SMOKELESS TRAINS

Hokitika Guardian, 26 January 1929, Page 6

SMOKELESS TRAINS

THE LYTTELTON TUNNEL

.DESCRIPTION OF UNDERTAKING. One of tlu* most important works undertaken by the Railway Department in recent years is. the electrification of the Lyttelton tunnel, and. aecordig to the general manager (.Mr FI. 11. Sterling! the .new scheme or operation will lie, in working order a,bout tbe middle of next month. The first electric, railway, in , New Zealand was through the Otira tunnel and between the station of that name and Arthur’s Pass, on the line which links Canterbury with the West Coast —a line by the,,wav, which is quite a payable proposition, one which has been a boon to the whole, of ihe-West-,land province. ”i«• • Another interesting ifact concerning the -Lyttoltoii-Christ-cliurch line is that it is the first section of. 3ft Bin railway, to lie laid In the Dominion. At present the former job is still in the hands of the Public Works Department. .Mr. K. 0. MacGibbons., resident engineer, being in charge. Power for the operation of trains is being brought from the Ad-dington-.-sub-station. - (Lake- -('pieridge supply), the route'(for'the' 11,000 volt feeders from Addington to Christchurch having been cleared some time ago. The electric engines arc on the spot, the last three having been landed from Home within the .past fortnight. THE “DRYING-OUT” PROCESS. Although all the overhead equipmentand other necessary material and gear are ready, the determining factor in connection with the actual /date on which the change over will he made is the time required to “dry-out” the two rotary converters. This is ail important operation, and until it is completed satisfactorily, the converters cannot be put into commission, nor can a supply of power be provided, 1 Although “dried out” before’ shipment the machinery “ sweats ” when coining through the tropics and this necessitates “drying out” when it lias been erected at the sub-station. The converters are completely erected and wired, and all that requires to he ’ done to them is the fitting of air duets and the “ drying out ” of the machines. This process is being done by. a hot air blower..' The condition of the insulator of the machines—-a , factor that can be ascertained only when the “drying out” process is in progress —will determine how long it will ho before the “ drying out ” can be ae- " pomplislied satisfactorily: . Given lfa : - •.ypiirable- insulation conditions, the work may be accomplished within a week.; given unfavourable insulation conditions it may take, three or four * weeks. This “drying out” process cannot be hurried ; to attempt to do so 1 would he a case of “the more hurry the less'speed.” THE ’SUB-STATION.

Laymen in electrical matters, when they see the complicated equipment at the Woolston sub-station, and when they remember tbe comparatively close .proximity bf the Addington sub-station are somewhat curious to, know wherein exists tin* necessity for a second sub-station. The reason is based on the economics of the loss ol power in trraiismissioii. The Woolston substation is approximately in the centre of the section of tlu* line to he operated hv electricity anil so avoids the loss in voltage which would*occur if power Were led to the overhead system either from the Christchurch or Lyttelton end. For purposes ol train traction the power is to he delivered- •at 1500 volts direct current to the overhead system. Assuming that it could he so delivered from Addington sub-station, the loss in transmission (owing to low voltage), would be greater than will be the case in the transmission of 11.00 volts alternating current from the Addington sub-station to the Woolston one. , The 11,000 volts, which, leaves Addington'suli-station ,will He delivered' at 10.750 volt at tlu* Woolsldu sub Station. If,- and when, the electrification ol the railway, from Christchurch southward or northward, is decided noon, the same principle in respect oT the 1 >- cation of sub-stations will lie followed • they will he erected about the centre of the respective sections. SUPPLYING THE CURRENT. The 11,000 volts alternating curroni is delivered into the Woolston sub station by a duplicate overhead copper line. ' After being put through a bank of transformers, which convert U.OO- - three-phase to 1 1 15 volts sixphase, the last mentioned is led inti rotary converters', which convert tin alternating current into direct cm tent at 1500 volts, at which voltage it is fed to the overhead system and to the cleitric engines.

The equipment of the sub-station is practically in duplicate. There arctwo sets of transformers, and t\v< rotary converters, and one of these units is capable of supplying sufficient power to meet the demands for the operation mf trains. The whole station is automatic, in that the machines arcput into operation without the services of an attendant. In the event of one machine developing trouble, an elaborate system of relay protection cuts out that machine, and starts the other one. An additional feature is the supervising control, by which the station equipment may be started or stopped »'* " > lll b v an officer at the Christchurch railway station. This does not interfere with the automatic feature. When the whole of the work lias been completed and tried out as a going concern it will be handed over to

t!, r > Railway Depart incut, whose properly it will become. Included in the equipment of the sub-station is a 10ton traveling crane lor use to enable repairs to lie efleeted. COMFORT FOR TRAVELLERS. From (he midlde of next month onwards those travellers on the leiiv steamers between Wellington and Lyttelton who dread the present smoky, sulphrous, dirty journey through the .Lyttelton, tunnel need have no lurthei fears. 'The Otira tunnel is s;{ miles loni. It pierces the Southern Alps or the" Sout- Island 2420 feet above sea level, and the air inside is just as pure as it is outside. One can stand on the platforms of the carriages without discomfort. There is no smoke, no dn' niid no stuffiness. The seats, windows, handrails, in fact, all the equiiunent ol the West Coast express is clean and wholesome —a great contrast to the trains running between Lyttelton and Christchurch, or the expresses between Auckland and Wellington. There is no need to close windows in the Otira tunnel. and with the advent of cloctrJ. engines through the Lyttelton tunnel the same conditions will he in evidence:

During tin* last few months record goods and passenger trains have been hauled from east to west, and vice versa, through the Otira hv the electric murines which have proved to he most "effective. The Otira scheme has been Vlosely watched by experts, and they had had ample proof that the ficiVtion of the Lyttelton tunnel will »»'• a compete success I rum eveij point o view It has been a long looked lor event which is almost an accomplished fact.