The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 6, Issue 1 (May 1, 1931)
Our LONDON Letter
Our LONDON Letter
In his current Letter our Special London correspondent makes interesting reference to the recent Presidential Address delivered before the London Institute of Transport by Sir Arthur Stanley, and discusses the latest railway developments in England and on the Continent.
The Railways and their Competitors
Changing conditions of transport and trade are at present having a marked effect on the railway industry. World trade, although now on the mend, is still in a generally depressed state, spelling lessened freight revenues; road transport is taking valuable business from the rails on both the passenger and freight sides; and such developments as the wholesale distribution of electric power from big central generating stations and the pipe line conveyance of petroleum call for serious attention from railways everywhere. The fact is that business conditions throughout the world are at present in a state of transition; and at the heart of this transition lies transportation progress.
As Sir Arthur Stanley remarked, some time ago (in his Presidential Address to the London Institute of Transport) railways, in consequence of improvements in road and air conveyance, have lost the virtual monopoly they once enjoyed, but there were many means by which they could regain their prosperity. The Home railways have wisely entered the field of road transport on the passenger side, while on the freight side they have improved their services by a general speeding-up and by the introduction of containers, introducing also a comprehensive system of road collection and delivery services.
Organisation and Salesmanship.
It was Sir Arthur Stanley's view—and with this we are in entire agreement—that railways can do much to secure prosperity through efficient organisation and effective salesmanship. In my last letter I dwelt upon the value of an attractive passenger station as a business-bringer, likening this to the “shop window” of the railway organisation. By ways such as this, and by the whole-hearted support of every employee in the direction of traffic solicitation, the future of the railway can be assured, and with it, of course, the future of every individual worker. Another point brought out in the Institute of Transport Presidential Address was the inelasticity of railway carriage charges. Railways certainly do attach far too much importance to the value of the commodity carried, and too little importance to actual cost of service. The old axiom of “charging what the traffic will bear” was doubtless sound enough in the “good old days,” but now it should not be forgotten that to the road page 20 carrier the value of the commodity handled matters little. His charge is always based on the truck load, irrespective of its contents, and railways would be well advised to work more on these lines in the future.
Economy in Unification.
At present there is contemplated the setting up of a single transportation undertaking in the London area, to take the place of the existing individual rail and road carriers; and there is really no logical argument against the fusion of the whole of the four group railways of Britain to form one big consolidation. The existing group railways of the Homeland each possess a mileage on a par with the New Zealand Government Railways, and while on combination the resulting system would be a large one, it would not be too unwieldy bearing in mind the experience in lands like Germany and the United States. Everyone connected with the Home railways would, in many ways, be sorry to see the passing of the existing group systems, just as there was general regret at the disappearance of the smaller individual lines swallowed up by the introduction of consolidation ten years ago. All things considered, however, it would certainly seem that unification of the four Home group railways is inevitable sooner or later.
Utilisation of Tank Locomotives.
The new locomotives have cylinders working on the simple expansion system, with diameters of 16 inches and a stroke of 26 inches. Cylinders, valve chests and steam and exhaust passages, are formed as a monobloc casting, and all three cylinders drive on to the second pair of coupled wheels. The outside cylinders are fitted with Walschaerts valve gear and the inside cylinder with Gresley valve gear operated by extensions to the front of the outside valve spindles. Principal dimensions are as follows:—Grate area 22 square ft.; boiler working pressure 180 lb.; total heating surface 1609 sq. ft.; tractive effort 22,464 lb.; total weight in working order 84 tons; total length 42 ft.; coal capacity 4 tons; water capacity 2000 gallons. The locomotives have been built in the Doncaster shops—the home of the far-famed “Flying Scotsman” machines—to the design of Mr. H. N. Gresley, the L. and N.E.R. Chief Mechanical Engineer.
Conserving Locomotive Fuel.
The locomotive fuel bill is a very large item of railway expenditure, and all concerned should ever be on the alert to prevent waste of locomotive coal and to follow methods of firing that promise efficiency and economy in practice. In a paper presented to the British Association some time ago, Sir Henry Fowler, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, remarked that the consumption of fuel in page 22 a locomotive firebox was unique in boiler practice. The demands made for steam upon the boiler varied almost from moment to moment, being influenced among other things by station locations, track contour, and atmospheric conditions. The astonishing steaming capacity of the locomotive boiler was attributable to the fact that a locomotive is constantly moving and being shaken, this leading to the rapid release of steam bubbles as they were formed, and to the maintenance of what might be called “wet” surface on the metals exposed to heat.
Experimental Vehicle on the German State Railways.
The new Zeppelin Rail Car recently tried out in Germany. During tests which were made on a stretch of track near Hanover, the car attained a speed of 93 miles per hour within two minutes after starting. This unique transportation unit will seat 24 passengers, and is driven by a 500 h.p. aero-engine connected to a four-blade propeller mounted on the rear of the car. The car is made of steel tubes and aluminium sheet plating and is covered with balloon fabric. (A full account of this interesting vehicle is contained in the W.E.Z./ The Economic and Commercial Gazette Liepzig, of 22nd December, 1930 placed at the disposal of Mr. S. Fahey, Fetherston, by the Officil Representtive, Wellington. We re indebted to Mr. Fahey for the illustration.)
The Railways and Safety.
Safety in rail travel has always been well assured at Home. The recently published report of the Ministry of Transport upon the accidents occurring in the working of the Home lines during 1929 shows that in that year only three passengers were killed in train accidents and 507 injured. The three deaths arose through a single accident involving collision between an express passenger train and a shunt of goods wagons during foggy weather. Fourteen railway employees were killed in train accidents during 1929 and 97 injured. Accidents at level crossings were responsible for the deaths of 16 persons, of whom 15 were pedestrians. Having regard to the continued growth of road traffic these figures are eminently satisfactory, revealing that danger to the public using level crossings has not unduly increased.