FORESTRY COMMISSION.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXV, Issue LXV, 20 May 1913, Page 5

FORESTRY COMMISSION.

THE RAILWAY SLEEPER PROBLEM.

BT TELEGRAPH —PBESS ASSOCIATION. . .. WELLINGTON, May 20. An interesting statement regarding the preservation of timbers used for railway sleepers was made before the Forestry Commission by Mr James Burnett, chief engineer ot the Railway Department, Mi- Burnett said that the Department was at present Powellising about 50,000 sleepers a year. Its experience had been that" creosote was fairly satisfactory as a preservative I but the difficulty was in getting sup^ plies of creosote in New Zealand. The creosote process cost about Is 8d a sleeper, and the average life of the sleeper was thus prolonged to sixteen years, as against a life of two years tor natural rimu. The Department had not yet found, however, anything to come up to jarrah for sleepers. On the Oath ns line, 24 years ago all the sleepers were of jarrah, and during Uiat time only two had had to be removed and replaced in the whole eight miles of line Dp to the present, timber which had been Powellised had been anything but a success, and the company which was doing the work was only feeling its way. and only experimenting.' For one thing, the company made astipulation that sleepers to be treated should be as fresh from the mill as possible. Some two years ago the .department had sent the company 1500 sleepers from the Woodville works where there was not enough creosote to go on with the treatment. These 1500 sleepers were of seasoned timber, and they were the only sleepers which were showing any appreciable signs of preservation.