A BIG PROBLEM.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 129, 27 November 1909, Page 9

A BIG PROBLEM.

SMOKE NUISANCE AND THE LYTTELTON TUNNEL. DEPUTATION TO THE PREMIER. WHAT IS THE REMEDY ? A deputation comprising all Canterbury membel-s waited on the Minister of Railways yesterday to seek from him some assurance of remedial steps being taken ill the near future to make the journey through the Lyttelton tunnel more tolerable. Mr. Laurenson said that the complaints about the ventilation of the tunnel were absolutely justified, and he was certain that tho present state of affairs spelt considerable loss of revenue to the railways. Whereas .Sumner drew j as many as 23,000 visitors on an ordinary Saturday afternoon, Lyttelton on such a holiday as New Year's Day, with a regratta as a special attraction, only drew from 16,000 to 18,000 visitors, the great objection being the smoke nuisance in the tunnel. • He suggested that a motor engine should be employed on the tunnel traffic. Air. Nosworthy reminded the Minister that the tunnel had never been altered since its construction, although, tratiic had increased enormously. Mr. Witty said that the smoke in the carriages was so dense that some passengers coughed all the way, and were sick before reaching the steamer. As to the men on the engine, they sometimes had to lie on tho footplate to get air to breathe. Mr. Taylor said that he was opposed to heavy expenditure on the tunnel until the opinion of the people was taken on the canal question. It was hoped to put this issue fairly before the people of North Canterbury "within a year. Should the canal scheme be ncgatiyed, the electrification of the Christchurch-Lytt'elton line should be attempted. In that event he suggested tb'at it would be profitable to the Railway Department to erecb a power plant at the end of the Gladstone Pier, coal from the West Coast to be delivered by steamers direct into bunkers, and used to generate electrical power for the supply of the city of Christchurch as well as forthe railway. -.. Sir William Steward expressed the opinion that whether or not the canal scheme was sanctioned, there would still be considerable traffic on the railway. Mr. Ell mentioned that a£ a conference with the railway men, he had been told that one employee had had to lie on the footplate to avoid suffocation. Mr. Hardy : We will settle the canal scheme in Canterbury, sir. We are good customers of the department, ajid we expect you to give us reasonable facilities. Tho Hon. J. A. Millar : I agree with you that the time has arrived when .something will have to be done. We j 'are face to faca with what is the best method to do it. Six or seven months ago we had an engine altered to burn' oil fuel to see how it would work. We gave it a fair trial, but the cost was so heavy that we could not continue it. We are not ready to go on with it, but I believe the electrification of .that line is the solution. It would cost a lot of money. In the meantime, in order to sec if we could improve matters, we made enquiries, and we find that hi New South Wales they have adopted a system (on a tunnel of a little over a mile long with a grade of 1 in 40) successfully used on the Continent. It js an injector which injects 500,000 cubic feet of air per minute, and it keeps this New South Wales tunnel absolutely free of smoke. It is forced against the train whichever way it is going.^ We have a report from the Railway Commissioner of New South Wales, and our Chief Engineer has been instructed to get full details. We want the Christchurch City Council to give us electric power to drive the injector. I have given instructions to go ahead with it, and the probability is that we will try this scheme. It v.on'fc mean a very great loss if it is not a success. But I think the electrification scheme is bound to come sooner or later. Mr. Taylor expressed the conviction that the department's estimate* of the cost of electrification weie far too high. The Minister concurred, and mentioned that if the department could have got electric power irom the City Council the electrification of the cranes at Addington workshops could be carried out for about one-third of the original estimate. Mr. Witty : The council should harness the Waimakariri. Mr. Millar said that Christchurch had an example in Dunedin Corporation, whose Waipori scheme was a great success. # Mr. Taylor remarked that the Waimakariri' scheme was blocked by existing legislation, and suggested that the Government might undertake it most profitably. Mr. Davey said that whatever improvement vas effected to the tunnel a great benefit would be done. The enginedrivers suffered most acutely, so much so that some men had to be turned off that, section of -line altogether, as they could not. stand it. Mr. Millar : I know it is very bad. # Mr. Davey suggested that the Minister might help the drivers and firemen by directing that not more than a certain load should be taken by any engine through the tunnel. With a heavy load and greasy rails trains were sometimes half an hour in the tunnel. One driver had told him that once his fireman had collapsed, and he thought he would never get his train out of the tunnel.