OHAI RAILWAY BOARD.

Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, Volume XXIV, Issue 1204, 22 January 1929, Page 3

OHAI RAILWAY BOARD.

— ♦' , ■- The 11th annual meeting of ratepayers was held m the Ohai Public Hall on Wednesday evening-, 16ih inst. Mr D. D. Macdonald, Chairman of the Board, presided, and the majority of members of the Board were present, together with the Managing Director, Traffic Manager, Engineer, and 50 ratepayers. Formal preliminary business having been, disposed of, the General Manager, at the request of the Chairman, submitted the following report :— "The later date of the meeting is occasioned by the delay m the return of audited accounts* 35 -The General Manager, continuing, compared* the figures with last year from the Income and Expenditure Account. T*he audit fee had been increased by £5, and the Chairman's honorarium decreased by £25. A special payment of £220 had been made for publicity purposes m ."The Dominion of N.Z.," while £100 had been contributed towards liquidation of the deficit on The Southland Court at the N.Z. and South Seas Exhibition. Increases were nptcd m the following items of expenditure: Hire of trucks, Insurance, Office Expenses, Printing, Advertising and Stationery, Rents, Rates, Running Expenses, Rebates and 'Depreciation. Reductions had taken place m Chairman's Honorarium, Incidentals, Interest, Legal .Expenses, Members' Expenses, Salaries and Wages, and Travelling Expenses. The total expenditure had been £17,783 5/9, against £17,407 9/8 for the preceding year. Turning to the incqme side the General Manager said the railage received for coal had increased from £28,909 7/1 m 1927 to £29,965 12/5 m 1928, a difference of £1056 5/4, while goods, railage, faics, etc., had dropped from ,£IBB2 10/2 to £1318 19/11, a difference of £563 10/3. Rents received had increased from £85 to £119 2/5. The total income for the year had been £31,403^14/9, against £30,876 17/3 for the year previously. The surplus for the year amounted to £13,620, while the accumulated surplus of assets over liabilities since the Board commenced operations totalled^£ll9,Bl2 5/-. This amount will .ultimately have to be reduced by the elimination of the amount appearing m the books as the cost of the original Moretown lino, now filled up and discarded. The net ' surplus will then exceed £100,000. The revenue from the carriage ot ; goods other than coal showed a shrinkage. This was a similar result to that being experienced lty the Government Railways. Mention was * made of the slow progress of the first • part of the extension to ■ Bhchwood. Butler's contract was only just finished.,. A serious difficulty had been ' experienced a sidling m Butler's contract badly_ slipping. This had cost extra money. The Engineer had made examination, and work was now - being carried out which it was believed would be successful. The Ben- ] oni engine Imported had been m use throughout the year, and was proving ] a thorough success. It was capable ' of coping with haulage equal to both " the F.A. engines. No. 4 extension ot the Birchwood extension had been carried out successfully by the employment of co-operative parties. No. 5 waß just completed under contract and partly under similar conditions to No. 4. Tenders for No. 6 section^ would be called_within a few days and local workers will have the - opportun- ' ity oF offering foF this work. Some improvement m local : passenger train \ cp.nnectiqn was being looked for. The • Qqyernment had been experimenting pn various lines with, motor carriage services with only limited success. Mv Donnelly and himself were at present engaged on what they believed would i] be a successful alternative. The j Board's adminitrative office had been ' removed from Otautau'to Wairio, occasioned by the- increased volume of business, and the change lent itself to efficiency and economy as the work developed^: fc Weather conditions, the General Manager concluded, had resulted m a slight reduction m the tonnage of coal handled. The current year to date also showed- a small falling off. — The report was received with applause. ' . v In reply to a" question the General Manager explained that since his appointment the honorarium of Chairinatt liad been reduce 4 from £200 to £50 ; ' per aijnuni, and tliis had applied iq one quarter of last year. MV Edmond drew attention to. the desirability of some explanation of Thpmson and Baird's contract. In reply the General Manager gave the history .of the progress under the cpntraet. ' Mr Edmond expressed himself as satisfied with the explanation. He was opposed to the Board's action at the time, and had not changed his qpjniqn yet as tq what should have been done. He, however, accepted the position. Mr McGregor moved the adoption pf the report and balance-sheet, although. fye believed, as he had ajways done, that for .the final section of the railway 1 a better route could have been fqrmed. He .also took exception to a l^yel crpesi^g aj; the road.-— $/Lv Davis secqnded the motion.. tylv Rodger emphasised the fact that the independent engineers.: called m haxl confirmed file present route. 3}lj? Rodger, forfeply; \p Mr McQregqr^s contention that the extension to Birchwood was, on the wrong rpyte, stated that the. report by the Public Works and Railway Engineers, who fiatf ma<:]e a. i^spec^jon, cqnfifmed Mr Williams' selection of the present route.^ —^This Mr McGregor disagreed with, and m the absence ot a copy of the report the point re- ; paained unfiuaH§ed,

Messrs j. O. Clapp and McGregor expressed strung opinions that there should be an overhead bridge instead of a level crossing on the Linton roa.l, and it was evident coincided with the opinions of a number present. The General Manager rcpliel that the Board had given every consideration to the question of an overhead bridge. The .traffic on the road did not warrant the additional expenditure, and it was unreasonable to press for it. If traffic increased the bridge could subsequently be erected. Another ratepayer emphasised the danger of collision at other crossings with the' Board's motor van and road vehicles. The van was not suitable for the traffic. The General Manager pointed out that to meet all the demands meant large expenditure. The Board was fully aware of- the desirability of an improved motor, coach, was anxious to meet the wants of passengers, and was trying to arrange improved transport. Just at present the proper coach was not procurable. The report was finally unanimously adopted, and the meeting adjourned with a vote of thanks to the chair.