IN WIND AND RAIN.

Evening Post, Volume LXIX, Issue 122, 25 May 1905, Page 2

IN WIND AND RAIN.

.. .. ♦ THE COLD, WET MOTORMAN. TRIBULATIONS Ob 1 TRAMWAY EMI'LOYEEH. SOME IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED. The most uncomfortablo peoplo in Wellington during tho pnsfc few days were probably the molotmen on tho trumcars. PvuodicaHy thei'o ha\© appeared in tho l'osl paragraphs dhecting attention to tho miseries which the motonncn enduro in weather Htich as the present, nmt the matter has also been beforo tho City Council on moro than one occasion. Nothing, however, was rtono, mid the men had to onduro the biting wind and penetrating rain as hesb they could. At last week's meeting of tfie City Coun- ! cil Councillor M'Laren moved in tho direction of making provision for tho motormen, conductors, and dcßpatchers against tho inclemency of the weather, mid of requesting the manager of the tramways to adviso tho Council as to tho best means of supplying this protection. Tho Mayor, however, said the matin was beforo tho Tramways Committee, which was communicating with Auckland and Dunedin on the subject. The case of the conductor is comparatively easy when considered with that of tho molorman or despatches He spends a good portion of his time inside tho car or on tho roar platform, and — unless on a combination car — is hardly more exposed to tho weather than tho average citizen whoso business takes him about tho streets. Ho does not oven require to wenr a mackintosh or oilskin, the blue cloth overcoat provided by tho Corporation boing quite sufficient for his protection. THE MOTORMAN— DTSCOMFORT AND DANGER. The molormau, however, is in* a worse plight in wet and windy weather than even the cabman on the cab-rank. Clad in an oilskin and with an oilskin hut, ho has to face, tho stinging rain which is driven hard into his face with an impetus that is vastly increased by Hie high speed at which tho tramcars triivol. Tho rain sweeps over him, and finds its way into every cornor and interstice of his coat, and every movement of his hands or body makes an opening of which the. sharp storm takes immediate advantage. His foot arc cold and wet, but this is almost unavoidable ; his handh aro chilled ; his lips arc numb ; and ho is often wet through in places. Hut he must keep his eyes open and alert, even whilo they aio tingling and half-blinded by the buffeting of the wind and rain. Apart from tho discomfort and misery which the motormnn must endure — and in which the public should bo interested — the kick of protection for tho men hns an element of danger. The first fatal accident that look place since the system was instituted was in a measure due-' to the fact that a whirling, blinding cloud of dust blew into the. mot 01 man's face- and forced him to bend his head to save his ryes, ft would not require n nuieh stronger wind that tho " southcrliw " that afflict Wellington to sweep a blinding, mist of rain into the motorman's fuce.and if this occurred at ono of the critical moments tlinf ere aconstant occurrence, a fatal accident might easily occur. UNSUITABLE "OILSKIN'S." t A representative of the Post was travelling- on a ear ycslcrd.iy, tho motormnn of which declared Ihnt he w.\n aliwst wet through. As he wns wcurinij un hilskin, this seemed surprising, but investigation showed that it was nevertheless a fact. The Coipomtiou issues oilskins to iltt motornifln, but tho!«e arc of a quality that ttifoid a quite inadequate protection ngnmst the wind-driven rain. Further enquiries amongst the nun went to show that these coats arc found to be no entirely useless for any but summery weather that the. men have had to buy coats of their owu. The Corporation overcoats aio thin, but this is not their chief defect. They let tho rain pass through, and after a few hours in the rain they aro as grateful and comforting as a wet blanket. They may be excellent value for whatever price the' Corporation pays for thorn, but a bigger price would ',-et a better coat— and tho piico would piobably not requiro to bo vory much biirger at all. The blue cloth coats isoued by the Corporation are excellent fur light rain, but would become soaked m short order in the exnysed position of the motormnn. WHAT DUXEDIN DOES. When our reporter sought to tbtain something about thu pros and cons of tho ofUn-.ltyjgcs.Ud weathtT-screui to protect the motormon. Mr Stuait Richardson, tho Klcctiic.il Engineer, said that tho matter was now before the Tramways Committed, nnd ho was, therefore, not in a position to discuss it. The motormen in Dunedin are more fortunate thiin our own, and aro not exposed to "a the airts that blaw," although their need for protsurion is smaller, despite Dunsdin's proverbial wetness, than is demanded by the wild winds of Wellington. In the southern city tho ends of the cars aro fitted with glass windows, which can bo dropped in tlno weather. On somo of tho cars, also, tho ends of (he platfoim are fitted with folding screen doors, so that tho motormnn, when necessary, can bo as secure from srorms outxido as the passengers inside tho. ens. A molorman who hns drivon curs in Dunedin says I hut the driving rain on the windows is not an inconvenience, because it washes over Oio window evenly, nnd causes no appreciable blurring or distoition. At night, liowcvor, there is some inconvenience caused by the reflection of the light within the cur. If the middle window were lowered at niyht, however, thitf objection would dNapp'ur, und the two side windows alone afford nn immense protection. Tho diflioulty with tho Wellington cars is that the Inirizontally-aeting i circular hand-brake projects some distance in front of tho woodwork of the car, whilo tl><3 cunt rolling levi-is would nlm> be in tho wny. In Dunedin there is no difficulty, ns the woodwork is clear in front of the limit of tho projection of the lovors, and tho hand-brake acts in a vortic.nl plane, instead of horizontally. THE WEATHER-BEATEN DESPATCH BR. But it is not oiily tho motormnn who calls for sympathy. Indeed, his caso is not worso than th.it of the dispatchers at the Government-station ternnmis. On wet days this busy network of lines is this most undesirable place i> % lhi< cily. It is a peculiarly open and exposed place, and there is no shelter of any kind for tho unfortunate dispatcher who, wiapped up in his overcoats, has to stand in tho wind and rain hour after hour, performing hii monotonous duties. i'asHCugcis arriving by trains know tho wretchedness of waiting for their earn in bad weather, and eveiy wot day out see* crowds of miserable beings huddled up in the lee of a fence Or in the shelter of tho Hotel Cecil. They find their case hnrd enough, but they rarely have to wait more than five minute's at tho outside. Thero is not ono of them who would not feel outraged ut an eight minutes' wait. They would write furious letters to the paper demanding the dirmifisal of everybody if their wait lasted ten minutes, The despntcher ha« to euduro it

for ci^'ht hotiis! It is enough to \wcek any mv's system. Tim lemcdy Mould bo so simple. A nuiiill Bentry-lnix, which would be in nobody 'i, way, would bo nn enormous boon to tho dispatcher. If ho lmd (his shelter ho could spend six minutes out. of evitry ten inside it, and perform Jus duties just as clnoiiMitiy as at present, rim most urgent mvd is protection for theßO oflicinls, whoso shifts aro 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., aud 3 p.m. to " last car," but something should also be dono for tho wailing passengers. It ia true that thero is a veinndah attached to the tramways' ollicc, but it is at a point whence nono of tho trams start, nnd a passenger wnilinu: thero would havo to go fifty yards to calch his car, whether on tho Lnmbton-quny or Fentherston-strcet route. Mrfst of the pnsHOtigets congiogatc on tho corner by tho •wnter-lrough, nnd this comer, a shoit square, one, is tho obvious placo for tho erection of somo species of shelter. It would be in no person's way. In the meantime, while tho Tramways Committee is deliberating winter has urrived, and cold Mot motormen and despntclioi'K arc doing their host — and doing it very well — to carry out their duties under conditions which nro so .shocking that nn hour's application of them to any member of tho Tramways Committee would fill him with a fervour nnd fire that would lead to some- improvement being effected with great velocity.