The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 6, Issue 6 (December 1, 1931)
How the Railways Meet Special Transport Problems
How the Railways Meet Special Transport Problems.
In the course of their operations, railways are called upon to transport many strange loads. Out-of-gauge consignments are constantly passing between works and docks, and recently the Southern Railway of England conveyed over their system a huge collection of wild animals. All the Home railways include in their wagon stocks vehicles specially strengthened to convey elephants, page 20 while many strange types of freight car are available for handling other exceptional loads.
The large numbers of railway locomotives built at Home for shipment overseas have been responsible for the putting into traffic by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway of a new type of high-capacity wagon capable of conveying large loads of this kind between the makers' shops and the ports of shipment. The car takes the form of a 65-ton trolley, so constructed that, on arrival at the port, the locomotives may be run directly on their own wheels to an accommodation track alongside the ship. The design which provides for this end off-loading is unique, and the new trucks are claimed to be the first of their kind in the world.