DESERT ROAD SERVICE

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22593, 24 December 1938, Page 18

DESERT ROAD SERVICE

PIONEER WORK OF TWO NEW ZEALANDERS USE OF DIESEL ENGINES AND AIR-CONDITIONED CARS [THE PRESS Special Service.] AUCKLAND, December 23. The latest developments in the desert' passenger service from Bagdad to Damascus, pioneered and still maintained by two New Zealand brothers, Messrs G. and N. Nairn, were described by Mr G. Nairn, who arrived at Auckland by the Monterey. Mr Nairn, who is accompanied by his wife, has come to see his sons, who are being educated in, New Zealand. It is his first visit for five years. The principal vehicles now on the desert service are stainless steel 18passenger Pullman trailer and tractor units. They are air-conditioned, and cover the 550 mile journey between Damascus and Bagdad in 16 hours. They cost £IO,OOO each. While he was in America, Mr Nairn ordered engines for two Diesel-driven 12-seater vehicles for a night service. The bodies are being built in France. The company is now using exclusively Diesel-driven vehicles, as it has been found that recent improvements in engines of this type make them by far the best power unit for the service. It is planned to introduce in 1940 air-conditioned sleepers, accommodating 28 persons in 12 sleeping berths and 16 Pullman chairs. They will contain dressing rooms and a buffet, and will carry one and a half tons of luggage. Mr Nairn said that although air service competition over the route was very keen, traffic had not been adversely affected. Through the introduction of air-conditioned dust-proof cars, first-class traffic had been fully held, and last year 16,000 passengers were transported. The development of oil in Arabia had meant increased business. Although the company sends four services a week to Palestine, no trouble has been experienced through the disturbances in that country. Mr Nairn said that the route had bc«m altered to run from Damascus along the coast through Beirut and Haifa, to avoid the more troubled area through Tiberias and Nazareth. Cars making the trips were not armed, but protection was provided by British armoured cars, which patrolled the route. The run from Bagdad to Damascus was now perfectly safe, and raids by Arabs and similar difficulties with which they had to contend in the early days of the service were npw things of the past.