NEW ZEALAND LOCOMOTIVES.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 9817, 28 August 1897, Page 9

NEW ZEALAND LOCOMOTIVES.

To fift edttor ok tiik i'kkss. Sm,—That the new " 17 " locomotives we twnverfiri tfrtgines nnd eminently suited for hauling heavy loads on eteep 'grndionts no wm> who itfMi tn>en fcnwn »b work vri\i dony; but for nil that ono ie tontptoil to ftsk*— Why cloos tho Dep:irtmenb, on a practically level road, Mich iw> the line between ChristcJjutoU and Oa»i»«h it*, fmd it nwiMrr to employ Rix coupleri engines at all ? Four mu|il«kl «iginc» with hvnn diiviog whnele urcmhl run much more freely, with far less Wear aiul tenr, and consequent greater tconouty in workinr;. The more whceln the more friction, and the smaller the wheels tho greater pieton •peel retinircd ; lioiico incrensed wear »nd tear—in other •words, expense in running. Tho " U " engines-— call them what yon like —are simply a *.ype of engine wliioli, niinus the bogie truok, would at Home bo used for •W mineral lnt(lk\

For fust freight trains six coupled engines *itu sft driven? aro used; for ordinary Wssenger trains four coupled engines with oft 6in or 7ft drivers nro usually employed : the express traffic on the Great Northern is run by engines wit'i Bft single {i.e., uncoupled), wheels, tlio Clreat Eastern and Midland Companies using Bft 7in singles. Thew engines think nothing of walking »w»y with a trnin of ton "heavy eightWheeled coaoheo at a booked speed of fiftyinwennle* on hour, aud they rarely lose time. J

On our narrow guage such large tlrivera Would ix) out of lho question, but the exprewea between Chmtchuroh and Oamaru m 'g'it with greater economy, areater speed, and easier travelling, be well worked by engines with 6ft drivers. with the same piston speed en engine *Hn a 6ft wheel would cover nearly onew»rd more mileage in the hour than one with a 4ft wheel, and that, too, with less wear and tew of tyie3.—Youre, &c, Footplate. THE QUEEN INT IRELAND. *O TUB RDITOR OF THK FRKSS. # ,^.—Your statement v\ the Prkss that «• Qawn visited Iroland in 1861 is quite «?!i' he went t0 Ire,ftncJ *° be tho g ue3t wthelwrt of Caetleroee or Oastleray, and ™ witness a gnuid review of troops. But "w chief object when there was to view we bemitifiii lake econery of Killarney. ,V h * n el >e p»>d that visit it was either at ">• l*Uer ond of July or the early part of •* u «um-. Altliough now writing from J?W, !t "eems but yesterday that I was iL c, Bay, nn,l lo <> k »ng iutently across *ww-. George's Channel to get the first of the Royal yacht as ehe steamed JfJ* th nßh»nnel from Holyhead to King's tzr n, , ehe dieembarted. The afterw»«iof the day of the Royal squadron wmng tn the bay was calm and bright, *«ni J i enou 8 h wi,ul to «"«e the bunting ?wptayed in honour of the Qneen'e visit to lK?i \ Th ' J Channel fleet wae anchored boa«? r?, two divi8 >one. Port and cUrJ hey were anchored abeam of each but far enough away so aa to allow a Pf'ag* for the Royal yacht to pass Jfveen then.. It was a most Z, W «• th « WQ ole fleet KfJ* 1 "' flae». from tho flying jibSri? "pankor-boom. but the grandest «&ht th ? l dft / was when the Royal yacht p aßsed , low j- the fleet 5 * B, . v , en B jgnal from the Admiral of the ■*». the whole of the blue jackete ran aloft ■M wanned the yarde, and gave three

British cheers. After this the bands of the fleet played the National Anthem, and when the yacht had passed the foremost ships of the lleet, each ship fired n Royal salute of twenty-ono guns, and then tho Royal yacht headod for King3town harbour. She 'steamed slowly in, and all could see the Queen standing on the yacht's deck with the late Prince Consort close by. Here sho received aright loyal welcome.—Yours,&c.,'

H.W.A. P.S. —What I have written I was an eye witness of.