LUXURIOUS SLEEPER.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 145, 21 June 1926, Page 6

LUXURIOUS SLEEPER.

FOR MAIN TRUNK EXPRESS. ARRIVES IN AUCKLAND TO-DAY. BY ■SPECIAL" FKOM WELLINGTON. A special train arrived from Wellington this afternoon with a most luxurious sleeping car, which will be used on Main Trunk expresses. The car was on exhibition at the railway court of the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition recently held at Dunedin "nd was the cynosure of all eyes. It is a splendid piece of work, and has most comfon.able internal appointments. The sleeper was designed by Mr. G. D. Lynde. Chief Mechanical Engineer for the Xew Zealand Railways, who was a passenger by it from Wellington this afternoon. Mr. J. F. Maekley. locomotive engineer for the Soutlj Inland, accompanied the chief, together with other heads of Departments

The new car. which i≤ the forerunner of several others, solves three problems arising out of the use of sleeping cars between Wellington and Auckland, namely, ventilation, water service, and dust. It is 50ft long, with an overall width of Bft Pin, and is the longest sleeping car yet buiit for the Main Trunk. It is divided into nine two-liertii compartment.?, lighted with electricity. heated by steam, and has a lavatory basin fitted with hot and cold water in each compartment. Each cabin has an electric fan. bunk light?. and an ingenious ventilation device fitted in the window. The bunks arc convertible into comfortable couches during the day. being then divided into two by an arm rest that drops down. The upholstering of the bunks is in moquette, and the seats are set at an angle which makes for the maxim um of comfort. The interior of the car is of polisiied mahogany, and the wash basins are also encased in mahogany, the top forming a good table. A rail is fitted as a foot rest, and the wall behind the rail i-s lined with rubber to protect the mahogany. Eiderdown quilt* are provided for the bunks. The passage-way is necessarily narrow, lint a big improvement upon the present cars has been made by the insetting of compartment at ai. angle, making a series of passing-places. Tiie lavatory compartments aj, each end are white-tiled, with modern household fittings. A new departure is the carriage of water tanks under the car. and water is supplied to all points under pressure of ICilb per square inch by the aid of a small pump worked from the lighting battery, the latter being actuated by power from the wheels of the car. The whole of the internal fittings are of oxidised silver. The car is painted "Midland lake."' the colour obtaining on the London. Midland and Scottish railway?. The sleeper was constructed at Hillside, but parts were made at Petone and Addington. The wheels are of the disc type, and the bogies are very similar to those used on the Prince of Wales' train in South Africa.

The new sleeping car was, at the invitation of the Prime Minister, examined by Mr. C. K. Bruce, a prominent officer of the Canadian Pacific Railways, states the "New Zealand Railways Magazine." Mr. Bruce said: "The car is equal to the best I have seen in any part of the world. Nothing can beat it for beauty and comfort. Your Prime Minister told mc that several cars of this type are to be put on the lines. Well- he is to be congratulated."