OLD TRAMWAY SLEEPERS

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27404, 17 July 1954, Page 2

OLD TRAMWAY SLEEPERS

Transport Board Auction FARMERS’ PURCHASES FOR GATE POSTS Many of the farmers who bought old tramway sleepers at auction yesterday have some hard work ahead of them boring bolt holes in the timber before the sleepers assume their destined role of gate posts. The Christchurch Transport Board realised £1989 when 2000 sleepers and some odd sizes of timber were sold at an auction at the board’s Moorhouse avenue depot. About 50 farmers and other interested persons attended the sale, which was held in the open. Some of the bidders wore oilskins and leggings, while gumboots were the only suitable footwear. Rain fell steadily during the sale. Prices ranged from 12s to 16s for used sleepers, and new sleepers were sold for £1 3s. Most buyers purchased lots of IGO, though some took only 25. The prices of odd lengths of timber ranged from 17s 6d to £lO 10s. The largest beam to be auctioned was 12 inches square and 40 feet long. Even before the sale was over some farmers were discussing the amount of work involved in digging holes for future gate posts and the problem of boring bolt holes in the hard black pine timber.