WHOSE BUSINESS?

Evening Post, Volume LXVIII, Issue 136, 6 December 1904, Page 5

WHOSE BUSINESS?

THE TRAMLINE WOOD-BLOCKING. DETERIORATION, OR WHAT? A MATTER FOR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION. "Councillor Luke again referred to the deterioration of the wood-blocking surface for want of tarring. The Mayor stated that this was going to be attended to; the whole would be tarred and sanded very soon." This innocent-looking little paragraph, clipped from the Post of last Friday, when it appeared under the heading of "Tramway Matters" as discussed at the meeting of the City Council the previous evening, raises questions of more than ordinary importance to every ratepayer in the community. The questions are these: — 1. Are the ratepayers thus early in the history of the new tramways to be faced with an expenditure of money in an attempt to save the wood-blocking put down along the line from deterioration? 2. Will the mere process of tarring and sanding indicated by the Mayor be a sufficient remedy for the fault referred to? 3. To what cause is the deterioration attributable? 4. Upon whom falls the liability for such deterioration? — the tramway contractors or the Corporation? ENQUIRY WANTED. Unfortunately we have not before us, nor have we been able to secure, a copy of the conditions of contract under which the electric lines, were constructed by the English contractors, consequently it becomes a matter of some little difficulty to answer any of these questions offhand. Still, it is common knowledge that the wood-blocking between the tramlines wac carried out by the tramway contractors, while the Corporation itself undertook the blocking of the roadvayo on either lide of the line. It is alsts "well knows Mm* the tramway contractor!) are under btrad to maintain the line wr a period of nax months from the datt of its completion — that is, from the tame it is taken over by the Corporation But. here arises another question T/hicK. -ft Hi presently require &:; answer : WSul is to be regarded as the actual date of completion ? Is ihe six mojitks' xaamcon<uice period to hi reckoned front the fcisne when the vniole system is in actual running order? Is it to be calculated ironi the ruuaing of the trams upon the Jiret section openedthat between tbo carbheds and the Basin Reserve, on the 30th June last — or is H to bo calculated piecemeal, from thne to time as the various sections are opened to traffic? There should be a decision obtained on these points, and at once; it may save much future trouble. Judging from the answer given by the Mayor to the question put to him' by Councillor Luke, it would appear that the Corporation is w riling to assume immediate responsibib'ty for the maintenance of the track, although a portion of it has only been opened for traffic for a period of five months, while a considerable section is not yet ready for running, and probably will not be in going order until well into the new year. We say the Corporation "appears to assume responsibility," for the reason that no other explanation has been vouchsafed— nothing has been said about the contractors being called upon to restore the track to order or take steps to prevent the deterioration referred to. As a matter of fact, we believe that the contractors have done some amount of repairing to the blocking along the track — such as patching weak spots which have developed in the wood-blocking, raising depressions, and replacing some of the blocks. It is also understood, however, that the City Engineer has been called upon to undertake the tarring and sanding process which •appears -to lie so badiy needed, and. this work will, presumably, be done at the expense of the city — unless it can be shown that the responsibility lies in another direction. But here it may be remarked that we have the best reasons for stating that a considerable portion of the tramway track now in daily use, as well as a part of that which will presently be put into running order, is in a manifestly bad condition as regards the wood-blocking between the rails, and it therefore behoves the Corporation authorities — or that particular branch of the Corporation staff which is entrusted with the oversight of the tramways — and the ratepayers in their own interests to watch this matter very carefully, in order to see that their rights, if they have any, are strictly maintained. DIFFERENT METHODS. The matter is not new. It will be within the recollection of many that at various times attention has been called to it at the Council table by some of the Councillors — even while the wood-block-ing was in progress. It was asked if the work wajs being carried out according to specifications, in view of the fact that the methods of the contractors and of the Corporation — which was street-blocking simultaneously — were vastly different. While the Corporation staff carefully dipped each block in boiling tar before it was Htted into its place, the contractors' men merely partly dipped, dropped the block into its position, and when a section was finished, ran "a certain quantity of boiling tar over the surface, and scattered sand on top. The street-blocking got its top-dressing in addition to the dipping of the blocks, and the surface, when completed, presented the appearance of a well -asphalted pavement. The blocking between the rails, on the other hand, began to lack uniformity of appearance within a few weeks of its being down. The reply given to Councillors' questions was that the work of the contractors was being done according to specification, and the matter was not followed up. Lately, however, the matter, as above indicated, has begun to assume a more serious aspect. Ordinary citizens, as well as City Councillors, have noticed fissures in the track, due to either excessive shrinkage, or to loose laying. They have noticed, furthermore, that a large percentage of the blocks between the tramlines have cracked — in some places they have splintered into a dozen pieces and "spread" in all directions. They have noticed that instead of one joint showing in a row, two, three, and sometimes 1 more, have sprung into sight, that the rows have got out of plumb, that depressions have appeared in spots where they had no business to exist, and that blocks, and particles of blocks, easily shifted beneath their feet as they walked, and could be* withdrawn from their places with the utmost ease. Seeing this, they somewhat naturally want to know, many being unused to wood-blocking except in its relation to occasional crossings : Is this as it should be? And if it is not as it should be, then Whose business is it to find a remedy? They have been taught to understand that the life of a well-laid wood-paving is something like twenty years. Here scarce more than that number of 'weeks has passed, and there are distinct signs of deterioration. If this is to be found in the beginning, what will it be in the end? WHAT A POST REPORTER SAW. A member of our staff was detached yesterday on an expedition over the full length of the tramline. It was the sort of da.y, in the matter of weather, when 'the wood-blooking had every possible chance in its favour. There had been a

heavy rainfall in the morning, and it waa reasonable to suppose that after an hour or two's soaking where there was (shrinkage the blocks would naturally "take up," that cracks would be less eaay to discover for the same reason, aaml that where there might be defective jpintyig fche street washings would fill tfee- holes aad they would possibly escape the eye of any one except an expert looking for trouble. Attached is oar commissioner's report: — At the Newbown termiaus, alongside the car-sheds (he writes), I found finrt evidences of trouble. There were blocks which had splintered either from the effects of the sun or the weather, there were depressions here aad there, spaces which exceeded hi size what one would assume might show where a joint had been made or space left for the blocking to take up, and there were blocks with, the grain turned the wroog way up— sideways instead of on end. Opposite Em-mett-street the blocking is very uneven, and opposite Bell's bakery there are three blocks projecting above the rails, apparently being prized out by the friction of the passing cars.^ At th© foot of Rev-ans-street, where the cars tern into Ade-laide-road, there are several more similar projections, some of them dangerous, and along the whole length of the blocking down to this point I found numbers of splintered Wocks, some of the broken pieces having sunk below the kvel of their fellows, others wifck parts missing. The track oh the grad« dovn Adeiaide-road to Sussex-square ranged from good L« indifferent, and from indifferent to bad. Within a teiagth of, say, | 500 yards of the curve into Pussex-sqaare j the blocks in several place? are sticking above the rails, the rows sw^ uneven ia [ other places, and the Hock' are loose. On the curve itself the repsvrer has evidently been at work, as nw blocks have been put in— just the plain wood, apparently without tar. The Square itself ia in fair order, except at NaoKestad's corner, v,-kere tkere appeal's t^ have been suakage, necessitating repairs somewhat 3!3iikt.r to Uiosc carried out on the opposiJ^ co-raor of the reserve. Even now I tihcaid say that further lifting and pack<n S ' was required to restore the track to durable order. The stretch :i-an* thr> top of Kent-terr*ce, through •Jowrten*;- .piace' to Manners-«fcreet, is one of ths best-formed on the line, shows very iittle wear, and is eveniy and neatly laid almost without excepti*«. The ex--eption is a bad depression +t the Tara-liiki-street crossing, where %c blocking on the sea. side of the lur> appears to iiave sunk bodily within a rrdius of several £eet. There are signs if extensive KUrhikage along. Manners-street, between the site of tne old fire station and iha Koyal Oak corner. Gaps aa inrh ci more wide gape and allow •w&tar to lodge in them, and others are filled with dust and ordur*. Mannersstreet proper- though not ysfc in use for tramway purposes, shows signs of the water having got beneath ihe blocking, and several of "the blocks 3;ave loosened, while numbers are shattered, and a hole exists opposite the Opera Ht«ase. Wiflisgtreet and the Quay I did net trouble to inspect, as the track for & considerable part of its length has not yet been cleaned, and is still covered with particles of cement and other foreign matter. SOME BAD PATOaES. Turning into Customhoutie-quay, and walking down to where the ■wood-blocking terminates opposite Messrs. Levin and Co.'s warehouse, I noticed a small depression 1 in the line near the csrve past the* Loan and Mercantile BuiWmgs, and a worse one at the foot of Johnston-street. In front of the Government Insurance Buildings numbers of blocks have cracked and spread, and near the stopping-place at the foot of the Queen's Wharf blocks have sunk as well as 6plit. The final length of line walked over was the shopping route through Cuba-street and along Vivian-street. Cuba-street is bad. The jarrah has split in all directions, many of the blocks are imperfect,, the rows are out of plumb, as if they had not been tamped together, and ifc is possible in. places for the heel of a boot to get fixed in the holes left, while the loose blocks may be pulled out with ease. But if Cuba-street is bad, Vivian-street is worse. To the eye of a layman it looks aa if the track for the whole length requires re-forming. I should say at a rough guess that from twenty to thirty per cent, of the blocks have either cracked, splintered, or warped. It is like stepping over a staging of battens. In places there are distinct gaps, both between the rows and between the blocks, some of which have smashed against the rails, while others do not nearly touch the line, and the concrete foundation may be seen between. There are loose blocks everywhere, and scarce a chain of the whole length is in anything like order. Speaking generally, the best work along the track, from end to end of the line, appears to have been done at the curves, where the most careful fitting has had to be done. Whether the system of laying was wrong — whether the specifications should have provided for complete instead of partial dipping— >pr whether the defects are due to other causes, it is for aa exjjert to say. Anyhow, it was abundantly plain to me that there aro serious faults which will require early atteDtion on the part of the Corporation or the contractors, whichever is held responsible. I looked for defects in the Corporation blocking, and noticed the want of top-dressing at the Constable-street corner and other places, and this I understand is to be done. There are also some loose blocks near the Constablestreet junction, more near the branch, line which leads to Berhampore, and some few blocks have cracked in the Adelaideroad length. Near St. Mark's, on the south side, there are depressions alongside the rails, and there is soakage and depression at Nannestad's corner, where part of the roadway will want lifting and the blocks re-laying.t