FASTER MAILS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 179, 1 August 1939, Page 5

FASTER MAILS.

AUCKLAND PLANS.! CHANGES NEXT YEAR. MECHANICAL CONVEYORS. FIRST IN NEW ZEALAND. To speed up the handling of mails at the Auckland Chief Post Office, and to reduce the work of the postal staff, the post office buildinjr will be equipped, under the construction scheme in progress with n. mechanical system of chutes and conveyors, which will l>e the first of its kind in New Zealand. The machinery for the purpose will lie similar to that installed in some of the most modern ]>ost office* in (ireat Britain.

Important change* in the interior desijrn of the new four-storey wing of the post office block have been necessary • inre the contract was put in hand nearly a year ago mid extensive alterations* wilf also be required in the existing building- ''"he complete system has been planned by members of the postal and architectural stuffs of the General Pns»t Office, in Wellington, and has the approval of the leading experts of the British Post Office.

A tender for the supply of the conveyors has been let to Messrs. Sovex. Ltd., London, who are the patentees of the "twin-bund riser." The company will send a special representative from England to supervise the erection of the plant in Auckland. According to the plans, the bulk of the mechanism will be installed in the new wing.

Large Area for Parcels. Portion of the ground floor of this wing will ho u*ed for vehicle dock*, and the remainder will be occupied by the Customs Innncli (to be transferred from the present parcels premises in Albert Street i. arid by the overseas mail branch. The hulk of the first floor will he used by the parcels branch (also traneferred from Albert Street), and

tlie second floor will l>e occupied entirely by the niailrooni, which will al*o extend! into a portion of the old buildinjr. the wails beilljr eut away for tlie purpose. The eastern end of the third floor will lie occupied by tlie postmen's branch. tb<- remainder of this floor beinp subdivided to provide social amenities for the staffs under the control of the ehiefpost master. The poatinjr apertures at present! located ill the main vestibule on Queen Street are to be removed to the front] of the huildin™, where they will occupyj a position on the street line to the south of the entrance immediately under the two windows. This space ie at present occupied by public telephone call offices which will be removed to the I main vestibule.

Mail matter placed in these posting| aperture.* will be of all shapes and sizes, | addressed to all parts of the world, and will require to be dealt with in differ ent portions of the new wing. In addition, "late fee" letters will require expeditious handling up to the final moment of elosintr of mails. Some of (he postings will require to be conveyed nearly a hundred yard* in a horizontali line before reachinjr the postal officials, and in addition portion will require to be raised about .">Oft vertically. Despite the fact that the engineering brains of Kurope and America have concentrated on the problem for many years, no satisfactory method of raising all elates of mail matter vertically in a continuous istream has yet been devised.

How the "Riser" is Operated. | The usual form of conveyor in use in I this country consists of a motor-driven! endless belt which runs on rollers or on a flat metal plate. This type of conveyor is limited in the angle at which it will operate, and is impracticable where lifts of i>o and 60 feet are involved in a relatively small horizontal area. The most suitable mechanism at present available for lifts of this type is a product of British ingenuity known ae a "twin»band riser." This machine is used extensively by the British Post Office, and in the Auckland installation four will be included.

With sTlght modifications the conveyors can also be made to handle parcels and large bags of mail. Packets and newspapers, like letters, will be regularly carried from the posting , apertures on the Queen Street frontage to ithe sorting rooms by the conveyor belts.

J In addition to the flow of mail from the posting apertures there will be the -inward bag;?, and parcels from trains, steamers, service cars and air liners. The jdocks on the northerly side of the new I wing will provide for four vehicle* unloading at a time. Also, a loading dock will be provided for firms dispatching parcels in quantities. The twinjband risers will be installed at the rear |of these docks, one to convey bags of ! mail to the second floor, and the other ifor loose parcels to the parcels branch ion the first floor. Parcel* handed in I by the public will also be placed on the j latter conveyor.

Quick Loading System. In the mailrooin a special type of conveyor about 100 ft in length will be piovided for conveying letters between the bag opening, sorting, and bag closing positions. This will run horizontally, commencing near the table where inward mails are opened up, and passing nil the "primary" and "-secondary" letter sorting cases. It will convoy bundles of letter* and trays of letters on the top band in one direction, and bundles of letters and empty trays on the lower band in the opposite direction. The lower band will be accessible for loading at any point throughout its length. Bundles of letters and traye will be automatically separated at the discharge ends.

A reversible conveyor •will run between the mailroom and the postmen's branch on the third floor for the conveyance of bags of mail matter and trays of letters between these branches. By means of a system of spiral chutes all floors will be intor-eonneeted, allowing mail matter transferred by gravity from floor to floor. In addition, three lifte will serve all floors, special letter lifts being provided between the mailroom and the delivery counter and between the registration counter and the registration branch. By the introduction of a mezzanine floor over the four loading docks much heavy lifting will be avoided. Mail will be held on this floor until vehicles ere in position to receive it on the ground floor below. Chutes will then be lowered on to the rear of the vehicles and the mail will be discharged down the chutes.

It is expected the post office building scheme will be completed to bring the new handling system into operation about the end of next year.