THE TRAMWAYS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1367, 12 May 1898, Page 38

THE TRAMWAYS.

GAS-MOTOR STREET CARS. THEIR SUITABILITY AND ADVANTAGES. HOW THE SYSTEM CAN BA IMPROVED. It is generally conceded that in regard to its street-car service "Wellington is a good many years behind the times. From time to time negotiations have been opened for the substitution of an improved svstem, but so far they have been without any satisfactory result, and the citizens of the Empire City have still, perforce, to rem lin content with the antiquated system at present in vogue. ?■ '"> Although there is not at present before the public any proposal to substitute any other kind ot power for traction purposes, it is as well to consider what kind of power would be most suitable for the requirements of the city in this respect, so that when a change is proposed those concerned may be able to exercise their judgment in the matter.

In regard to electric trams, considerable opposition would no doubt be raised owing to the very real dangers of the overhead wire system, which has resulted in many serious accidents in cities where it has been in use. Cable cars are undoubtedly good, but it is pointed out that_any accident to the machinery throws the whole of the system out of gear, and for the time being paralyses the traffic, while the large capital expenditure required for its installation militates against its general acceptance. There is, however, another system —that of gas motor cars —which seems to call for more than passing notice. The machinery on these cars, which are much of the same appearance as those in general use in the colonies, and carry 52 persons, is enclosed and concealed from sigh*", and is stated to be cleanly in working, and to cause no nuisance by vibration, heat or smell. The gas supply for the motor is taken from the town mains, and" is compressed to about eight atmospheres and then delivered by an ordinary indiarubber tube to the car, where sufficient is stored to enable the car to travel from eight to 10 miles. The receivers can be refilled in about a minute and a half. As to their suitability, the experience of several towns on the Continent and in Great Britain is sufficient guarantee that they have at any rate fulfilled the requirements of towns fuUy as large as Wellington. Mr Corbet Woodall, civil engineer, of London, reported on the Croydon Tramway Company in 1895. A car on which he travelled climbed a gradient of 1 in 16 without difficulty at the slow speed, and showed no difficulty in rounding sharp curves. "The car," he say?, " runs most comfortably, with less noise than accompanies an ordinary horse car," and he formed the opinion that the system was a thoroughly practical one. With regard to its economical aspect, he goes on to say, with gas at the Croydon price of 3s lOd per 1000 cubic feet, the cost of power per mile run works out at less than one penny. Mr Woodall also visited. Dresden and Dessau, where tramway lines havefor some time been worked on the same system. On the Dresden lines there are two steep gradients, one of them being 1* in 23, and some of the curves are also sharp. "Thecars" (to use his own words) " travelled over inclines and curves with ease and smoothness at the ordinary speed of eight miles an hour, reduced to one-half when the double-power gearing was thrown in foe climbing the steep inclines/' Further, he noticed the absence of noise in working, and there was no vibration euch as would prevent a passenger from reading his newspaper. At Dessau, too, gas power has been installed, and has given general satisfaction. Further on in his report, Mr Woodall says -.—" l consider that the advantages of working tramways by this system only require to be known to, be generally appreciated and largely made use of. Gas-driven oars are free frorn most of the objections that apply to other mechani-cally-driven tramcars, and possess the enormous advantage of being available wherever a gas main is to be found at any point ot the line. I look confidently for a rapid development of the gas power tramway system, which seems to me to be specially adapted for those hilly lines thafc »■•••• "o oommon in and around our most !■ ■:! m towns, while the standing. cM,i ;-,- . - so moderate that, unlike the cable or oiuoorio system, a heavy traffic is not essential to its financial success."

A report by Professor Kennedy on the Dresden and Dessau gas-motor tramways is also of a very favourable' nature. For cases in which there is no question of specially steep gradients or of speeds higher than 10 or 15 miles an hour, the Dessau experiments, he s&ys, show that the gas traction system is well adapted, and that its capital cost will be less than in any other case, while its working expenses will also be very low. The comparatively small capital expenditure, as well as the ease with which the system can be used on existing lines if they are reasonably well built, and the fact that gas is everywhere available, are all points Very much in its favour.

At Blackpool and Ipswich, too, the gasmotor tramways are a great success, while they have al'o lately been utilised by the Neath Corporation in preference to other systems offered after a most exhaustive inquiry. Sufficient has been written to show that in considering what system shall be adopted to replace the present horse traction, the gas motor must not ba v lost sight of. Too graclitmtH of the Wellington line are by no means ao:.HJ>eep as womw of thowe mentioned abtf/o, uv&tto low nvfi of work-

ing is also a very satisfactory feature of the system. The lease of the Wellington tramways expires in December, 1902, but at the end of last year the City Council agreed to grant an extension of five years, on condition that at the end of that term their right to run over the streets will cease, and they will have to move their plant, lines, &c. The matter will come before the Council very shortly, but before any arrangement is completed the matter will have to be submitted to the ratepayers for their sanction.

Mr Hall's lease from the Council's lessees expires, we undarstend, some time before 1902, and, that being so, it would be in the interests of the city if an attempt was made to put our tramway system on a footing which should make it worthy of the principal city of the colony.