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

Our London Letter

page 22

Our London Letter

Interior of a modern passenger carriage on the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.

Interior of a modern passenger carriage on the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.

The World'S Largest Electrified Suburban Railway.

Railway electrification has now definitely emerged from the experimental stage. In all corners of the world there is gradually being effected the conversion of steam-operated tracks to electricity; and while steam movement will probably for many years continue on numerous main-lines, electric traction for suburban and inter-urban operation, is undoubtedly the haulage method of the future.

Certain types of railway naturally lend themselves better to electrification than others, and so it is on lines handling a relatively dense passenger traffic that electric traction is making greatest progress. Excluding electrifications such as those of Switzerland, where the numerous mountain grades and tunnel sections prevailing, and the shortage of native coal supplies, have been the deciding factors in favour of electrical conversion, probably the world's outstanding example of electrification's utility is found on the Southern Railway of England.

The Southern actually operates the world's largest electrified suburban railway system. This embraces 293 miles of line, equivalent to 800 track miles. The electrified lines cover almost all the railway routes lying immediately to the south and south-west of Britain's metropolis, and include some of the most favoured residential territory within reasonable daily reach of the city. The cost of the Southern electrification is put at £11,800,000. Some £6,250,000 of this amount has been charged to capital: the balance consists of money which would, in any event, have had to be spent on improvement works and the like. To-day, 20,651,000 electric train miles have replaced the former 8,152,820 steam train miles, and under electrification the public are gaining tremendously, both by increased speed and increased train service.

On the authority of Sir Herbert Walker, the General Manager of the Southern Railway, it is stated that the working costs of electric and steam operation approximate 1s. 3d. and 2s. 6d. per mile respectively, so that taking into account the increased train miles under electricity there is an increase in working costs under electricity of £206,140 per annum. Annual revenues under steam and electric operation work out at £3,475,933 and £4,792,602 respectively. Deducting from the increase of £1,316,669 under electricity, the figure of £206,140, there is shewn a net gain of £1,110,529. Corelating this increase in net revenue with the £6,250,000 charged to capital, the return represents no less than 17 3/4 per cent.

Among European main-line electrifications, a most interesting achievement is that of the Austrian State Railways. At present about 524 miles of the Austrian State Railways are operated electrically, or roughly sixteen per cent. of the total railway mileage of the country. In the page 23 near future further big electrification works are to be effected. Among the new routes to be electrified, are the Vienna-Salzburg Railway; the Vienna-Graz line; the Tauern Railway, in Western Austria; and the main-line linking Vienna with Hungary.

The Vienna-Salzburg electrification will be 195 miles in extent. This line forms a part of the through route from Vienna to the Swiss frontier. The Vienna-Graz line is 130 miles in length, while from Vienna to the Hungarian boundary is a distance of approximately fifty miles.

A typical British container.

A typical British container.

Standardised electric locomotives of the 2–8–2 type are to be employed for fast passenger haulage, with 0–4–4–0 locomotives for goods train haulage. On the completion of these Austrian electrifications, it will be possible, as a consequence of conversion works undertaken in the neighbouring lands of Switzerland and Hungary, to travel by electric train right across Central Europe.

Preparing for Increased Traffic.

Happily trade is now improving in Britain, and freight traffic is moving in greater volume than for some time past. Whether or not this state of affairs will continue, remains to be seen. In any event, the four group railways appear confident in the ultimate restoration of trade, judging by their activities in goods wagon building.

Most Home railway wagons are constructed in the railway shops, and the 1933 wagon-building programme of the London, Midland and Scottish system may be taken as typical of the Home railways' efforts as a whole. During the present year the L.M. and S. Company hope to build 3,107 new wagons and 950 new containers. The conversion also is planned of 1,000 existing wagons and 50 existing containers to types more suitable to modern conditions.

Great Western Theatre at Swindon.

Great Western Theatre at Swindon.

The new L.M. and S. goods wagons comprise nine different types, including 12-ton wagons fitted with the continuous brake for express services; 12-ton cattle trucks; 12-ton covered vans; 20-ton covered vans for grain in bulk; 20-ton tube wagons; gunpowder vans; chassis for containers; and brake vans. The L.M. and S. have now about 3,700 containers in service, and the marked advantages attached to this form of transport are daily becoming more and more appreciated by shippers.

In addition to building most of its goods wagons, the L.M. and S. Railway constructs in its own shops the majority of the passenger stock operated over the system. With a view to adding to passenger convenience and comfort many new and novel features are now included page 24 in the design and construction of L.M. and S. passenger carriages. The latest innovation is the introduction on the sleeping-cars intended for Anglo-Scottish working, of a new air scoop ventilation system.

Under this system, fresh air is forced into the side corridor of the car by means of air scoops fitted to the body side, and arranged in series to operate according to the direction of travel, the air being cleaned by passing over oil filters. Roof extractors draw the stale air from the sleeping compartments, and the difference of pressure in the compartments and the corridor causes fresh air to flow through louvre vents in the bottom of the compartment sliding doors, these vents being under the control of the individual passenger. There is a heavy night movement of travellers between English and Scottish points, and the sleeping-cars of both the L.M. and S. and the L. and N.E. Railways, are built on especially comfortable lines.

Employee Welfare on the Home Railways.

The well-being of their employees, both on and off duty is the constant care of the Home railways, and social and recreational interests are fostered by the provision
New Signal Box, Southern Railway Electric Lines, Brighton.

New Signal Box, Southern Railway Electric Lines, Brighton.

of institutes, club rooms, libraries, sports grounds, and the like, in city and in country. At the principal locomotive and carriage and wagon shops, dining-rooms and canteens prove a great boon; while in recent times immense benefit has accrued to employees through the operation of housing schemes, under which the railways make loans at low rates of interest to enable employees to acquire their own houses. Savings banks also encourage thrift among Home railwaymen; and in co-operation with the Government, savings associations enable one and all to provide for the inevitable “rainy day.”

An especially interesting development has recently been recorded at Swindon, the locomotive-building centre on the Great Western Railway. In addition to the usual staff amenities, the Great Western has just provided for its Swindon employees an attractive theatre known as “The Playhouse.” Equipped with a roomy stage, a vast stock of scenery and “props,” and a comfortable auditorium, the new theatre is an outstanding attraction for Swindon railway workers. Dramatic companies have been formed among the staff, while outside artists of repute also regularly appear at this unique railway social centre.