THE TRACKLESS CAR

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 21, 25 January 1924, Page 8

THE TRACKLESS CAR

TO OVERCOME BRIDGE DIFFICULTY

HIGH AND LOW LEVEL TRACKS.

JK^. now fairly definitely decided upon for the overcoming of the difficulty of running th» car along the Hutt road and under the railway bridge into high • and low levels immediately underneath and for a short distance on either side of the bridge. The difficulty as has been explained previously, is • a\i h?- £" d8c girders-are not sufficiently high above the road surface as it is now to g lve jhe required clearance for the .overhead gear and the car trolley pole the lack of clearance being about r W°^ t, ,^ g u l"f the Pr°P°sal that the road, should be! lowered to form a dip /in r\ et ? r s0 under its full width(6o feet at that point) there are two arguments -. that such a dip, even though it is graded back for a considerable distance on .either side of the bridge, will take away very considerably from the appearance and general fine running comfort .of the road; and, eecondly, that a full-width dip will necessitate a removal and replacing of the water main,' which under the bridge runs fairly closely to the western pier.' The dividing of the full width-into high and dip levels, it is considered, gets over all difficulties at once, and at the sanle time will be a less expensive job than the cutting of a dip 60 feet wide. / ■ ,•: Prom'the points where the bitumen at present ends on either side of the bridge the surfacing will be swung out to form two- 10-feet level tracks; mi and out, one running close to the eastern pier and the other to the western pier, and thus leaving somewhat over 10 feet on either side of the central bridge pier for the. cutting of the in and out car "dip" tracks. Between high (or, rather, normal) and low levels low concrete wallswills be placed, with lighting standards at either' end, while the dip grading will be placed, with lighting standards' vide grades of about 1 in 50 on one side of the bridge and 1 in 60 on the other. Those grades, however, will not, particularly concern motorists ;' for them the going is all level. Should the railway .bfTilge in some future year be raised or altered, or a different type of car or % no car be run alqng the Hutt road,; aod it :is considered advisable to level tip again, there.-will-be a 2P-feet wide' dip to deal with, not a 60-feet dip.