LOCOMOTIVES FOR THE RAILWAYS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16292, 27 January 1915, Page 7

LOCOMOTIVES FOR THE RAILWAYS.

TEN BALDWINS FROM AMERICA. THE FUTURE POLICY. (P» Umtbo Pwus AnoounoK.) WELLINGTON, January 26. The Government has placed an order with Messrs Burnham, Williams, and Co.» of Philadelphia, manufactures of the Baldwin engines, for 10 locomotives of the first class. The Hon. W. H. Herries, Minister of* Railways, in a statement to the press onthe subject, said : — "In the General Manager's report, laid on the table of the House last year, the acuteness of the position was pointed oat. It was shown that the engine power was woefully deficient, and accounted for a. greater part of the complaints which wert rife about tiie shortage of trucks, and it was recommended that 20 engines should be imported, ad the local and Government shops were going at full pressure and had two years' orders in hand, also that the only private firm which had a complete equipment for engine building would be fully employed to fulfil the Railway Department's order of 26 engines placed with it. The position the Government then had, to consider was this, that it was abso- . lutely necessary that the engines, or some of them, should be obtained in the shortest possible time. Inquiries had been instituted in Great Britain and the United States as to the prices and delivery, and the Baldwin Company's offer was immeasurably the best, both as to price and time of delivery, the latter being an> important point as time was the essence of the contract. The best English offer was from the North British Company, ; which was to complete 10 engines in seven months ready for shipping at a cost of £4780 per engine, whereas the Baldwin Company's offer was to complete 10 engines in 60 days at a price of £3229 per engine. It *as considered important to get the engines in New Zealand in time For Easter, and it is practically certain that this will bo done. The 10 Garrett engines mentioned in the General Manager's report will be obtained from Great Britain, so that the total .number autho- • rised will be equally divided between Great Britain and the United States. These imported engines will all be of heavy type, equal, if not superior, in ! traction power to the heaviest engines at present on the New Zealand railways. In future the old policy of keeping Yaw, traction power engines in good repair by reboilering and refitting will be abandoned ' and the money used for building new powerful engines capable of hauling the maximum loads which the permanent way will permit. After this shipment is received there will be no more need to import engines, as they will be all made w the dominion, either at the Government or private workshops." Speaking to a reporter, tta Minister ©t, Railways said he was following the procedure adopted by Sir Joseph Ward in a similar sit-istion in 1902. To enable future requirements to be met new work-- ' shops, capable of btzilding 10 locomotives ' yearly, -would be erected at Newmarket. INVERCARGILL WORKSHOPS. MR HANAN'S VIEWS. (Feom Oub Own Correspondent.) INVERCARGILL, January 26. '• In conversation with a Southland Newt' reporter to-day, Mr J. A. Hanan, M.P.,," said he hoped that a result of the recent*/ visit of Mr E. H. Hiley, general manager '; of railways, would be the recognition by - him of, among other needs of Southland,,, the importance of the extension of the Invercargill railway workshops. Mr Hanan recalled the days of the Coriserva-' tive regime and ''when Invercargill was' represented by a member of the party of stagnation," this being the period when the workshops were closed'in Invercargill and all repairs and other work done in Dunedin. Mr Hanan was not inclined to take the credit of having the workshops resumed in Invercargill, but the electors" of the district are well aware of the part he took in the matter, and that a large, amount of employment locally was the rer suit of operations being resumed. Last session the Minister of Railways, replying to remarks of Mr Hanan in the House,, said that he would obtain a report as to the desirability' of extending the workshops and providing additional machinery, * and probably Mr Hiley included in his investigations this question. Mt Hanan'; said that he was at a loss to see why'' any of the work should be sent from an important railway centre like Invercargill to Dunedin, apart from the fact that considerable delay and expense were involved,, which would be avoided if it were done here. Mr Hanan does not approve of the policy of sending out of the dominion for*'requirements that can be supplied by New.n Zealand, and said that the present Minis-* ter of Railways had ordered a large num--ber of locomotives at a cost of about"' £50,000, money which if spent in New 1 . ' Zealand would assist to promote the prosperity of the country and provide em.oloy-* ment for many of our own people. The department should, he added, extend tha,; v . railway, workshops throughout the dominion, install the plant necessary, and adopt a policy that would tend to make New Zealand as self-contained as possible. Large stuns had been expended in and around Auckland, while Invercargill had been comparatively neglected. Con-' eluding, Mr Hanan said they should as far as possible supply their own needs hi. regard to railway stock and locomotives, and the sooner they made a start thebetter. SIR J. G. WARD ON THE POSITION, MOTHERLAND SHOULD HAVE PREFERENCE. *; ; (Pkb United Press Associatioii.) WELLINGTON, January 26. Commenting on the order given for Baldk win locomotives, Sir J. G. Ward said ifc r was amusing to find the Government attempting to justify its action by using him for the purpose of comparing what they were doing now with what was car-. I ried out during the period he was Minister, 'of Railways. "But the Minister, in his!* , attempt a't justifying the procedure his, »;! Government is now adopting, has entirely,,; over-reached himself," said Sir Joseph,-.. " and he makes a palpable mis-statement. .< He says : ' In 1899 Sir Joseph Ward also imported from the United States 16 engines.' As a matter of fact, I was not*' Minister of Railways in 1899, as can be > seen from the records. I did not take, office as head of the railways until 1900. Soon after I took office I brought th« matter before the Cabinet with a iview to having the whole of the railway stock.,,, made in New Zealand. Acting on my sug-j... gestion, the Cabinet arrived at a decision.,, to make provision at the railway shops for the construction of locomotives^.'; and in addition to have a number made.;: ■ by private enterprise in the country, and not to import further engines or rolling': stock as soon as this provision to make'V them locally could be provided. Thispolicy was carried out strictly after 1902, and neither engines nor rolling stock were thereafter imported. In addition to the locomotives made in the railway Messrs Price Bros, have since regularly received orders for locomotives. I have no hesitation in saying," concluded Sir Joseph, "that the country ought to majta the whole of its own locomotives and roll* ing stock. In any case at this juncture,';/ if the Government found itself, compelled'.' to get engines from abroad, the importa*. tion, in my opinion, should have been , given to Great Britain, even if the price was higher. England is the heart of tha. Empire, and is vitally affected in this world war. Up to now. it is unfortunate'/ 1 but it is a fact, the noßcy of America hap-'"'' been of miphty little assistance to British Empire. Moreover, the British'' Government has since the war started,' found £5,500,000 for New Zealand at 3fc t . per rent, interest. Surely, then, onr re.-,, cognition of such services during the extraordinary conditions through which the Empire is passing warrants onr giving %■ ; preference to the Motherland, even though it costs us more to do so."