UNDER ERECTION

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 31, 5 August 1936, Page 15

UNDER ERECTION

NEW TOTALISATOR

FAST WORK AT TRENTHAM

.... ~,„,„ During the three weeks that nave elapsed since the Wellington "Winter Meeting last month, steady progress i i ~ i .i fc ,1.. ~,n r. \r nf inhas been made with the work of installing the new Julius all-electric totalisator, which is to be ready- for operation at the club's Spring Meeting in October, which will extend -over three days (October 22, 24, and 26) instead of the usual two days in honour , " . ,„,, .t^.^t,,,.,.-! o-itprT of the occasion. The structural alterations to the main totalisator house, carried out under the supervision of +>,« - n ,,rcn <:i,noi-intpnrif>nt (Mr N the course superintenaent (Mi. jn. Hay ley) have practically all been completed, and now the new plant is being set up under the supervision of +.T it< i *■ Q i m dnL fMr L the club's electrical engineer (Mi. h. L. Saggers).

The first parcels-of the new plant were shipped from Sydney during the progress of the recent' meeting, and the machinery is now all in New Zealand, excepting only the ticketissuers, which are expected to arrive on the next boat from Sydney. The more,intricate portions of the machinery have been sent across already assembled, but there is- nearly two months' work ahead in setting up the completed plant. I RAPID TRANSFORMATION! After the recent. meeting the first steps taken were to remove and store all the old plant, and then to prepare the totalisator house internally to receive the new plant. The selling windows were reconstructed from- the previous small apertures to long windows within a week, "arid the benches inside were arranged to accommodate the new-issuers. Since then the wiring for the issuers has all been completed to the terminal plates-^a maze of wires side by side —and it remains now only to connect the issuers when they '•ar-rive-and are installed to the terminal plates' for this section of theowork to be finished. ' , At present a large engineering staff is engaged in completing the., erection of the strong steel frame in the machinery room on the upper floor to receive the actual totalisator. Most of this work is done, and yesterday the first of the adding-units,/ complicated pieces of mechanism in themselves, were being permanently fixed in place on the frame. These units incorporate many new features and are an improvement on anything previously constructed by the Julius Company. There will be a separate adding unit lor every totalisator number, win and place. WORK YET TO BE DONE. , When the separate 'units are installed they will be electrically • connected with master units,-, which will control -the barometers. The installation of this portion of the plant has yet to be started, and aferwards the barometer face, which will record the progress of the betting for the public, will be erected in the space already provided when the structural alterations were made in the totalisator. building prior to the recent meeting. Although the work ,of installation' is going apace, and the essential portions of the plant are already at the course, it will be some time yetl before the new machine takes its ultimate; form. Every stage has to be accurately and carefully taken; 'and -when- the--total* isator itself is'completed" there will remain the task of connecting the ticketissuers with Ihe recording plant.-After that the completed machine will have to undergo thorough testing, but it is not anticipated that any trouble will arise when this stage, of the work is reached, as the whole plant was thoroughly tried and' tested before it was shipped to the Dominion. ■ \ Except for the new large windows, not many further changes have been made in the exterior of the totalisator building. The old aisles leading to the,windows, however, have been re-, moved, and in due course new ap-' proaches will be erected under the spacious verandah that now covers the front of the totalisator house. The actual' barometer vface also, of course, has yet to' be installed, but this will be one of the final steps in the setting up of the plant. There is no need for any changes in the disposition or structure of the pay-out windows, which are not part of-the mechanised unit: !