Responsibilities Of Railway Work.

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!”

Fruits Of Co-Operation.

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.

The Sphere Of The Motor.

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.

A Scoopful Of Coal.

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.