SPEEDING FRUIT CARTAGE

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28161, 27 December 1956, Page 3

SPEEDING FRUIT CARTAGE

DIESEL TRAINS TO BE USED IN OTAGO (New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, December 25. Movement of fruit and livestock from Central Otago will be speeded up when diesel-electric locomotives are introduced on goods train services between Dunedin and Ranfurly about the end of January. The General Manager of Railways (Mr A. T. Gandell) said today that two 750-horsepower diesel-electric locomotives would be shipped south from the North Island as soon as shipping space was available. They would strengthen the present fleet of nine diesel-electric locomotives at Dunedin and enable the new service to begin. On the Central Otago railway, these new locomotives would be operated in pairs to give, in effect, a 1500-horsepower locomotive at the head of each train. Mr Gandell added that a trial already carried out between Dunedin and Middlemarch, a distance of 47 miles, showed a saving of more than an hour compared with steam operation. Substantial savings in transit time are therefore expected when diesel operation is introduced over the 85 miles to Ranfurly, a section of line that at present takes goods trains about seven hours to negotiate.