RAILWAY ECONOMICS

Hawera Star, Volume LI, 4 May 1931, Page 8

RAILWAY ECONOMICS

GENERAL MANAGER'S VIEWS. LOCK KM OTOVKi RENEWALS. Dismissing the economic conditions s they affect the Railways, Air. H. 1 Sterling, the Genera!] Manager, stab that an indication of the world-wit depression in railway business has bee I given in the records of the principi railway companies operating in varioi countries. in Great Britain, for tt first seven weeks tjf 1931, and followin a year which produced heavy dec-lint when compared with the previous oru the four group companies showed d( creases varying from 16.2 per eeir ■down to 4.3 .'per cent. Amongst otbf overseas and foreign railways there ha been even more serious declines. “Under isuch conditions the on b course to pursue is to reduce expend ture to the utmost extent consisten with efficiency,” said 1 Mr. Sterling. Th economies now enforced were of a kin which normal conditions of trade woul not require, but they had the advau tage that when business did reciove the management would be in a positio; to make the best use of it by reachin; the present maximum operating capaoit; more quickly than woulld otherwise b possible, and then “lotting out sail onl; upon such courses as the future treni of our business demands.” “Since the New Year we have beei busy adjusting the railway machine t the new conditions produced by tin slackness of trade,” said Air. Sterling “This has involved a wider spread o the load to be carried! by individua members of the service, and in thh work I wish to again acknowledge the helpful adaptability of my chief-execu-tive, and other officers of the staff generally.” Typical of the economy measures now n train, Air. Sterling said, was the •volution by the technical staff of a lew type of locomotive which would ‘avo a large percentage of “banking” low necessary in various parts of Now Zealand. Apropos of Air. Sterling's statement, t is learned that responsible officers of he mechanical engineering staff of tlie Sew Zealand Railways have recently undo a comprehensive survey of the irosent condition of 'locomotive rolling took. and now a programme of locorotive replacements has been authorised. Mr. R. R. Angus, assistant chief lechanical engineer, has put in hand ho design of a general utility engine 1 powerful type. These new engines re being designed to meet the special auditions obtaining, in New Zealand lid will embody the latest improvemilts in locomotive 'practice overseas, hey will have a capacity approximately 50 per cent, greater than tlio xisting “AB” class engines, with the ilded advantage that the trailing bogie ill be built so that a “booster” can iter be conveniently fitted if found ecessarv. A booster is an auxiliary lgine which; comes into action autrimtically at loiv speeds.