A World-famous Permanent Way.

The King's Cross authorities rightly pride themselves on the possession of one of the finest permanent ways in the world. Smoothness of travel on the L. and N.E.R. is a feature upon which everyone comments, and in connection with the upkeep of the permanent-way it is interesting to note the L. and N.E.R. are now giving immense attention to the mechanising of work on the track.

Extended use is being made of petrol-driven rail trollies for the conveyance of permanent-way gangs. The Morris track-layer, which lifts sections of old track off the ballast and replaces them with new, is being largely employed. A new rail-lifting and laying skid, used for guiding rails into chairs during relaying operations, has been introduced. On a recent test a squad of seven men guided into position by means of six skids forty-four 60ft. rails in seventy minutes, sufficient for a quarter of a mile of track. Another labour-saving appliance is a portable mechanical stone-ballast riddle, while a pneumatic sleeper tamper is proving useful in the consolidating of stone ballast under the sleepers. Yet another device is a portable machine for boring sleepers and fixing chair screws, capable of dealing with the re-sleepering of a quarter of a mile of track per day, only three men being required for its operation.