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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 1, Issue 6 (October 24, 1926)
Current Comments
Current Comments
Toll Of The Motor.
A world survey shows that 30,400 persons were killed and 868,000 injured in automobile accidents last year. Eighty per cent of the deaths occurred in the United States.
High Speed Locomotives.
In order to speed up communication between the important industrial centres in the Ruhr, a new type of locomotive is being introduced on the German Railways. The average speed aimed at between stations is said to be sixty miles per hour. Stops will be scheduled at a maximum of one minute.
Possibilities Of Diesel-Electric Rail Cars.
In a discussion on motor bus competition before the special House Committee at Ottawa on National Railways and Shipping, Sir Henry Thornton (President of the Canadian National Railways) stated that probably Diesel-electric rail cars would meet, to some degree, motor bus competition with the Railways.
Indian Railway Workshops.
The report of Sir Vincent Raven's committee which investigated the working of the Indian railway workshops and their present capacity to deal economically and efficiently with repairs was issued on 22nd May. It emphasises the lack of skilled supervision of the workshops, the inadequacy of their equipment and the defects in lay-out. The necessity is stressed for improved organisation and for systematic working on the lines of modern shops in Britain and other parts of the world. Co-ordination of work between the various workshops is suggested with a view to increased output.
Advertising New Zealand.
Zane Grey's Description.
Few visitors to our shores have written or spoken more eulogistically about New Zealand's great attractions to the tourist and sportsmen than has Mr. Zane Grey, who, it will be remembered, so successfully tested the deep-sea fishing possibilities of our northern coast a few months ago. His latest boost was given in the course of an article in an American exchange from which we quote the following:—“My enthusiasm is so great that I am going again. I shall take my schooner out there next winter and more and better tackle, with an eye to capturing some huge mako shark, broadbill, and black marlin. And I shall take my brother R.C., and my boy, Romer, to have the fun of seeing them hook on to some of those monsters and get whipped, the same as we were. It is a long trip, but well worth the time and expense, aside from the fishing…… The South Seas are wonderful, and New Zealand is a land of enchantment, ‘Land of the Long Daylight,’ so the Macris call it.”
The Day Of The Heavy Rail.
The history of the rail is an interesting theme for it reveals the tendency of railway development. Statisties showing the extent to which light rails are giving place to rails of heavier weight in the United States have just been published. They show that 1,636,631 tons of rails of 100 lb. and over were turned out by the rail manufacturers in 1925, as compared with 1,465,850 tons in 1923—before which year the output was less than 100,000 tons. The introduction of increasingly large and mere powerful locomotives explains the necessity for the use of these heavy rails during recent years. The weight of rails per yard has been increasing steadily since 1830. In that year rails of 33 lb. and 35 lb. were used. These were replaced by 50 lb. and afterwards by 65 lb. rails. In 1914 rails of 85–90 lb. were being used for general traffic purposes, with, however, a considerable mileage of main and heavy traffic lines using rails weighing 100 lb. and even 125 lb. At the present time weights of 130 lb. and 136 lb. are coming into use. In 1925 the tonnage of less than 50 lb. rails which was rolled was a bare 164,000 tons, the tonnage between 50 lb. and 85 lb. was 220,000 tons, 85–100 lb. rails totalled nearly 800,000 tons, while 100 lb. and heavier rails accounted for 1,637,000 tons out of a gross total for the year of nearly 2,800,000 tons.