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Auckland Star, Volume XXXIII, Issue 273, 17 November 1902, Page 2

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ELECTRIC TRAMWAYS,

At tie call of Mr Hansen three (hearty chieers <w*eije given for Sir John Campbell, followed by three for Mr Hansen, called for by Sir John, and three for the Electric Tramways Compavny. Sir J'phn, accompanied by Messrs Hansen, Kidd, Wilson and Carey then stepped ■ aboard the platform of the car, and Sir John turned the levej which mads the connection between wire and rail, thus starting the car. lAs he did s«x he said: "Success to the Auckland Tramways Company. May its cars Bkever cease to run in Auckland." The car then moved off up Queenstreet, amidst Mie cheers of the crowd, and followed by the other five ran up to the Choral Hall. The cars ■were insufficient to <carry all the invited guests, and had' to make a second trip. The passengers were all loud in their praises of the $uiet, steady manner in which the c&rs ran, and of tia« comfort of the seating accommodation. THE LUNCHEON: About 300 persons attended fry invitation the luncheon in the Chorai Hall at one p.m. he chair was occupied by Mr P. M. Hansen. After the loyal toast hacJ Ibeen. drunk, His Worship the Mayor gave the toast of "The Auckland Electric Tramways Co-, Ltd." Mr Hansen, in replying, said horse trams 'would in a few years disappear altogether, aa was proper in a hilly place like Auckland. The lines had •been completed well within the conitraet time, and all suburban lines ■would be ready fox traffic about 18 months before the contract time expired. They would be running to Onehunga in the beginning of the coming year. Mr W. S. Turner, local attorney for Messrs. J. G. White and Co., Ltd., in responding to the toast, thanked jthe proposer for the terms in which he had referred to the company's work, and said:—Our company is, as I think you all know now, an English company, with head offices in College Hill, Cannon-street, London. The company was registered about .three years ago, and- has other extensive works in hand both in England and Australia. There i& an associated company in New 'York of the same name, which has been constructing tramway works for the past ten oar twelve years. This fact, in connection1 with the fact, that we have brought out a number of engineers from America, was no doubt responsible for the impression at first abroad that the company undertaking this work w t as an American concern. As general contractors for the Auckland Electric Tramways Company, Messrs. J. G- White and Company, Limited, undertook to furnish a complete tramway plant for the city of Auckland and suburbs. The work which was undertaken included some thirty or more miles of tracks, the necessary overhead wire system, underground conduits and cables, the power station building-, the steam and electrical ■plant for producing electric power, end 43 cars of all types, with the necessary equipments and electric motors. Tie work was one of considerable magnitude, and such work requires time for its accomplishment, even under the best of circumstance*;.. As you are aware, conditions in the present ,case were not favourable for rapid, work. The greatest delays have Been occasioned by the distance from) the market in ■which the plant must be procured, and by the :fact that the factories of England and America at the time purchases weire made were booked far ahead with orders, and could not promptly furnish the required machinery. Other delays were occasioned by the weather, manufacturers' strikes, fire, and overdue shipments;, in consideration of which the city has granted an extension of the. time in which to* complete this part of the works to the 29th November, 1902. We are now nearing the completion; of the works, and it ia needless to say that it is a great satisfaction to have 'the end in sight. We have given our best energies to this- work, for morel than a year past, and are much, gratified to be assured that the ressalt of our endeavours are satisfactory to all concerned. We feel that-, we shall be able to look upon ouvr work when successfully concluded with just pride and satisfaction. It gives us pleasure to- acknowleg»s the land assistance which: we h\ave received on every hand since taking up this work- ia your midst.- Xo the Tramway Company we axe indebted for many favours. Theiir representative, Mr Harasem, has been particularly land and courteous- in giving us every possible assistance during the progress of the work. The chief engineers of the Tramway Company, Mr James Stewart and Mr JVT. P. Oarey, have been uniformly considerate and courteous in all mattes* connected' with the execution of the works, aad have done everything possible to expedite same. We are also, pleased to- acknowledge our indebtedness to the City Council and? au-b/nrban bodies, and tijeir various- officials with whom we" have come in contact ia carrying out the •woßks- in their respective districts. Thiey Save atfordeti us every consideration and. help, in order to expedite amf assist the progress of the work. It gives us- much pleasure aJsa to refeii to the kindness and courtesy which has been shown by the people of Auckland to those of us who came amongst you as strangers. We appraciate all this- to the utmost, and beg- to- assure- yorr that we shall nev;r forget the- personal consideration that has been shown to the various members of our stafE A mention of the sub-contractors engaged with us upon this work should not be omitted on such an occasion as this, and a brief review of the work will show the important part which they have taken. In. company with Mr. Carey, the chief- electrical engineer of the Auckland Tramways Company, I arrived in Auckland 'on June IS, Mr. 11. (^. Eddy, electrical and mechanical engineer and chief assistant, from fSfrw York, and Mr. A. Hassell WitSSSjg** clevk ' from London, arfelfi^^S month. We found nrs 4 mt(7 laU ™ the ground. The iWgftK « «**•• -l"eh are fur. ■<. ■ ' "a* unloßclcd ott July 10.

A sub-contract was made with Messrs. John McLeai?. and Son for the construction of the first sis miles .of track. Owing- to the impossibility of procuring the necessary local materials the first rails were not laid until September 3, though the formal breaking of ground took place on August 1. Messrs. McLean and Son completed the first six .miles of tracks by January 1, and in the meantime took a second sub-contract for twelve miles of additional track work. This has been completed, and at the present time our construction o-angs are well on their way to Onehunga, which we expect to reach before the Christmas holidays. The line in Great North-road and New North-road have also been completed. In all about 27 miles of track? have now been completed in a space of about 14 months. The work of track construction has all been done under the direction of our civil engineer Mr. John Reed, and supervised by our Mr. E. A. Wilber, both of whom were brought out from America It gives me the greatest pleasure to refer to the high character of the work done by Messrs. McLean who Have carried out their contracts with the greatest satisfaction to all concerned. 0 The work of constructing the underground conduits, coverino- some four miles of streets was also sub-contracted to Messrs. John McLean and Son. These conduits SallaSon ha, been superb*d us by Mr C. A. Reeves, who was sen* out from England by his company for tMs purpose! All the overhead line vvor/in the city has been P*«*£* j v completed. The iron poles were furXfced by Messrs John Spencer and Company, of England- The copper wire was purchased in America, -nd the insulators and other fittings partly in England and partly in America. This work has teen carrxed out under the supervision of Mr 1. N Smock, whom we brought out from America for this purpose. The foundations of the power house were be<mn in November of last year, Messrs Newson and Coulson taking a sub-contract for same. Alter completing the foundations, nothing more could be done until the arrival of the steel framework of the building, which, after most extraordinary delays in manufacture and shipment, was landed in Auckland on the 18th of July last. The well known engineers, Messrs George Fraser and Sons, contracted with us to erect the steel work of the building and the steel stack, and. have done the work in a most creditable manner. The brickwork and all other work in the building has been done by our own men. The whole of the building construction has been supervised by Mr Joseph Johnson, well known to many of you. The erection of the machinery *has gone' on with the building. The boilers, furnished by the Babr cock and Wilcox Company, of England, have been erected for us by Messrs John Chambers and Sons, the local agents for the boilers. The engines were purchased from Messrs Cole, Marchant and Morley, of England, and their erection has been ably supervised by Mr J. Copley, who came out from his company's- factory to direct this work for us. The generators, ajid switchboard have been furnished by the General Electric Company, of America, and their erection has been in the hands of Mr E. W. Ackland, as our assistant electrical engineer. The entire building and plant, as you have noted to-day, is practically completed, the whole work having been done within about four months from the date of starting the building. Of the 43 cars and equipments we contracted to furnish, 36 are now on hand and practically all ready to operate. The remaining seven are expected on the Ist of next month.' They are constructed by the Brush Electrical and Engineering Company, of England, who also furnished the trucks and motors with which the cars are equipped. The Cousins and Atkin Carriage Factory have assembled the car bodies under the direction of Mr S. A> Mahood, and his assistant, Mr G. James, who were bent oat from the factcry to supervise the erection and electric equip-, ment of the cars on our behalf. From the above revieTV, you will note that it is a little more than 14 months from the time the works were actually started until this, the formal opening, takes place. Taking into consideration adl the circumstances and (he magnitude of the work, we feel that commendable expedition has been, used. We are sure that thoroughly first class and substantial work has been done, and that the complete! work will reflect credit upon owr company. It is to be noted. a?so that the lines which we will open, within the next month include not only the city sections, but several of the'lines in the suburbs, which are not required under the contract to be completed for' some months yet. I quite agree with all that has been said regarding the advantages which will accrue to both, city and suburbs from the operation o>£ the electric trams, and anticipate that these will be even, greater than most of you expect. The prosperity of all sections will undoubtedly be greatly increased by the operations of the trams, which will render all parts of the city and suburbs readily accessible. A great st&^> forward will be taken in the progress" and prosperity of all, sections- of which will ultimately, I have no doubt, be comprised in Greater Auckland. (Proceeding".) Wairfcetnata roll, No, 2 supplementary (final)-, is now complete, atfd may be obtained from* the registrar, Devonport, and from M# AUen^ stationer, Queen-street. The Workers' Political Organisation meets to-night in the Od'diellows' Hall, Pitt-street. For/ tliei Home Mail: Tffre- latest hobby, New Zealand pictorial post card, 50 varieties,, from Id: each; new view books* N.Z. Christmas numbers "X.Z. Graphic," "The Weekly ISTerws," special account of ' the wreck.-— Spreckley and Co., next Post Office. — Advt. The following is Capt. Edwin's weather forecast for 24 hojirs from 0' a.m- to-day: "Strong to1 anoderate westerly winds; glass rise; tides motlerate."