RAILWAY WAGONS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 140, 15 June 1944, Page 7

RAILWAY WAGONS

SOME OF THE REASONS

~..The. of..railway wagons available for sudden demands has occasioned difficulty for the Railways De.partment as .well as for-its clients, but inquiries show that there are many indeterminable factors, as well as the :ordinary .troubles inseparable from transport.in wartime. Many of the causes are outside the Department's .control..,.,There,.are., acute fluctuations in. demands and weather, and manpower questions add to the complications. ~ "fVeatlier may affect the discharge or loading of wagons both at centres and at country stations ,and often they are "Kept "at ports through unexpected delays in the arrival ; of shipping. These factors are reisponsible at times for as many "as 800 wagons being tied up at one port at a time. When-unfavour-able weather covers the whole country for a day or more the hold-up may be greatly increased. FEWER PORTS, LONGER HAULS. The centralisation of shipping, necessitating long-distance hauls of many essential commodities to main ports, means the loading of the goods on trucks long before ships can take.them. It is not unusual for 250 wagons to be supplied for the carriage of tallow or wool to a single ship. Then, again, in order to turn ships round speedily, Saturday and Sunday work has become necessary, and in the case of inward bulk cargoes, such as coal, phosphate, wheat, etc., -many empties are required to keep the ships working on these days. This, in view of other requirements, sometimes means that the local supply of available wagons is used up, and a temporary shortage exists on Monday or Tuesday. Like many other industries, the Department has been faced with a labour shortage, and even if close contact is maintained with the man-power officer, it is not always possible.for the Department's needs to be filled. From stocktakings made daily it is clear that too many wagons are left undischarged for periods of three days or longer, thus reducing the supply of empties at peak periods. At ports where shipping is heavy labour shortages may delay ships and retard the discharge of wagons. \ The total quantity of goods hauled in 1934 was 5,642,199 tons. This increased in 1939 to 7,539,012 tons, an increase of 23.83 per cent., but in 1944 it increased to a record of 9,026.626 tons, an increase of 16.48 per cent, over the previous year, and of 37.49 per cent, over 1934. It may be asked why the Department did not obtain more rolling stock. The heavy wagon construction programme authorised prior to 1939 was not carried out because conditions in .Great Britain prevented the materials for this construction from coming to hand. Now the construction programme is far behind schedule, with little apparent relief in the near future. The requirements of each district, are controlled by the central authority, which keeps in touch with the main district requirements, sending wagons where they are most required, providing special wagons for frozen meat, dairy produce, livestock, etc., but when a peak demand has to be met shortage cannot well be avoided. On occasion special trains of empty wagons have been run, at heavy cost, on Sundays to meet these emergencies. ___^_____ AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP P.A. AUCKLAND, June 14. More than 100 members of the United States Armed Forces will receive certificates of naturalisation as American citizens at a ceremony tomorrow in the American Red Cross recreation hall of the American Army Hospital in Auckland. This will be the second formal naturalisation ceremony to be held in New Zealand. The men to receive certificates invdude 51 former- British subjects, 18 Mexicans, ten Germans, five Italians, three Swedes, two Irishmen, and one each from Argentina, Belgium, China, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Honduras, Hungary. Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Yugoslavia. Alt', these soldiers have been naturalised as American citizens by the American Consul and American Vice-consul in Auckland following hearings recently held by them under a special appointment as naturalisation examiners. Every petitioner for naturalisation was specially recommended by his commanding officer and vouched for by two other officers. . This procedure is traceable to the Second War Powers Act (1942).' By that Act- the American Congress provided for the expeditious naturalisation of aliens in the armed forces of the United States and specifically waived all normal restrictions and requirements as to age, race, alien enemies, period of residence in" the United States, ability to speak English, educational qualifications, fees, photographs, and others which were formerly necessary.