TRAMWAY BRAKES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 293, 4 September 1908, Page 9

TRAMWAY BRAKES.

AUCKLAND AND WELLINGTON COM- .- ... -. •'. PARED. : In the'report of tho Commission (Messrs. R, W'.' Holmes' and S. Richardson) appointed to inquire regarding the efficiency of the 'Auckland tramway, brakes comparisons are .made with tests' on the .'Wellington trams. At Auckland the following tests'down Col'lego Hill'wero obtained : —"The first , stop obtained; using the hand : brako alone,..was on a' four-wheel car, carrying a load equal to the licensed number of passengers, travelling at a speed of 17.S miles per hour down a grade of ona in 11.78. ' The car' travelled 232 ffret before stopping, the force developed by tlie. brakes being 1.48 tons. " Using'the same brake on an eight-wheel car under similar conditions,, at a speed of 22.1 miles per hour, tho'car travelled 620 feet before stopping, tho force developed by the brakes being 1.97 tons. A third trial, using the hand-brake, ; track-brake, and second emergency brakes, simultaneously, when the car •was travelling at servico speed, stopped tho car in 242 feet. This must bo regarded as an emergency stop." , ' The 'following' results of comparisons obtained'in Wellington are appended:—"A ' four-wheel car, carrying 1J tons more load, travelling at 14 miles per hour down a grade of one in 14, was stopped by tho hand-brake ' alone in 74 feet, the force developed by the brake being 1.93 tons. With the hand-brake alone a bogie car, carrying 2;8. tons more, travelling at 16.4 miles per hour, stopped in 215 feet, the force 'developed, being 2.3 tons. An emergency, * application of the magnetic |)rakeon : this' car at 12.7 miles per hour stopped tho car in 34 feet', the forca developed being 4.4 tons." ' "Tlie results obtained in the Auckland tests, using tho electrical emergency brakes," the report goes on to . say, "wero not as good as those obtained by tho use "of'tho hand-br/ike, which shows that the electrical emergency brake is useless for quick stops, descending a hill. • Wo aro therefore of opinion' that,' ill tho interests 'of publio Safety, tin improved brake for use in emergencies should be adopted."