A MODEL RAILWAY STATION.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 426, 10 April 1880, Page 20

A MODEL RAILWAY STATION.

There was on view this week at the Government Buildings a working model of a railway station, with siding and level crossing, and crossing gates, connected with McKenzie and Holland's patent interlocking apparatus. The model was exhibited at the Sydney Exhibition by Mr. Wm. Griffiths, C.E., on behalf of the manufacturers, and Mr. Griffiths has brought it on to New Zealand in order that the Government and railway authorities may inspect it. The model will remain at the Government Buildings for a few days, until Mr. Griffiths proceeds South with it. The interlocking apparatus is a most ingenious arrangement, the whole of the signalling and interlocking, as well as the opening and closing of the gates, being worked by one man, who, instead of running from place to place, has all the levers in front of the platform upon which he stands, these levers communicating with the signal posts, points, and gates by means of signal wire and rodding under the rails. Upon any particular points being opened, the same leverage at once locks those that might otherwise foul with the one just opened, and the risk of collision is thus reduced to a minimum. The advantages of having all the levers and signal hoists in a station-yard brought together within the control of one man, are obvious, and the system under notice concentrates the working of points and signals in this manner, the arrangement of the machinery being such as to prevent any possible conflict between points and signals. The expense of working the system must be considerably less than that of the method in use in this colony. In large stations, where there are a great number of workings during the twenty-four hours, some such system is absolutely necessary, and Messrs. McKenzie and Holland's patent has become so generally popular that it is in use upon all the principal railways of the United Kingdom, and notably upon the Great Eastern Railway at the Liverpool-street Station, City Terminus, London, and Metropolitan Extension ; the Great Northern Railway, Finsbury and King's Cross Terminus, London ; the North London Railway, Broadstreet, City Terminus ; the Metropolitan Railway, Bishopsgate-street ; the North Eastern Railway—the large new station at York; the London and North Western and North Eastern Joint Railways—the new station at Leeds ; and Great Western Railway—Cardiff station, Worcester Station, &c, &c. It is also in use upon the Victorian railways, Spen-cer-street station alone having seventy levers at work, . and it is about to be adopted by New South Wales and Queensland. As illustrating the immense amount of business which the manufacturers have done in this particular class of work in Great Britain, we may state that £IOO,OOO worth of work has been done by them on the Great Western, £50,000 on the Great Eastern, £70,000 Great Northern, £72,000 North Eastern, £10,500 Highland, and £14,000 on the North London. The latter station is a remarkably busy one, there being no less than 800 trains running in and out in a day, comprising about 1700 workings during the twenty-four hours. Mr. Griffiths, who comes to us recommended by the Government Inspector of the British Board of Trade, could not have visited Wellington at a more opportune time, for the Government are on the eve of building a new railway station for this city, and they might be induced to introduce the new system. We may add that the model itself, as a work of art, is well worth inspection.