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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 7, Issue 8 (February 1, 1933)

Interesting Staff History

Interesting Staff History.

(Continued.)

The following details of the staff employed on the Canterbury Railways, and their rates of pay, are taken from the Estimates for the year ended 30th September, 1870:—

Locomotive and car and wagon repairs employed two fitters, one at 11/- and one at 10/- per day; one smith, 11/- per day; two carpenters, 10/- per day each; one painter, 10/- per day; and one labourer, 7/- per day. Wheel turning was done by an outside firm. The cost of this and of timber, paint, and other stores and material was estimated to require £1,000.

The Maintenance of Way was in charge of ah Inspector at £300 per annum, the foreman in charge of gates, fencing and building received 15/- per day, foremen platelayers 11/- and 10/-per day, gangers 9/-, and labourers 7/-per day.

There were one foreman, two gangers, and thirteen labourers on the Lyttelton line (including the Christchurch yard), and one foreman, three gangers, and fourteen labourers on the South line. Under the foreman carpenter were four carpenters and two labourers. The charges for maintenance of buildings, gates and fencing were divided equally between the two lines.

Tools and materials were estimated to cost £2,050, and extra ballasting £1,050. There was a separate vote of £2,000 for labour and material for the work in Lyttelton tunnel.

At Christchurch Goods, there was a Goods Manager at £300, a foreman of outside labour at £250, two senior clerks at £ 175 each, two junior clerks, a tally clerk and a weighbridge clerk. There were also a shunter (horse driver) at 55/- per week, two head storemen (export and import) one at 10/- and one at 76; per day, five storemen at 7/- per day, a gate-checker at 6/-, a sailmaker at 9/-, and a labourer at 7/- per day. The two latter looked after the tarpaulins, ropes, nets, and bolsters. Casual labour for the sheds and for unloading and stacking timber and coal was estimated to cost £2,500.

On the Great South line £600 was voted for extra labour during the wool and grain seasons. Lyttelton Goods employed a clerk (import) at £140, clerk (export) £120, and a tally clerk at 48/-per week; yard foreman £180, shunter £120, horsedriver 50/- per week, head page 38 storeman 10/- per day, storeman 8/- per day, extra labour £400. Horse feed cost £80 per year.

Lyttelton wharves and jetties employed a shipping clerk at £240, a tally clerk at £ 120, head porter at 48/- a week, and three porters at 42/- a week each, a steam crane driver at 10/- per day, two donkey enginedrivers at 9/- per day each, and a horsedriver at 48/- a week.

Gates and Police.—There were on, the Lyttelton line two gatekeepers at £91 5s. per annum each, and one at £30 per annum. Two policemen at £127 15s. each for whom quarters were provided at Christchurch.

On the South line were three gatekeepers at 30/- per week, seven at 15/-per week, and one at £ 13 per month. In some cases the gatekeepers were wives of surfacemen, and were provided with cottages at the crossings.