NEW SLEEPING CAR

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVI, Issue 171, 21 June 1926, Page 6

NEW SLEEPING CAR

BETTER RAILWAY FACILITIES.

TRIAL RUN ACCOMPLISHED. More than passing inteicst was evinced by some of the public yesterday at 11 o’clock when a passing glimpse was obtained of the Railway Department’s new sleeping car, which passed through Palmerston North on a trial journey from Wellington to Auckland. The special train was drawn by ono engine, and the complement consisted ot a van and the new sleeping car. This luxurious and magnificent car was the cynosure of all eyes at the Railway Court at the recent exhibition at Dunedin, and many flattering comments were made about the splendid work which has been put into it and of its comfortable and delightful internal appointments The car was designed by Mr G. D. Lyndc, chief mechanical engineer to the Railway Department, and it solves three problems arising out of the use of sleeping cars between Wellington and Auckland, namely, ventilation, water service and dust. It is 56ft long, with an overall width of Bft 9ins, and is the longest sleeping car yet built for the Main Trunk line. It is divided into nine two-berth compartments; it is lighted with electricity, heated hy steam, and has a lavatory compartment. _ In each compartment also there is an electric fan, bunk lights, an ingenious ventilating device fitted in the window and also a special ventilator. The bunks are convertible into comfortable couches during the day, being then divided into two by an arm rest that drops down. The upholstering of the bunks is in moquette and the seats are set at an angle which makes for the maximum comfort. _ The interior of the car is of polished mahogany and the wash basins are encased in the same wood, the top forming a good table. A rail is fitted as a foot rest, and the wall behind is lined with rubber to protect the woodwork.

The passage way is necessarily narnow, but a big improvement upon the present cars has been effected by the insetting of compartment doors at an angle, making a series of passing places. The lavatory compartments at each end are whito tiled, with modern household fittings, while the wash basin is supplied with hot and cold water. The water tanks are carried under the car and water is supplied to all points under a pressure of 161bs per square inch by the aid of a small electric pump worked froni the lighting battery, the latter being actuated by power from the wheels of the car. Tho whole of the internal fittings are of oxodised silver and tho car is painted externally in midland lake (the colour adopted from the London Midland and Scottish Railways), and was constructed at Hillside, but various parts were made at Petone and at Addington. The wheels are of the disc type and the bogies are very similar to those used on the Prince of Wales’s train in South Africa. This new sleeping car was, at the invitation of the Prime Minister, examined by Mr C. R. Bruce,, a prominent official of the Canadian Pacific Railways, and he remarked that its typo was equal to the best he had seen in any part of the world. “Nothing can beat it for beauty and comfort, said Mr Bruce.