Substantial Increase.

A pleasing feature of railway business in New Zealand for the current year is that, up to date, an increase of 175,000 tons in goods traffic has been recorded.

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Night Goods Trains.

The reorganised timetable between Christ-church and Greymouth providing for the night running of goods trains was brought into operation on 16th September. The Divisional Superintendent reports that the timetable is proving satisfactory to the majority of our clients. It has speeded up the transit of goods between the East Coast and West Coast. This is particularly noticeable with goods from the West Coast. Goods loaded at West Coast stations on any one day are available for discharge in Christchurch the following day. Special arrangements were made for long distance traffic for South to connect with the 11 p.m. Christchurch-Invercargill through goods train.

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Splendid and Cheap Service to the Public.

It is the bounden duty of all citizens of New Zealand to do all they can to support their own national property—the country's railways (says The New Zealander). They render good and cheap service, and the whole community should feel grateful. Last year the railways of New Zealand performed services which saved the country £18,000,000 had they been done by road. We stress that point very strongly. Every citizen should study the fact, and learn what it means. We repeat it:—“The year's goods freight of 7,366,762 tons, which cost less than £5,000,000 to transport by rail, would have cost at least £23,000,000 to transport by road.”

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World's Longest Railway.

Kowloon, in China, may soon be linked by rail with Calais, France, to make the world's longest railway track. The task of completing the 240 miles of railway on the Canton-Hankow route will occupy five years of work. In 1905 the Peking-Hankow line was completed, and later railway tracks were constructed south of Hankow and north of Canton. The final stretch will complete the chain of track from Calais to South China, to make the world's longest railway.

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Road Motor Services in Britain.

One of the most important moves recently made is the taking over jointly, of a bus undertaking known as United Automobile Services, by the London and North Eastern Railway and an important firm of road carriers. The United Services cover an area in Eastern England extending from London to the Scottish Border, and embracing 2,000 route miles. The new combination will operate something like 2,000 passenger buses, and will form one of the most powerful road transport groups in Britain. What has been done by the L. and N.E. Railway in this instance is being accomplished in other parts of the Homeland by the L.M. and S. and Great Western Railways, and combinations of this character are going far to solve the once vexed problem of rail versus road.

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Articulated Locomotives.

The new 4-8-2 + 2-8-4 Beyer-Garratt locomotive for the South African Government Railways is, in point of maximum weight in working, the largest in the world as yet constructed to run on the 3ft. 6in. gauge. With an estimated tractive effort at 75 per cent, of the boiler pressure of no less than 78,650lbs. (states The Railway Gazette), the engine must take pride of place as the most powerful so far built in any country outside the United States. The design practically represents the maximum which can be accommodated on the 80lbs. permanent way, and within the limits of the track and loading gauges which form the South African main line standards. The engine develops a 48 per cent, greater tractive effort than the hitherto largest engine in the service on this system.