earn us a penny in return until we use it, until we make it do its work.
What I am getting at is this. On the operating side of the railway we hear:—
“The Stores don't keep it in stock.”
“Stock run out.”
“Big stock but of the wrong sort and size.”
“We ought to keep our own stock,” etc., etc. That's the viewpoint of the man who wants material, and while it sounds like a growl all the time, it indicates his zeal for the progress of the work, and disappointment that it is held up. Foremen want material, and they expect the Stores to have it on hand when they are ready for it, so that their output will not be interfered with.
The storekeeper's problems—the other side of the story—are not easy. He must keep in stock regular requirements. He must also look ahead. He must give prompt service, and for financial reasons he:—
1. Must keep his stock down to a minimum, because it costs money to hold.
2. He must get as quick a turnover as possible of his stock consistent with service required.
The success of the re-organisation of the Stores Branch is going to be largely dependent on everyone properly understanding what is aimed at, and everybody working to the one end. Prior to this re-organisation, which is now in progress, there were innumerable stocks of material in every shop and depot, also in cupboards in every corner of the railway, materials which had been paid for in hard cash and were being held by the working staff and not by the storekeeper at all. Storekeepers were often chasing merchants for material for one leading hand, whereas the same material unknown to them was often in another leading hand's cupboard, in the same shop. Everybody was trying to play safe against his probable needs and building up stocks that from a business point of view could only, at best, be described as a poor investment.
I don't suppose any single one of these odd stocks was really satisfactory. It was always a “hand to mouth” proposition, bolstered up by rush orders to the stores, which meant high cost through buying in small lots. The idea now is to concentrate in particular places, properly equipped and properly stocked, stocks of material under the control of the Stores Branch. All the little stocks must be turned into these main stores so that a really useful stock is available for everybody. We have to understand what the Stores Branch is stocking and to assist them in making provision for us, we must tell the Stores our requirements. At first there will be some trouble through items not being in stock, or overlooked; but, eventually, the storekeeper,
The system being adopted under the re-organisation scheme is a standard one throughout the world in big business concerns. Ours is the biggest industry in this country.
In regard to motor haulage competition some home thrusts were made by Mr. H. Welsh, Railway Business Agent for the Auckland District, in a recent address to the Hamilton business men and carriers. “I wonder” said he, “if it has ever struck the merchants making use of motor transport from Auckland that the lorries were breaking up the roads to such an extent that farmers, who formerly made Hamilton their centre, were now shopping elsewhere, because of the danger of damaging their cars?” And again, “Those making use of the lorries jeopardised the developmental rates given by the Railways, incidentally retarding the progress of Hamilton. They helped to smash up the farmers' roads and widened the breach between town and country by giving the famers just ground for complaint against the business men in the towns.”
The Chairman, Mr. A. M. Bisley, said “They should get right down to business and eliminate the opposition by supporting the Railways alone.” A resolution urging all those making use of transport to give effect to this principle was carried unanimously.
Smoke and grime and ugliness are not necessarily associated with the railways (says the Wellington “Evening Post”). In Great Britain and elsewhere it has been possible to hide the ugliness with shrubs and flowers and trim lawns; and many of the stations are delightful spots and pleasing to the eye. There is no reason why similar beautification should not be undertaken in New Zealand, and it will be if railway servants and the public pay attention to the suggestions made by the “N.Z. Railways Magazine.” In some places beautification may be extremely difficult. Wellington's two stations certainly present rather hopeless propositions. They have not even the restful charm that one associates with old age. But many of the provincial towns are not under the same handicap. This may be regarded as a trifling matter. “What nonsense to talk about flowers,” someone may say. “We want quicker trains.” But the railway station is the main entrance to many towns, and what business man would think of depositing a litter of old iron and junk before his front-shop, or of leaving his front garden to be overgrown with weeds? Yet many provincial towns of great beauty and attractiveness are entered through a station which is as bare and ugly as it could be made.
Definition.—These yards, as their title indicates, are constructed for the purposes of concentrating wagons converging from predetermined areas and directions; marshalling them into groups according to requirements; sorting them into order of destination, and finally despatching them to that destination.
A progressive country, such as this, is ever demanding more efficient and more expeditious rail transportation and it is incumbent upon us to see that we do not fail in meeting that demand. The introduction of more comprehensive statistics has enabled those responsible to gauge the position correctly and to show whether increased facilities are necessary and what economies would be effected by the installation of more modern methods. Until recently the traffic on New Zealand Railways has not been sufficiently dense to warrant the introduction of special shunting yards. The time has now arrived, however, when their construction in certain localities is justified, and two such yards are now being constructed, one at Middleton (Christchurch) in the South Island and one at Palmerston North in the North Island. It might be of interest, therefore, to discuss in some detail the general question of marshalling yards, their location, dimensions, general arrangement and the latest inventions for facilitating the shunting of wagons in modern yards.
Location.—The first and most important question to decide before planning a marshalling yard is “Where it is to be?” i.e., “Which is the most convenient point, having regard to traffic requirements, ground formation, land available, and other essentials?”
In the case of the two yards under construction, Palmerston North was not difficult to decide upon. Here is one of the main junction and concentration points of the North Island. It is growing in importance every year and one can safely assume that it will always remain an important junction and transhipping station whatever the change in the flow of traffic and whatever additional facilities may be provided at other junctions as the net-work of railways increases. Fortunately there is ample space at Palmerston North for this new yard and the natural formation of the ground lends itself to economic shunting operations.
The position of a marshalling yard to serve Lyttelton and Christchurch was, however, a more difficult proposition to decide. Accommodation was available at two points, one
Frankton Junction is obviously another point where, in the near future, a marshalling yard will be necessary.
Having decided on the location, geographically speaking, and taking it as an axiom that the yard must run parallel to the running lines, consideration must then be given to where the main line or lines should pass.
(1) Through the centre of the yard thus separating up and down traffic.
(2) To one side of the yard, if so, which side.
(3) Round the yard, that is in the case of duplicated main lines.
As regards No. 1 (through the centre of the yard) this is an expensive method which restricts flexibility in the use of shunting engines and staff and is only desirable where the traffic in one direction is independent of that in the other, or, where the movement is so continuous as to preclude any possibility of inter-change of engines and yard staff from one portion of the yard to the other, to meet fluctuations in traffic. If, however, there is a considerable “return” movement, constant inter-changing of wagons from one yard to the other has to take place over the main lines in order to get wagons on to trains going in the required direction, and if the yard happens to be the end of a Locomotive Division there is a possibility of considerable delay to train engines passing to and from the Loco. Depot. It frequently occurs, of course, that sufficient space is not obtainable to handle all the traffic on one side of the main line and the only solution then is to split the yard. In many cases it has been found more economical to free the main lines by building either “burrowing” or “fly over” junctions which enables communication to be made between the two yards without fouling the main lines.
Illustration 1 shows a yard with the main lines running through the centre.
As regards No. 2 (to one side of the yard) this is the most common practice and it has the advantage from the purely yard operating point of view of enabling closer supervision of the various co-ordinating movements and also permits of more flexibility of staff, and engines can be shifted at a moment's notice according to traffic requirements. Interference with the main line is reduced to a minimum if the yard is placed according to the Traffic Officer's recommendations. These recommendations must be based on data indicating the exact flow and nature of the traffic. Some of the matters to be considered are:—(1) In what direction or directions is the flow of goods traffic? (2) Periods over which maximum density of passenger and goods traffic is maintained (both directions separately) on all lines entering the yard? (3) How far does passenger traffic interfere with goods traffic at the period
In short, it is a question of deciding which side of the line will cause the least disturbance to main line operation. Where the main lines are duplicated and the flow of traffic in one direction is considerably in excess of that in the other direction, or the nature of the traffic is such that in one direction trains can more conveniently proceed to another yard further along the line, and that in the other direction numerous junctions, private sidings, etc., necessitate the splitting up of trains, the question of which side the yard shall be is easily determined. Unfortunately, however, it is rare in these days for the operating officers to be in the happy position of being able to decide the location of a yard from their point of view. Geographical and topographical features, the price of land and available space, etc., usually decide the issue. There is always the possibility, of course, of delay to main line traffic becoming acute by reason of the continual crossing over of trains arriving and leaving the yard. Where engineering difficulties do not prevent it, either the “burrowing” or “fly over” junction is then the only remedy, particularly where the main line is made up of four roads, i.e., two passenger and two goods. It might be argued that as regards conditions here in New Zealand with single line operation it matters not which side of the line the yard is situated. It must not be forgotten, however, that single lines become double lines and that probably in the near future, for the presence of a new yard indicates more traffic and increased main line density. It is not only the present that must be catered for but the future. Illustration 2 shows a French yard on one side of the main lines.
No. 3 (round the yard, that is, in the case of duplicated lines). This is a practice most extensively used in America and has much to commend it particularly where a frequent passenger service is run either on the same roads as the goods trains or on separate fast traffic roads. As regards main line occupation the movements are all forward as all changes of traffic from one direction to the other is done in the yard. “Burrowing” and “fly over” junctions are avoided and the occupation of the main lines for goods traffic working in and out of the yard is reduced to a minimum.
In this type of yard a great deal depends on location. A modern yard can spread over three miles or more so that if the locality requires a station anywhere within the yard area separation of the main lines is not practicable. It is usually found that townships grow up around these yards and there is always a possibility of a station being required half way between the extreme ends of the yard. This together with the fact that expansion is usually limited are the only drawbacks in this type of layout, and are not really serious when one considers the economic advantages of having direct ingress and egress together with a complete “two direction yard” with absolute freedom of movement. The advantages, of course, are more outstanding when the traffic in one direction is dependent on the traffic in the other.
From Mr. C. A. Clarke, Hon. Secretary, District High School, Rotorua, to Mr. H. Welsh, Business Agent:
I am instructed by our Committee to thank you very sincerely for the splendid train arrangements made in connection with the excursion of school children from here recently to the Winter Show at Hamilton.
The accommodation was most comfortable. Instead of the children arriving back tired out, cold and weary, they were in the best of spirits, lively and warm and sorry it was the end of a perfect day. They are already looking forward to next year. The train journey is rather long for children and especially the return when all the fun is over, the hour too is rather late for the younger ones, but I should have liked you to have been on hand to see their happy faces, it would have been quite sufficient recompense for your endeavour on their behalf. I should like to mention the courtesy and assistance received at the hands of the Stationmaster and Officials at Rotorua, those in charge of the train and at Hamilton. Everyone did their utmost to make the outing pleasant and where there are so many children this is not always easy. I hope you are satisfied with the way the train was patronised and that you will see your way to grant similar concessions and facilities in the future.
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“I wish to convey to your Department our appreciation of the services rendered,” writes the Manager of the N.Z. Co-operative Dairy Company's Waitoa Butter Factory, to the Stationmaster at Hamilton, in the matter of the consignment of the past season's butter. “It is a very pleasant feeling to us to know that our trucks will be along and that we will be able to consign our produce. It has been very noticeable during the past season that whatever we have asked of you within reason has been fulfilled promptly and courteously, which is at all times greatly appreciated.”
Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth & Co., Ltd., write expressing appreciation of the co-operation and assistance received from the Chief Mechanical Engineer's Department, the District Engineer and the Traffic Branch, Auckland, in connection with the successful transportation from Auckland to Putaruru on 25th July of the first shipment of over-gauge packages for the Arapuni Hydro Electric Works. Through the efficient working of the officials concerned the work was carried out without a hitch.
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Mr. G. C. T. Orr, of Sydney, who was a passenger on the excursion train to Otira on Sunday, 25th July, writes to the Stationmaster, Christchurch, as follows:—“I should like to express to yourself and staff my very deep appreciation of the exceedingly courteous manner in which you arranged for my participation in the Otira excursion. Attention such as this, is, to say the least, rare in other places…..I can assure you that the experience will always be looked back to with pleasure, and I trust when I visit your city next year, I may again have the opportunity and pleasure of enjoying the magnificent scenery of the Otira Gorge.”
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Writing to the District Traffic Manager at Wellington, the Universal Film Manufacturing Company Ltd., expresses appreciation of the good work of Mr. Newman, Stationmaster at Palmerston South, and Mr. Clark Stationmaster at Lyttelton, in tracing a parcel of film which had gone astray. Through the co-operation of these officers, the film, which was urgently required, was discovered and dispatched to Wellington, thus saving the Company being placed in “a very serious predicament.” They conclude:—“You may rest assured that the courtesy and attention extended by your officers has merited our full appreciation, and goes a long way towards cementing the faith of this and other organisations of a like nature, in the excellent service at present rendered by the New Zealand Railways.”
The get-together spirit so necessary to good teamwork is nowhere more strongly in evidence than in the Chief Accountant's Branch. One might expect these figure-grinding fellows, securely anchored at the financial centre of the Railway System, to become as mechanical in habit and outlook as the figures they daily delve amongst. But, just as Dickens found some of his happiest characters amongst undertakers, so one may discover the most imaginative and progressive individuals bred in the atmosphere of soulless arithmetical calculations, and surviving amidst the clatter of precise mechanical calculators.
Although he and his men must have been almost smothered under the superineumbent mass of detail involved in the recent change in the Railway financial system, from Departmental to business accountancy, Mr. H. Valentine, the new Chief of the Branch, did not lose sight of the social side. In pursuance of a definite policy in this respect he recently arranged a reunion of past and present accounting men at a smoke concert—ability to properly appreciate the binomial theorem being probably the test of admission; and there was a very full attendance.
Included in the evening's arrangements were farewells to Mr. Burns (Chief Audit Inspector), and to Mr. Burke (who, for 35 years has held his position in the ticket rating department). Both of these gentlemen pass into retirement with the heartiest good wishes of all who knew them, and a record of sterling service behind them. As Mr. Jones (Board Chairman) remarked in regard to Mr. Burke's retirement, “it is always a wrench to see good men go out.”
The speaking during the reunion revealed a surprisingly high standard, particularly considering that the speakers belong to a branch which, in the transaction of its business, has no direct contact with the public. Confidence such as that displayed could be possible only in a body of men amongst whom exist complete understanding and mutual appreciation. Here, surely, is an, as yet, untapped resource from which speakers could be drawn, as required, to place the Department's position before the public, a work which several men are quite capable of undertaking with honour to themselves and credit to the Department.
In referring to the retirement of Mr. Burns (Chief Audit Inspector) Mr. Valentine said, “He has given 40 years of the highest form of service. He is a man of integrity of the best type, broad-minded, with sound judgment and A1 character. Part of his service had been spent with the Postal Department. To the office staff he was a tower of strength and, although on the point of retiring, even that morning he had been plotting out plans to make the wheels run more smoothly, to avoid trouble, and to befriend the staff. They all parted with him with very much regret and wished him long years of happy life to enjoy his retirement on the Superannuation Fund.”
Mr. Doolan said that, as an inspector, it gave him great pleasure to hear the speech of his Chief. Mr. Burns deserved fully all that had been said. After 40 years of strenuous life in the railway service to retire with such a youthful appearance indicated that he must have had a contented life at home, for which a great deal of credit must be given to his wife. Mr. Burns had been looked on as a most capable officer throughout the whole period.
Mr. Larkin (Audit Inspector) said that the bank account in praise of Mr. Burns could never be overdrawn.
Mr. Porteous referred to the splendid work accomplished by Mr. Burns who, unlike some officers, was eager to impart his knowledge to others.
In responding to his toast, Mr. Burns said that he was meeting to-night some new faces, but he must admit that he did not know the member they spoke of. This was a “Red Letter Day” in his life. He looked forward with dread to his retirement, but he supposed that hesitation would pass, and once free of the Railway, he would settle down contentedly enough to the new life. It would be his desire to try to be like the picture his fellow officers had drawn of him, and he would always preserve a kindly feeling towards all members of the Service. They had set for him a high standard which he must try to live up to. He was particularly pleased with the nice reference to his wife. His home life had been of the happiest, and she would treasure these references. He had known many phases of management and he was sure that never in
Mr. Valentine, in referring to the general purpose of the gathering, remarked that the Accounts Branch endeavoured to adopt a fair attitude towards the staff. In saying this he recognised that this attitude had been built up on the firm foundation laid by now superannuated members many of whom were present with them. An endeavour in his own regime would be to live up to that noble tradition.
Mr. Ahearn remarked that it seemed to him some of the superannuated men must have been super-men and, that being so, he hoped next year to be among them. He considered the reunion a glorious idea of Mr. Valentine's for producing camaraderie and the esprit de corps so necessary for effective service.
Several superannuated members gave interesting reminiscences of the old days. One speaker recalled how an officer of the old school in replying to a query of the Chief Accountant's regarding the number of mistakes made in the returns forwarded to that station, wrote, among other things, “No gentleman would think of pointing out another gentleman's errors.”
“He is the guide, philosopher, and friend of timid railway travellers, and is already filling a long-felt want at the Dunedin Railway Station. For a small sum he will carry one's bag from the taxi to the train. For a further consideration he will check luggage and label it, book seats, and attend to the many little bothering details which are the bugbear of train travelling. For the privilege of operating on the railway station he pays a license fee and the fee he charges is governed by regulation, and this, coupled with the fact that any complaint against him can be taken before the stationmaster for final arbitration, makes exploitation highly improbable if not impossible.”
“Red Cap” porters were first tried by the N.Z. Railways in December last, and have proved so satisfactory to the public and Department that a number are now operating throughout the Dominion.
“Red Caps” are located at Auckland, Frankton Junction, Palmerston North, Thorndon, Christchurch, and Dunedin.
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Every noble life leaves the fibre of it interwoven with the work of the world.—Ruskin.
It was in the engine shed waiting room one Saturday that two engine drivers, who were strangers to me, got on to swopping lies. I heard after that one carried the handle of “Waimarino Jack,” while his brother in the craft answered to the call of “Central Otago Ned.” Jack was relating his many and varied experiences. “Yes,” said Jack, “It was the first time I steered the old 204 over the North Island Main Trunk, trailing a draft of cattle. It was the year of the ‘flu and the staff were a bit depleted, hence the fireman, the guard and myself were strangers. I got ‘right away’ from old gold braid at Ohakune, opened the throttle and started to bore a hole in the night to Taumarunui. Somewhere on the route I saw the tail lights of a van ahead, which puzzled me somewhat. I knew I had the right of the road according to regulations,—even the tablet said so. However, I blew on me brakes, reversed me engine and pulled up with a jerk, and just as I brought the rattler to a standstill, the van ahead stopped. ‘Just in time’ said I to the fireman. ‘If I hadn't been on the look out, what a smash we would have had!”’ Old Ned was listening so attentively to Jack that he lit a match and forgot about it until it burnt his fingers. “Cripes!” said Jack, “I expected to get promotion for avoiding a huge catastrophe, but Nemesis was on me track. I swung off the foot plate and went ahead to the van. As I looked through the window I saw the Guard sitting on an empty milk can munching at a crust of bread that balanced a cold chop, and on the floor beside him stood a half empty bottle of tea. As I looked at his dial a thought came to me that I saw him somewhere before on that same day. I climbed up the steps and said ‘What the h—l are you blokes doing here blocking the traffic?’ ‘I'm hanged if know,’ said he, after he had swallowed what he ‘was chewing. ‘I suppose something must have happened the blooming engine.’ ‘In the name of progress,’ said I, ‘why don't you go along and see what is wrong?’”
“He cleared his throat with another swig of the bottle and said as he left the van to go along the train, ‘Half a mo' till I have a look!’ After he had gone some distance I left the van and went back to me own engine, opened up me lunch bag to have a bite while the going was easy. I was just biting a half circle out of a stale pie when I saw a lamp swinging up along my train and heard grinding footsteps on the gravel, and from behind the light came the guard I had just spoken to a few minutes before. ‘Hello, Weary Willie’ said I, ‘Lost yourself?’ ‘Spare me days,’ said he as he looked into my face, ‘what's the number of that train you're hauling?’ ‘204’ said I, ‘and if it wasn't for you and your blocking the road and endangering the lives of beasts and men I'd be in Taumarunui by now.’ A look of disgust came over his face as he said ‘For God's sake open her out and get a move on, that's our van ahead; we're on the blooming spiral.”’
Old Ned looked rather glum when old Jack finished his story. He lit a pipe of uncertain age but of distinctive odour. Presently the fire of battle came into his eyes and a smile ran up one side of his weather beaten cheek till it kissed his ear. I saw that his brain had been searching back through the dark ages for something and found it. “Some spiral that” said Ned, “we have none like that on the Central although the guard sometimes warms his hands at the engine fire as we swing the curves. On the Central the frost and snow are our greatest drawbacks. I mind the winter of 1908,” said Ned warming up to his subject. “I had just sat down to sole a pair of boots when an unwashed cleaner just out of the smoke box jazzed into me homestead and gave me the office that the guy in the cushion chair requested my presence on the footplate of 610 to trail a burden of turnips and rabbit traps up the Central as man and beast were starving in the tussock country. I ambled to the bulljoint, oiled her axles, filled her sand dome, warmed her steam chests, opened her throttle, and then coiled in the sleepers ahead and threw them behind me till they appeared like the tail of a comet. I'll never forget that night. Talk about snow and frost! The beads of perspiration on the fireman's brow were frozen solid before he could wipe them off. The brains of the job put a couple of brushes on the cowcatcher to sweep the snow from the rails. Bless me soul, they should have put them on the chimney stack to sweep the sky line. As it was, we passed several of the stations without seeing um, although we were supposed to throw off the ‘Daily Times.’ All went fairly well until we sighted the first bridge. There we found one of the piles knocked out of her by a big rock that rolled down the mountain side. Then I remembered something I had read about the breaking strain of ice, so I ordered the fireman and guard to get a couple of buckets and
“I started my seventy tonner across the bridge at a five mile gait, but before the van negotiated the bridge I ran into a slip and before we got the line clear a thaw set in so we had to pinch the van back again and go on without it although it was full of turnips. Cripes, how the stones did roll down the hill when the frost was thawing! One knocked the pipe out of my mouth and went bang through the van door. A bit further along the line we ran out of water, so we fills up the boiler with ice, and when the ice began to expand the old boiler took on a three corner shape. And didn't we get a cheer when we bored up through the snow at Clyde! I knew it was against the regulations to leave a van standing on the road so I wired down. Next day they sent a light engine up for it and when they got it down, there wasn't a turnip in it. I suppose nobody will believe me when I say it was full of live rabbits. All the starving bunnies on the plains got in through the hole in the door and mopped up all the turnips. I was ‘blistered’ over losing the turnips; in fact, there was going to be an inquiry into it, but the heads backed down in case the public got wind that they were rabbit farming. Besides, at that time the fur coats were worth a tenner apiece. Yes,” said Ned, “them were the good old days.”
In the August issue, the capacity of one of the Immingham coal hoists was shown in
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The small courtesies sweeten life; the greater ennoble it.
The tender of Messrs Cook & Sons Ltd., of Palmerston North, has been accepted for the purchase of the milling timber in the Railway Department's plantations on the Foxton branch. Although the trees were not planted for commercial purposes the Department's revenue will benefit by about £3,000 as the result of their sale.
The Foxton branch railway was opened for traffic in 1876 and for several years after great trouble was experienced on the portion of the line between Himatangi and Foxton with sand drifting on to the track. The country adjoining consisted, at that time, of naked sand dunes, and after every strong wind the railway line was covered with sand, constituting a source of danger to trains. The continual removal of this sand added materially to the cost of maintenance. To prevent the sand drift, the Department in 1884 acquired, on the western side of the line, strips of land several miles long and varying in width from five chains to ten chains.
These areas were planted by the Maintenance staff, with pinus insignis trees from the Department's own nurseries. The tree planting proved effectual in preventing sand movement, thus achieving the purpose for which it was carried out. The ground became covered with leaf litter and light humus, which encouraged the growth of grass and other vegetation. The sand was thus stabilised, and no trouble with drift has been experienced for many years past.
The greater number of the trees have now fully matured, and as, under existing conditions, the plantations were more likely to decrease than to increase in value, it was considered advisable to sell off the existing trees and replant the areas with trees of greater commercial value on the lines of scientific afforestation. This work will be carried out under the expert supervision of the State Forest Service, and there is no doubt that these areas, which were once troublesome sand wastes, will in the future be sources of considerable profit to the Railway Department.
Few countries possess finer natural resources in water power than New Zealand. The economic utilisation of water power to the running of their railway systems is at present engrossing the attention of the Railway Engineering Departments of the British Railways. Yet as water power is scarce, except in Scotland, while coal is abundant all over, proposals are on foot to utilise that mineral at the pits mouth for the generation of electricity, leaving water as a secondary consideration. These proposals are being considered by a Board of Experts especially appointed some years ago by the Government. Not only so, but they are also considering the possible barrage of rivers for the same purpose. Who has not heard of the proposed Severn dam? This proposition, however, stands almost alone amongst water power schemes. Here in New Zealand coal is limited, while water power is abundant, for we possess at least a dozen lakes situated for the most part hundreds of feet above sea level. More especially is this true of the South Island, and it is here that we should look for a test to be made, as made it must be, to ascertain whether it is more economical to retain steam as our railway motive power or to utilise our water power resources.
The function of a railway is to aid a community to the easier acquirement of wealth, and it cannot do this if it abstracts wealth from the community. In the latter event the community will take such steps as are needed to render the system efficient, for efficiency must be the criterion. Such, it seems to me, is the logical conclusion of Mr. Jones' admirable address pp. 42 and 43 of the first number of the Magazine. In engineering the utilisation of our water resources we must proceed on lines that will leave motor buses and lorries (figuratively speaking) standing still even with fuel at 6d. per gallon. There is a place in New Zealand's economy for these of course, but it should not be in competition with our railways. In other words, railway services must be made so cheap and efficient that no other means of transport will supplant it.
The important question is: “What lake lends itself easiest to the generation of electric power sufficient for a portion (if not all) of our railway system (1) in the North Island, (2) in the South Island?” Before deciding, there are several conditions which will help to limit the choice. To mention one, “What suitable lake is nearest to railway service?” Overland haulage by traction engines (such as was used at Lake Coleridge) is too expensive altogether. A railway line must connect the main system with the power house, so that the material required in its erection and equipment are delivered on the spot quickly and cheaply. This factor being ascertained, it follows naturally that the easiest got-at site for a power station should be utilised first, whatever may be the power lost either above or below it, as that can afterwards be brought into service when required. Another consideration in the choice should be the fact that branch lines lend themselves easier to a “change-over” from the present system without much disturbance to their everyday operation. Without mentioning other facters the position can now be stated as follows. “What branch line (a. in the North Island—b. in the South Island) is nearest to a source of power supply at any point?” Answering for the South Island I assert that the Timaru-Fairlie line should be the first to be electrically operated from that magnificent body of water—Lake Tekapo, which is over 2,000 feet above sea level and has an overflow quite suitable to operate a great portion of the main South line. It is a branch line becoming more popular every season with tourists for Mt. Cook and its glaciers. Incidentally, its terminus might be much nearer the Hermitage, but I am convinced that once it were electrified this desideratum would soon follow. I grant that the district served is mostly devoted to wool growing at present, but there is no reason why in the future the McKenzie country should not carry a large population. Economic progress
The above block shows the general layout of the New Auckland station and precincts.
The floor plans of the station building have been prepared in the office of the Chief Engineer for Railways and are the outcome of much consideration and investigation by the experts of the Department combined with information and experience obtained by officers who went abroad last year.
In view of the civic importance of Auckland's main railway station, and its prominent position, it has been decided to obtain the services of an architect of high standing belonging to the City of Auckland, and the firm of Messks, Gummer and Ford has been invited to collaborate with the Chief Engineer of Railways in the preparation of the final designs for the station buildings.
Ample room is provided in the booking lobby and on the concourse for the handling of large crowds—a boon that will be appreciated by both the travelling public and the members of the Railway staff responsible for dealing with them. At the new station the periodic congestion which occurs at the present station should be entirely absent. The new station will be capable of coping with any anticipated expansion of traffic for years to come.
(Concluded)
42. If the hole in the vent screw is closed up, the air pump will be slow in starting after being stopped owing to the compressed air above the governor piston not being able to pass through the vent hole to the atmosphere.
43. Dirt on the seat of the pin valve, or a leaky pin valve, will stop the pump or make it work slowly.
44. Worn steam rod and valve, will cause a blow of steam from the governor drain and relief ports.
45. Air pumps can be defective through the following causes:—Want of lubrication, defects in slide valve, piston rings, reversing plate, reversing rod, reversing valve, worn cylinders or bushes, air valves, valve cases, gland packing, dirty pump strainers, and running at excessive speed.
46. Driver's brake valve defects may be due to leaky rotary valve, worn equalising piston rings or cylinder, worn handle stops, defective feed valve or spring, water or leaks in the equalising reservoir or its connections. When brake valves are overhauled the equalising piston, its ring and cylinder, should all be examined. The piston ring should be tested as per the triple valve piston ring test.
47. Triple valve defects arise from worn or defective piston rings, bushes, feed grooves, graduating valve, leather gaskets, check valves
48. Brake cylinder defects may be caused by want of lubrication, defective piston leather, leakage groove stopped up, broken or defective leather packing expander, studs slack in the piston head, dirty or corroded brake cylinder, broken release spring, or leaky joints.
40. Release valve defects occur through defective or loose leather packing, defective valve seat, exhaust ports closed up, or handle sticking and keeping valve open.
50. Retaining valve defects: defective or broken weighted valve, defective valve seat, or leaky pipe connections.
51. Equalising reservoir defects: reservoir partly filled with water, leaky pipe connections. (Equalising reservoirs should be so placed that they can be easily drained by the engine-drivers).
52. Brake cylinder piston travel: short travel gives high brake power. Long travel gives low brake power.
From 70 pounds auxiliary reservoir and train pipe pressure.
If all the workers in New Zealand could get their wages raised simultaneously, without increasing their output for it, what would be the result?
Nothing. Because commodity prices would rise too, and the purchasing power of our money would be proportionately decreased. There is no theory about this—it is plain fact. One has only to think of the purchasing power of the wages of twenty years ago to realise this. In other words if the cost of your product goes up with the wages, the cost to the buyer goes up, and since we are the principal buyers ourselves, we pay.
Now, if we get an increase in wages, and lower the cost of our product, or at least keep it the same, then our money will buy more, and we will have gained something.
Lastly, if we can by any means reduce the cost of our products, so that the selling price can be reduced, then more people can afford to buy them, and the demand for our products will increase.
This is elementary economics, and we are selling transportation.
“The true solution of the labour problem” says a world authority, “is to make it possible for workers to get more money by earning more.”
The Premium Bonus System has been succssful because it secures when properly run, increase pay to the worker and decreased cost to the
hourly wages being always guaranteed.
Under the old piecework system, rates or prices were set by past records or guess estimates, that often proved very inaccurate. The result was sometimes excessive earnings that tempted the owners to cut prices. The entire excess earnings going to the worker made the employers want a share, especially when they realised that these earnings were due to poor rate setting and not entirely to increased efficiency.
Under modern systems the rates are set on more exact knowledge of times taken. Rate setters in the Department will require to be selected from the different crafts and trained in operation analysis. This is not a stop watch process, although in my own early days of rate setting the stop-watch was a handy tool. With experience, a rate setter will calculate in detail the operations upon which each rate is to be computed. Such rates will be approved by the foreman of the Department and also by the Departmental head.
The form printed on page 36 shows what a detailed analysis is. With such information available a fair deal can always be assured.
The next instalment on this subject will explain how the Premium rate is set, and its effect on wages and costs as compared with piecework methods.
Now that the Railway Department in New Zealand has taken on a new phase in railroad engineering, namely heavy electric traction, a new term has become common, and that is “flash-overs.” No railway system is perfect and trains will be delayed at times. The electrification scheme at Otira also has its delays. When a train stops passengers ask, “What's the trouble?” and some one in the know says, “Oh, they've had a ‘flash-over.”’ Then someone probably asks, “What's a lash-over?”' As often happens, the person interrogated may have but a hazy notion of the import of the phrase he has used and his expianation may make it more hazy still to the party seeking information.
Flash-overs occur on main generators, motors, etc. A flash-over is the dissipation of a large amount of electrical energy from the positive point to the negative or earth. In the case of the main generator this energy flashes in the form of a large are from the positive sets of brushes to the negative sets, or the earthed iron work of the machine, through the intervening air space. The generators at Otira are 1,500 volts and have an output of 1,200 Kilowatts at full load rating. The brush sets are separated from each other by about 18 inches and the nearest earthed point is about 12 inches. When a flash-over takes place this separating air space is broken down through the carbon gas off the brushes being blown across by the windage of the commutator and forming a path of low resistance for the electric current to follow. The electric are in dissipating the air is very rapid and the noise made is like the roar of a cannon but of a much sharper nature.
To suppress this destructive brush are a special device is fitted to the generator circuit breaker, which in its operation causes the field switch of the generator to be opened. Of course this does not stop the flash instantly, as the fields are magnetically saturated and it takes time for them to lose their magnetism. I have seen a brush are suppressed in the time taken for one half revolution of the commutator. Since the armature revolves at 450 revolutions per minute the duration of flush will be one-fifteenth of a second.
A light flash of short duration merely blackens the commutator and deposits on its face a few pips of copper. The latter are easily removed and the black marks are cleaned off with sandpaper. When it has been ascertained that all is correct on the overhead line, the machine is then ready to be run up to speed and put into service once more.
A severe flash-over will last several revolutions of the commutator and in its path will burn the brush arm insulation even to mica 1–16 in. thick. The flash guards covering up the brush sets will have holes burned in their inside corners of such a size that one's finger could be put through them. The flash guards are made of cast iron and fit snugly over the sets of brushes, so that the burning takes place on the cast iron guards and not on the expensive brush rigging.
A flash-over is the outcome of a dead short circuit or nearly so, which in other terms is a path of extremely low resistance to the flow of electric current. In the case under discussion it is caused by a rise in current or amperes, much in excess of the full load rating of the machine.
One of the worst flash-overs is caused by a dead short circuit near the power station such as the contacts wire, catenary or suspension wire being pushed against an earthed girder, or some other earthed suspension. The term “earthed” means being connected by a heavy copper conductor to the track which, in its turn, is connected to the negative terminal of the generator.
However, to finish up the explanation, it may be stated that a flash-over, like the one under discussion, will be in the region of 20 times the output of the generator, which is a machine of 1,200 Kilo-watts full load output. Thus the amount of energy thrown into the the flash will be 24,000 Kilo-watts or about 32,000 horse power for the duration of flashover. This large amount of power is derived from the momentum of the revolving armature which weighs about 7 tons, and also the turbine motor with its speed of 3,000 revolutions per minute.
When some of these brush arcs occur there are small pieces of carbon in a white hot state thrown off the brushes by the commutator, and these incandescent particles dance on the floor some 8 or 10 feet away for a couple of seconds or so.
Another item worthy of notice is the fact that no flash-overs occur due to the overhead being earthed at Arthur's Pass end, but just a heavy overload which is taken care of by the circuit breakers. The reason for no flashover is due to the overhead line resistance and also the return track resistance. No doubt when a large increase of current is demanded suddenly, reaction plays its part in a favourable way, and with a highly magnetic return such as the steel track it must be of considerable value, and thus help to choke bock the heavy rush of current.
Without going into reasons and technical details, etc., it is worth stating that rotary converters are more prone to flash-overs than straight out generators and not only flash-overs on dead short circuits, but also flash when the A.C. supply fails.
One of the latest developments in alternating current conversion to direct current is the mercury are rectifier. When it flashes over no noise is heard, but just simply the circuit breakers tripping. This is satisfactory to the
Before concluding it is perhaps worth mentioning that railway companies when ordering alternators for traction work sometimes specify that they are to be able to stand up to short circuits without detriment to the machine. This class of machine is vastly removed from the direct current class, as they have neither commutator nor revolving contacts on the power output side and the current is not unidirectional as in the D.C. machine, but as its name implies alternating and, in British practice, goes through 50 complete cycles per second. The design is of such a nature that when subjected to short circuits the inherent reaction of the machine windings on the short circuit current makes the circuit breakers trip the machine off load before any appreciable damage is done. This feat in machine design, threw extra attention on to circuit breaker design also.
The generators at Otira were tested in the Dick Kerr works at Preston to the following loadings and times.
100% overload for 5 minutes.
150% overload for 30 minutes.
125% overload for 2 hours.
As compared with other places we have had about our share of flash-overs at this power station. In the early days we had as many as four in a single day, but on the other hand, there have been periods of from six weeks to two months between flash-overs.
[To prevent flash-overs the modern practice is to install high-speed current breakers which disconnect the line sufficiently quickly to avoid any flash-over on the machine.—Ed., “N.Z.R.M.”]
The American railroads have recently been authorised by Congress to carry any totally blind person accompanied by a guide at the fare charged for one person, under such reasonable regulations as may have been established by the carrier. It may not be generally known that this has been the practice on the New Zealand Railways for many years.
It is dangerous to stand too close to a machine that is running. It is both dangerous and foolish to lean against such a machine. Stand a safe distance from any mechanism that is in motion, or is likely to be set in motion.
When working on a locomotive do not drop your hammer or your spanner. Serious injuries to employees working near or passing by have resulted from such carelessness.
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Can the Department depend upon you to carry out your daily duties with the fixed determination to avoid practices which might involve accident to those with whom you work?
Can your workmates depend upon you not to take risks likely to occasion accident to them?
Can your family depend upon you to be constantly vigilant in the prevention of accident to yourself, and to see that the carelessness of others does not injure you?
Can you depend upon yourself to foresee possibilities of danger in operations large and small, and avoid all danger?
If you can answer these question with an emphatic Yes, then you are doing your part towards the prevention of accidents and setting an example in Safety First.
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The reputation of the United States railways in the conservation of life, and in the reduction of accidents to employees has been enhanced by the safety record established by the El Paso shops of the Texas and Louisiana lines of the Southern Pacific. The shops employ an average of 650 men and are equipped for general and for heavy locomotive repairs. For a period of over 27 months, only two employees were injured in these works, which is a remarkable safety record when we consider that an aggregate of 2,734,701 man hours were worked. The much prized “Safety Banner” which was held by the Algiers shops of this railway system for three successive years passes over to the proud employees of the El Paso shops.
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On a recent visit to the Southern Pacific Railway Company's Locomotive Workshops at Sacramento, California, I was very cordially received and had the greatest consideration shown to me by all the officials, from the Super-intendent downwards.
All the information and papers were placed at my disposal. This appears to be the usual practice in the States, any information held by one firm or institution being freely available to others—a liberal attitude which is responsible to some extent for the present prosperity of the country. By passing on, for the benefit of others, anything good an increased output at a lesser expense has been made possible.
In 1829 a crude little locomotive in England successfully hauled a railroad passenger train. It was Stephenson's locomotive, the “Rocket,” and it was considered a marvel, because it could jolt along with two loaded coaches weighing about 10 tons. How the locomotive has since developed, with almost equal rapidity in all countries (including our own young Dominion) is a leading feature in the history of the most progressive of all centuries.
The first locomotive to run in the West was the “Governor Standford” which was brought round from New York via Cape Horn in October, 1863. It was christened “Governor Standford” after the then Governor of California, who with Messrs. C. P. Huntingdon, C. Crocker and M. Hopkins was responsible for the daring plan to build a railroad over the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the East.
The Railway Companies of U.S.A. have a happy plan of giving romance to railway working by naming not only their trains (e.g., the “Sunset Limited”), but also their locomotives and Pulman carriages.
This plan has been followed up to a point with good effect in New Zealand. For instance, the locomotive “Passehendaele,” the South Island “All Red” Express and the Northern “Daylight Limited” are titles which have become popular with the public. An extension of the principle to all Express trains and locomotives would meet with general approval from the public who in this country actually have a proprietary interest in them.
The “Governor Standford” may now be seen in the Museum at Standford University, Calffornia, while our own pioneer “Josephine” will find a resting place in the Otago Early Settlers' Museum.
The next Californian locomotive placed in service was the “C. P. Huntingdon” in 1864. It was 291/2 feet in length, weighed 171/4 tons, and could haul 4 cars weighing 22 tons each at 35 miles per hour up a grade of 26 feet to the mile. It is still in serviceable condition, but is used only for exhibition purposes.
A short time later the first typically freight locomotive was placed on the road. It had six driving wheels and was considered a wonder because it could haul eighteen small goods ears. This freight engine was named the “Conness” after a Californian Senator.
The early locomotives were picturesque in appearance. They had the old fashioned furnace, brass fittings and gay paint.
Wood was the fuel for the first locomotives, and firemen in those days had a heavy job.
The first transcontinental railway in the United States was completed on May 10th, 1869, the famous “Golden Spike” in commemoration being driven at Promontory, Utah, on that date.
Settlement followed the railroad, and the “Prairie Schooner” was replaced by “Goods freight trains,” which, even in the home of the automobile industry, cannot be displaced by motors. More powerful locomotives were required so that a larger train unit could be handled, at the same time freight or goods cars increased in weight. At present a goods car with load, weighs 50 tons.
One of the most interesting of the early locomotives built in Sacramento Shops was “El Gobernador” which was in actual service from 1884 to 1893. This locomotive was then said to be the heaviest and most powerful locomotive in the world. When loaded it weighed 105 tons. Tourists were amazed at the size of the “El
By 1894 thirty-ton freight cars were being used. Locomotives, too, were heavier and had more than twice the power of the earlier ones. The “4–6–0” type of passenger locomotive and the “4–8–0” type of freight service were the pride of the rails at this time. Freight engines of the “4–8–0” type of 1894 were 60 ft. 9 in. in length, weighed 121 1/2 tons and could haul 65 cars weighing 30 tons each (total 1,950 tons) at a speed of 10 miles an hour, up a grade of 26 feet to the mile. But to keep up with the transportation demands greater motive power was required.
The most powerful and economical non-articulated (single engine unit) locomotive yet designed, was placed in service in 1925 to handle heavy trains over mountain sections of the West. It is known as the “Southern Pacific” type or “4–10–2.” This locomotive combines all the latest developments, having for their purpose the increase of hauling capacity, commensurate with increased economy. It has a third cylinder placed inside the main frames slightly above and between the two outside cylinders. The locomotive is 101 feet 1 inch in length over all and weighs 305 tons.
At a speed of 25 miles an hour, up a grade of 116 feet a mile, the new locomotive has 25 percent, more hauling capacity than that of any previous locomotive built for the Southern Pacific Company.
The most powerful locomotives in passenger service, prior to the advent of the Southern Pacific type three cylinder locomotives, are known as the “4–8–2” or mountain type. They are 97 feet 6 inches in length, weigh 272 1/2 tons, and are twenty times more powerful than the “C. P. Huntingdon.” Each can pull 14 passenger cars weighing 70 tons each (total 980 tons) at 50 miles an hour, up a grade of 26 feet to the mile.
A new record for a regularly maintained locomotive run was established by the “8–4–2” engines. The run between Los Angeles and El Paso, 815 miles, is made without change of locomotives. Previously a relay of four locomotives had been considered necessary in speeding trans-continental passenger trains across the mountain and desert country between the two cities. A companion type to the “4–8–2” passenger, is the “2–10–2” freight locomotives, length 97 feet 9 inches, weight 278 tons. They can haul 96 freight cars, weighing 50 tons each, total 4,800 tons, at a speed of 10 miles an hour up a grade of 26 feet to the mile.
All the latest type of locomotives are equipped with auxiliary booster engines, superheaters, feed waterheaters, sprinklers, and other devices for increasing economy and power.
The Booster engine is a separate two cylinder steam engine geared to the axle of the trailing
The feed water heater performs the double operation of pumping water from the tender to the boiler, and heating it on the way. It utilises exhaust steam from the main cylinders to heat the water. Part of this steam is condensed and returned to the boiler for use again, thus reducing sediment and economising water.
A plant for reclaiming coke from locomotive ashes is being constructed by the Boston & Maine Railway Company, Mass., says the “English Mechanic,” of 4th June. It is anticipated that the railway in question will be able to obtain in this manner practically all the fuel required for station heating, amounting to approximately 30,000 tons a year. This project, which is believed to be the first of its kind will recover from the locomotive waste, now dumped in the ash heaps, the unburnt coke which tests have shown to be present to the extent of 33 to 48 per cent. It is anticipated that about 30 per cent. will be recovered by the new process. The latter is an adaptation of the one used in the hard coal fields for separating impurities, and is based on the comparative specific gravity principles, and the utilisation of the water flotation method by which the coke is segregated and the cinder residue precipitated. It has been found that a considerable quantity of combustible coke is taken from fuel boxes in cleaning locomotives after each journey, and this unburnt material will contribute a large part of the new product. The method outlined will, if the results warrant, be extended to other fuels.
Though one of the most familiar everyday sounds is the railway locomotive's whistle, like many other such, its origin is little known (writes a correspondent in “T.P.'s and Cassell's Weekly”). Formed under Act 110, Geo. IV. cap. 58, and having a capital of £90,000 in £50 shares, the Leicester and Swannington Railway Company's line (the second oldest section of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway) was opened for traffic on July 17th, 1832, the main line running from West Bridge, Leicester, to Swannington, a distance of nearly sixteen miles. Early in 1833, the company's locomotive, No. 3 Samson, was put in service on the line, and on May 4th of that year it ran into a horse and cart conveying butter and eggs for Leicester market, at Thornton level-crossing.
To sound an alarm, the company's drivers were provided with horns (as on the old road coaches), and Samson blew his on this occasion, but without attracting the attention of the man in charge of the horse and cart. The man and horse got clear of the oncoming train, but the engine struck and wrecked the vehicle and its contents.
The accident was duly reported to the engineer of the line,
There is a story of an old gentleman who once advertised for a coachman. Of each applicant he asked this question: “How near to a precipice would you drive without going over”! One answered within a yard, another a foot, etc., but one answered: “I would keep as far from it as possible.” He got the job.
The habit of keeping as far as possible from the verge of folly, alone brings safety. The man trained in such habits of care and thought that he will foresee possibilities of accident and avoid them, is not only a blessing to himself, but a guide to others.
“Let health my nerves and finer fibres brace, And I their toys to the great children leave.”
Joke
The thrifty old Scots wife tended her man who was nearing his end. Unfortunately she had to leave him alone while she went for the provisions in the evening. Before going she lighted the candle at the bedside, and said to him: “Now, Donald, I'll no' be lang gane, but if ye feel yersel' slipping awa'—juist snuff oot the caunle!”
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Sleep like a log, but don't saw it.
Said the raindrop to the particle of dust: “This settles you. Your name is mud.”
Ashes to ashes, Dust to dust, If it wasn't for the oil can, the engine would bust.
A little mountain dew always helps the wild oat crop.
His face was a striking one, and even without his clothes people would have turned to look at him.
There's many a slip between the cop and the nip.
Liquid assets nowadays might refer to several things.
“If you refuse me I will die.”—She refused. Sixty years later he died.
Don't get hot under the collar. You ask us what we did with your poem entitled “An Ode to Oblivion.” The reply is—it reached its destination.
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Fried Eggs.—A simple dish, yet nourishing. How they should be treated. Break the egg, heat it, and eat it.
Fried Sausages.—Otherwise known as hot dogs, are best cooked like eggs.
Fried Onions—Give off a savoury odour at breakfast time and their strength varies in direct ratio to the amount of Spanish in their composition. They may be cooked like fried sausages.
Fried Fish.—The favourite food for Fridays. Robinson Crusoe proved it so. May be bought either as whole fish or filleted. The simplest method is to buy it ready fried.
Mrs. O'Flaherty and Mrs. Finnerty were having a little talk, Mrs. O'Flaherty belonging to the newly rich.
Mrs. Finnerty said to Mrs. O'Flaherty:
“Who were your ancestors?”
“Ancisters, what d'ye mean?”
“Why, who did you sphring from?”
“I would have you know Mrs. Finnerty that the O'Flahertys sphring from no wan; they sphring at them.”
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Excited man (to taxi driver):—“My mother-in-law must catch that train, driver, so hurry up.”
The driver: “You can count on me sir, I shall drive as if she were my own.”
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Master Willie, aged nine, came sniffling into the presence of his father.
“What's the matter with you?” demanded the parent. Willie stifled a sob. “I've just had a terrible scene with your wife,” he said.
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The average distance which the Railway Department has to haul the wheat and flour consigned to its care is 63 miles, and the classified rate per ton for goods of this description conveyed the average distance is 11/- (although the average receipt is somewhat less). Assuming that the 2 lbs. of flour which goes to the making of the usual loaf had to be carried twice—once in the form of wheat, and again in the shape of flour, the freight payable would be 4/2240 × 11/-, or practically 1/4d.
This fact gives point to the following story from a recent exchange:—
Teacher: “Willie, a loaf of bread now costs sixpence. Of this, the Railway receives one farthing for hauling the wheat to the mills and the flour to the bakery. Now tell the class, how much would a loaf of bread cost if the Railway hauled the wheat and flour for nothing?”
Willie: “Sixpence.”
Teacher: “Correct, go up top.”
The term Colour as applied in painting always refers to any mixture that produces a separate hue.
Colours are divided into three classes; primary, secondary and neutral. The primary colours are blue, yellow, and red. By a mixture of any two of these a secondary colour is produced, and by the addition of white and black in combination with primary or secondary colours, all neutral colours, shades and tints are produced.
A colour is neutral when two colours composing it are so evenly divided in strength that one does not dominate the other, such as: yellow-green, blue-green, etc. There are also warm and cold colours. When colours are in harmony with each other they partake of the same general effect, such as chrome yellow and sienna, chrome yellow and amber, or colours or tints of red or yellow. These are termed warm colours. Cold colours are such as gray, lead, green, blue, etc.
Raw linseed oil is the produce of oil pressed from flax seed; it is not used a great deal for ear work, but is used in large quantities by house painters. Boiled linseed oil is prepared by adding litharge, umber and red lead to raw oil. First the clear oil is heated to 200° F. the ingredients added and then heated to 400° F. After it has cooled it is strained.
Turpentine is not a drier, but a thinner, and is the oil that exudes from the Terebinth tree.
Varnish is a solution of various gums made by boiling together in turpentine, until a thick transparent liquid is secured. The difference in hard, rubbing and finishing varnishes is made by the different mixing of gums.
Driers.—The principal of these are red, white and sugar of lead, litharge, oxide of manganese, gold size and terebine. The latter two are in most demand. In most of the big paint shops in Britain you will see a card telling how to mix different shades and colours, but on the Railways in New Zealand where only two or three colours are used an apprentice does not have the opportunity of learning colour mixing. The painting of cars by brush does not require any mentioning, but I will endeavour to enlighten some of the readers on dueo and air pressure painting.
A chemical director of one of the largest paint shops in America set out to produce a paint that could be applied quickly and that would dry rapidly. He wanted one with all the old advantages yet with none of the disadvantages. One that would stay permanently and wear longer without loss of lustre or protecting power. It also had to be harder and tougher so that it would not scratch or crack, and be proof against water, oil, grease, and the actions of acid or whatever preparation is used in cleaning. After four years of experimenting and severe testing, the director claimed he had produced the paint which he had set out to compound. He named this nitro-cellulose, commonly known in New Zealand as duco. It is a mixture of cellulose, butzol alcohol and nitrate cotton. Before the pigments are applied the paint is transparent (known as lacquer) and is used for inside work. It can be stained to whatever shade is required and three coats can be applied in one hour. For outside work there are approximately 70 shades to choose from. There are also filling and priming coats. These are applied by means of the spray gun and include filling and priming. Each coat takes from 15 to 20 minutes to dry. Any vehicle made ready in the morning to receive duco could be finished in one day and would be ready for use immediately.
In my opinion duco would not be a success if applied over varnish or paint as one is quick drying and the other slow. Both have different chemical actions and this would most likely cause cracking; but when applied to bare material (wood or iron) it has proved successful.
A car finished in this way will not show the
Duco is easier and more simple to apply than brush paint. It is put on by means of a spray gun which is worked by air pressure. Each machine has an air transformer fixed to it. This removes all oil, water and dirt from the air, thus ensuring a clean job. The spray method, though successful when using duco material, is not recommended for using brush paint on car surfaces.
Many private shops in New Zealand have this process installed and it is giving entire satisfaction. If ever the larger shops adopt it adequate ventilation should be insisted on, and if each operator wears a respirator there would be little likelihood of anyone suffering ill effects through the use of the spray.
In Britain the railway cars are being sprayed with duco and it has proved successful. America, France and Italy have also adopted it. As it produces a better job in a third of the time, it is not likely to be long before, as far as coach painting is concerned, the spray will take the place of the brush.
District Storekeepers:
J. S. Stewart to grade 2, Petone.
L. W. Hawkins to grade 3, Newmarket.
J. D. Fraser to grade 4, Hillside.
Clerk:
D. J. Pepper to grade 5, New Plymouth.
Foreman:
J. J. Burrows to Coaching Foreman grade 5, Christchurch.
Guard:
B. W. Paul to clerk grade 7, Dunedin Goods.
Storeman:
M. Kelly to Clerk grade 7, Auckland Pass.
Shunter:
E. Maclachlan to clerk grade 7, Inver cargill Goods.
Porter:
W. D. Lang to clerk grade 7, Christchurch Goods.
Porters to Shunters:
G. R. Stirling.
N. C. Wood.
J. Hunt.
W. Seymour.
Leading Fitters:
D. J. Sheriff to Apprentice Instructor, grade 6, Hillside.
Leading Boilermakers:
W. Robins to Apprentice Instructor, grade 6, Addington.
Turners:
A. Thomson, to Apprentice Instructor, grade 6, Newmarket.
Boilermakers:
G. Carter to Apprentice Instructor, grade 6, Petone.
W. L. Lee to clerk, grade 7, Hillside.
Carpenters:
G. Crawford to clerk, grade 7, Dunedin.
Skilled Labourers:
D. A. Govan to clerk, grade 7, Hillside.
Labourers:
A. C. Till to clerk, grade 7, Petone.
A. Aaltonen to skilled labourer, Petone.
Enginedrivers:
J. Neville to clerk, grade 7, Newmarket.
Firemen:
W. F. Campbell to clerk, grade 7, Auckland.
A. J. Fisher to clerk, grade 7, Petone.
Storemen:
H. P. Berkett to clerk, grade 7, Petone.
P. M. Kelly to clerk, grade 7, Newmarket.
Leading Carpenters:
W. Nelson to Bridge Inspector, grade 6, Timaru.
Leading Painters:
A. E. Farrant, to foreman painter, grade 6, Advertising Branch, Wellington.
Carpenters to Leading Carpenters, Grade 2:
A. E. Olsen.
H. Dodd.
H. W. Gillespie.
Surfacemen to Gangers, grade 2:
W. J. Francis.
E. R. Morris.
J. O'Donnell.
B. Breen.
Lineman to Fitter:
B. Smith.
Signal Erector:
W. J. Waterhouse, grade 3 to grade 2.
He that would end his days well must spend them well.—
Note: “Minus” sign indicates decrease. In all other cases the figures indicate the increase in number, quantity or amount.
The above statement is compiled from the weekly traffic returns, which are found most useful when forecasting the approximate revenue for the period, and tracing the weekly fluctuations in traffic.
In surveying the above figures it must be borne in mind that Easter Monday 1926, was 5th April, and in 1925 the 13th April, so that the current year's passenger figures would be slightly affected on account of a portion of the advanced bookings being included in March period. However, the large decrease in the number of passengers carried, viz.: 665,599 is due almost entirely to motor bus competition in the suburban areas, and additional traffic last year through the visit of the American fleet.
Livestock shows a substantial increase due to forced sales of cattle on account of shortage of feed, and the movement of store sheep.
Timber has dropped 38,832 tons—almost every district showing a decrease. This is mainly attributable to heavy importations of poles for Power Boards last year and also to a general decline in the output from local mills.
Under the heading “Other Goods” there is shown an increase of 93,000 tons mainly in grain, fruit, dairy produce, wool, coal, benzine, and artificial manures.
Turning to the revenue, the decrease in passenger receipts is due to a general falling off in short distance bookings this year. The decrease in parcels revenue is explained by the fact that horses and motors are now booked through the goods.
The new tariff has assisted in producing the increase in goods revenue.