TRAIN CONTROL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22612, 28 December 1936, Page 13

TRAIN CONTROL

EFFICIENCY OF SERVICE

HIGHLY RESPONSIBLE WORK KEEPING THE TIME-TABLES STRAIN IN HOLIDAY TIME While thousands of Auckland holi-day-makers travel safely and speedily to all parts of the Dominion b t v train at Christmas and Xew Year, men in the train running office at Auckland arc working day and night to make that travel possible. Upon their knowledge and efficiency depends the safe running of every train as far as Frankton, and the maintenance of correct time-tables. Their work is highly responsible, and becomes more difficult in the holiday season when traffic is heavier, but it is practically unknown to the public. From tho Auckland train running office are directed the movements of every train in the district. Reports arc received from each station along the line, and from these the train running men know exactly where each train will be at any time of the day or | night. Slow trains are sent forward ! or kept back in order that fast trains may suffer tho least delay, and tho traffic is skilfully directed to prevent !it from becoming too denso at any I point along the line. Tho train run- : ning men are like chess players, using i trains as their pieces and railway : tracks as the chess board. Train Controller's Work The nerve-centre of the train rtini ning department is the office of the j train controller. Here the controller Ltalks to every station in the controlled ! area by means of a special selective telephone, which rings through direct merely by tho turning of a switch. He

! issues instructions to stationmasters ' and porters, and their replies, which j come through a loudspeaker, are used I in the compilation of the train running j chart.

To the layman this chart is merely a network of lines, but it is read easily jby the skilled controller. Each line represents the journey of a train, and it is possible, by the us? of cross bear- ! ings, to work out the time at which : the train is due to pass through a certain station. The running of trains in ! the section is charted in multiples of ! two minutes, and the system is most | accurate in its working. When a train leaves Auckland its | size and weight and the class of engine drawing it are all noted by the train I running office. The note of the size is j necessary to see if the length of the j train is within the capacity df the vari- | ous sidings that it will have to go into j on the journey, and the other details all have an important bearing on the j time-table. ]f the train is delayed the | variations in its running, compared ; with the original run, are noted and ' plotted on the chart, and the necessary adjustments are made. The train ! may be speeded up over one section while another train is switched to a ; siding to enable it to go through without delay.

Knowledge of Stations The train controllers are necessarily men of long experience, and with a knowledge of local conditions. They must know the various stations along the different routes, and what accommodation is available, and how the trains will be placed. Care must also be taken that the route is left clear at certain of the smaller stations where crossing facilities are somewhat restricted. Besides giving and receiving information controllers must also look a good distance ahead to see how traffic is moving up to a given point. If this was not done they might find that several trains would he due to arrive at a station where the accommodation was limited. Delays are the bugbear of the train running office, for they may mean many adjustments to the running of different trains and detailed study of the chart. The timing of the trains, as originally set out, provides for a clear run in each case, but the lateness of only ono train may affect the operation of both following and approaching trains in the same area. Ono cause of delays is that station facilities are sometimes insufficient to cope with the number of trains converging at each point. The difficulties of train running are increased in the holiday season, when trains are larger and there is a heavy heavy goods tonnage. The density of traffic is greater because there aro more trains running in the different train control sections, and it is extremely difficult to find suitable tracks for ail the additional trains. The train control system works right through the Main Trunk area. The Wellington office controls the running of trains to Marton, whore they are taken over by the Ohakune section. The Ohakune controller works them through to Krankton, where they are controlled by the Auckland office.