HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER

Evening Star, Issue 16907, 3 December 1918, Page 8

HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER

ITS USE ON RAILWAYS, INTERESTING SUGGESTIONS. fFiioji Our Parliamentary Reporter.] The Chief Electrical Engineer (Mr E Parry) to tho Public Works Department discusses in his report on hydxo-electrit development the electrification of railwavs. MAIN LINE RAILWAYS. Tho provision of an adequate and dopenda/ble supply of electric power which shall bo available when and aa required at such points as may bo desired by the Railway Department ls ; Mr Parry says, indispensable to thorn: if they aro to be enabled to keep pace with the development of the country. It should be clearly understood that railway electrification does not mean the displacement of steam locomotives altogether and at once, but the gradual substitution of electric haulage for steam haulage on grades and in tunnels when and as tho. limits of steam haulage are reached, after milking every possible improvement short of entire duplication and extensive Degrading. Tho steam locomotive ifi easily the most economical tractor under ordinary railway conditions, but Its speed becomes severely limited on grades, because there is a limit to the power which can be accommodated on a etoa-m locomotive. The electric locomotive, on the other hand, does not generate the power, but merely converts electric power to mechanical power, which if draws from a power station situated elsewhere. The electric, locomotive is, therefore, able to draw the sa,Tn-:- loads at a higher speed, and by fo doing to increase the capacity of the line for traffic. For example, let it be supposed -that the limit under steam haulage-, has been reached in some portion of the division of the Main Trunk line between Tallin,Truniii and Taihape—that is to say, no more traffic can be conducted over it. This means that if this constitutor tho critical section, the whole Alain Trunk system and its tributaries, and to a lesser extent -all other lines, are limited by the capacity of the section or division mentioned. If now electric haula-gu can be substituted for steam haulage on this section it would enable, possibly twice the amountof traffic to bo conducted over it, and by so doing at once double the traffic capacity of the whole Alain Trunk system, and. substantially enhance the value'of the whole of the Now Zealand railwav system, without any further expenditure than that necessary to electrify the section in question, assuming, of course, that there are no other sections with the same or approximately the same limitations. The only alternative to this would involve regrading and reconstruction, which would inevitably introduce longer tunnels, which in themselves would offer an obstacle to an increased traffic, and at the end it would be found that recourse would have to bo had to electrification. The point to be noticed is that a general system of electric power distribution is necessary in order to enable the Railway Department to don! with any tunnel or section with steep grades as soon as the capacity

under steam haulage is reached, and that if a supply of electric power is not available for use when and where required the development of tho country will bo retarded and progress hindered. SUBURBAN RAILWAYS. Tho question of suburban railways eloo | trifleation- is already an urgent one in some cases, as, for instance, between Wellington y and the Hutt. Thera is no doubt in my q mind that had tho law permitted of it an c eloctrio tramway would have been in 1- operation between these two centres long ago. and it is evident that before long the need of a more frequent service wifi become bo great as to necessitate a removal I, of the present legal obstruction, unless a jj service of tho same general character is e provided by the Railway Department, in course of time, in all probability, as a o result of the growth of the population, an i- eloctrio service on both the road and the railway will become a necessity. There is, ,t of course, no question as to the ad-van* e fagos of electricity where frequent service >- is required. This is a matter of common i- knowledge; but at the same time, aln though the necessity may be great, it will n bo found that the. actual conversion is post--0 poiied until the matter becomes an acute .- one, unless facilities in the way of obtain--1 ing a. supply of power are available. These delays may not have the same direct ret tar-ding influence as delays in main line .- electrification, but tho argument in favor - of a provision of electric power is equally 0 valid. e AGRICULTURAL RAILWAYS. Another branch of electric haulage which 1 may possibly have an important influence ,j upon tho destinies of New Zealand is -the . construction of light railways, bv which I . mean railways ..constructed with grades 5 usually -adopted for a good class of road, 3 or, in other words, a- tramway, which shall 5 serve the country in the same way as a tramway serves a town and its suburbs, k except that farm produce would he con--1 ducted over it as a matter of course. -) These would not take the place of main or . branch railways, but would act as feeders 3 thereto. They would relieve tho roads of heavy traffic, and would promote exchange 3 between town and country, and form an i important link between producer and cour sumer. It is possible, of course, that there ; is no immediate use for this class of rail- - way in New Zealand ; but if there is no - system of general electric supply, the i matter cannot be put to a test, as it would t- never pay to provide a separate power j r station* for each line. In any case-, it is - quite certain that there is a future for ~ rural railways where the population is 5 closely settled, as we have the example - of Belgium before us, and it is only a > question of time before the necessity' for ■ them will ariro in New Zealand.