RAILWAY LIGHTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 147, 18 December 1941, Page 11

RAILWAY LIGHTS

ENGLISH SYSTEM USED

Both in the railway station buildings and in the station yard, the black-out, which was on similar lines to the procedure adopted in England, was thorough, the only lights visible being the tail lights of trains and the signal lights. Trains ran as usual, but at only 15 miles an hour, until the black-out ceased. There were no headlights on the engines. All carriage windows were blacked out, and no lights were visible on carriages. Although eight trains in and out were handled in the* yard during the halfhour, and it was necessary to shunt the engines of some of the trains, there was no difficulty. The announcement that the black-out would take place without the time being stated, probably prevented many people from travelling by rail last night; platforms were practically deserted, and the concourse was a gloomy cave in contrast to its usually busy appearance. The fh*st train to pull out after the alarm was given was one for Johnsonville. So complete was the black-out that the outlines of the train could not be picked out. It was merely a gray moving blur finally identified by the red tail light. Life w,as given to Hutt Valley and other steam trains only by the hissing of steam, and warning departure whistles which sounded loud in the general silence. Shuffling of

feet could occasionally be heard, but; it was difficult to pick up a sight of pedestrians. i The handling of ths trains in the black-out needed no Special pre-ar-rangement, as the ordinary procedure was carried out. Trains would be handled exactly in the same way in the event of an unexpected emergency. Light engines, multiple units, and heavy steam engines were used. Trains were already in movement in the outer part of the black-out area when the alarm was given. Police, fire, and ambulance units were on j duty, and in the buildings the Depart-1 ment's E.P.S. unit was in charge of the premises. SIGNAL LIGHTS. The only lights in the railway yard last night, states the signals department of the railways, were signal lights. Observations made in Auckland from a height of 3000 ft indicated that the signal lights there, which were on exactly the same principle as those in Wellington, were not discernible. Mr. G. W. Wyles, in charge of the signal and electric engineers' branch, said that the New Zealand pi'actice was exactly that of England, and was modelled on it from the result of his own visit there in 1938. Railway signals in New Zealand were | cowled or hooded in exactly the same | way. Signals must remain effective, as in some cases sections were controlled here for perhaps 30 miles, and disaster might follow if the signals could not be readily seen. Tests were being made to see if further screening could be carried out on certain lights without affecting their visibility to drivers. CITY TRAFFIC SMALL. The city traffic presented no special problems, said Mr. L. S. Drake, the Chief Traffic Inspector. Buildings in I the city streets complied with the warning in good time, and there were no traffic troubles. It was clear that most motorists had either prepared for the alarrh by parking in the proper places, or, knowing that the black-out was to take place, had not brought their cars out. and the amount of traffic was very small. There had been some complaints by the E.P.S. as to car lights which showed more light than the permissible one-inch mask should have done, but whether this was visible from the air he could not say. Mr. Drake said he did not notice any excessive lighting from the street level.