OUR TRAMWAYS. THE MORNINGTON CABLE LIKE.

Otago Witness, Issue 1639, 21 April 1883, Page 3

OUR TRAMWAYS. THE MORNINGTON CABLE LIKE.

It is now somewhat over three years since the enterprising engineering firm of Messir Reid and Duncans brought before the public o> Dunedin their scheme for connecting- the city with the suburban municipalities ofr Roslyn and Maori Hill by means, of a system of cabt tramway. To demonstrate the practicability o this project, the engineers, after completing' all necessary arrangements, proceeded * it the construction of the Roslyn line, introduo ing many new features in cable railroactiug which previously had not been attempted, and solved for the first time the difficulty of carrying the cars round street corners. The success attending the running of the Roslyn tramway awakened the residents of Mornington to the importance of tram communication, and as a result we now find the hill-tops of Mornington brought withiu, eight minutes' travel of tho centre of the caty by means of a cable tramway. As the system of cable traction aa applied to city railroading ifr at.the, present time attracting considerable intemt throughout the large cities of the wotfw, a- brie J sketch of tho progress of Hfcta inv«njjon may prove of interest to our reiders. Tin* system Q.t^ah^ trac-

tion for cities, waa invented by Mr Halhdie, of San Francisco, .where the first line was built in 1873, and since that time, four, pther lines have been constructed and are running regularly, with'great financial success: while at present two other,, lines are being built and several others projected in San Francisco. In Chicago-the transforming of about,- nve miles double-track horse-tramway into,, cable was completed last year, and the success;attending the running, of this trial portion has in-., duced' the converting of aU the horse-tracks, into cable-lines. Throughout the United States,, the cities of Philadelphia, Cincinnati,. Providence, and New York are now arranging to, lay down a system of cable lines. In London a cable tram is. now in course of construction, on Highgate Hill, and after this is completed and running,, the building of a line, on Hampstead Hill will follow. Tho system ia thought so favourably „of in London that a large and influential company have purchased the patent rights for the United Kingdom from Mr Hallidie, at a cost of £70,000, andi ntend arranging for the laying down of cabVj trawj-. toougtoiit Gar** Britain. In I New Zealand we have the Rvalyn and Morn- 1 ington lines, being the first built out of San Francisco,' while several lines are projected in this Colony and Australia. . . From careful comparisons, taken.from actual work in , San, Francisco, it is shown that the difference in working expenses ,ia vastly in favour of cable traction. . . On a cable-and-horse tramway .three miles -in length,, double track (cable running six' miles per hour, against an average of four miles and-a-half per hour on. horse-line),, and allowing interest on cost of construction and equipment at 6 per cent, per annum, there is a saving in favour of cable traction of 57 per cent. . . The Mornington tramway is a cable railway, constructed under Hallidie's system, is of 3ft 6in gauge, and built with a double track. The city terminus is at the intersection, of High and Princes streets, from which point it runs up High street, crossing the Town Belt, and terminates at the junction of the townships of West Dunedin and Mornington with the Town Belt. The length of ' this portion of the line is one mile, with a total vertical rise of. 430 ft. The gradients traversed range from the level up to lin 6|. ' The portion through the city is built in a straight line, and on entering the Town Belt the fine is deflected by a curve, having a radius of 264 ft, and runs thence in a line parallel, with Eglinton road to the • terminus, where the car and engine houses are located, on the property of the Company. , TKe cable by which the cars are propelled is manufactured from the best crucible steel. It is 3in in circumference, built of six strands, consisting in the aggregate of 114 wires. It was constructed under the supervision of Mr Hallidie's representative in London, and is laid up in a perfect manner. The cable is carried on the straight portions of the line by means of cast-iron sheaves about llin in diameter, placed 30ft apart, and at the city terminus turns round a terminal sheave 10ft in diameter. Thi3 terminal is mounted on a selfadjusting malleable-iron bogie, to which a tension gear of about two tons is attached, and by this means a steady strain is always kept on the cable. At the Mornington terminus the rope is deflected at right angles by two Bft sheaves into the engine-house, and, after passing over the driving-clip pulleys, undergoes a further process of tension Tbefore again passing into the street. At the crown of all streets where there are heavy down grades, large sheaves are provided, and the rope is kept down on rising gradients by means of depres-sion-pulleys running about lin below the street level. The tube, or rope-tunnel, is built throughout in a very substantial manner, the contractors being Messrs Edgar and Co. The portion from Clarke street downwards consists entirely of concrete and iron, and the roadway between the rails of stone cubes laid in cement. From Clarke street upwards the tube is built of concrete, iron, and timber, the timber portion being easily removed and replaced at a small cost in after years when it is found necessary. At the city terminus the tracks converge, and are connected by a siding ; and here much difficulty was experienced in construction, and considerable ingenuity is displayed in the arrangement of the various mechanical contrivances. At the Mornington terminus the lines are connected by a turntable. The engine and car houses are located at the Mornington terminus, and on completion of the tramway through the Glen will be about midway in the length of the line. The build-mgm§amFe§-120ft-byMf.t, jadis built in. two storeys, the upper portion *15'ei&£ t£ tised- i *eK>' clusively for the cars, while the lower storey gives a roomy engine and boiler house. The engines which supply the motive power are of the high-pressure horizontal type — two in number, — cylinders 13in diameter by 27in stroke ; they are fitted with Hartnell's patent automatic expansion gear, and are capable of working up_ to a maximum of 78 h.p. each. The steam is supplied by two boilers 10ft by 4ft 3in, of themultitubular cylindrical pattern ; and tne connection between engines and boilers, together with the system of heating the water, is very complete. At present only one engine is used ; the other is held in reserve in case of repairs being required. The engines and boilers were constructed by Messrs Marshall and Sons, of England. The driving gear is very complete and substantial, and was turned out by Messrs Kincaid, M'Queen, and Co., of this city. Provision ha 3 been made for attaching the necessary driving gear for. the extension, so that there will be no stoppage of traffic while this work is being " effected. A notable feature in the, sy,sj;em..qf^driving is the "take-up," by means of which the slack'of ih'e rope is 'taken up from time ~to' time; thus avoiding- the cutting and re-splicing' of -the''- rope-when the tensionsheave has exhausted its travel at the city terminus. .

The traffic so far has been : carried solely by the -dummy-cars, but it is the intention of the Company to run closed cars attached to the dummy-cars, which will, provide comfortable travel during the winter months. ' These cars will shortly arrive from New York, and will then be placed on the line. The dummy-cars were manufaqtured by Messrs Cossens and Black, and the excellent workmanship throughout reflects much credit- on that firm. The grips and brakes are worked entirely by levers, and are so simple in application that any risk of accident is reduced to almost an impossibility. _ An important detail in the construction is the water supply for the engines. This is effected by means of a plunger pump, located near Alva street. The pump is driven by the wire rope, and the power is taken off the up and down rope and transmitted to the pump by a simple mechanical arrangement. The water is pumped up a vertical height of 120 ft, and for a length of about 2000 ft. It is delivered in the engine-house at the rate of 360 g-allona per minute. This work was carried out by .JVlesßrs A. and T. Burt, and it will effect ;a anaterial saving in the .working' expenses. .. . , „f / The city terminus and engine-house are connected by telephone. It is worthy of note that, excepting the supply of rails, wire rope, and cars now on the

way from- New York, the whole of the work has beencarried out locally. „, The works were commenced , in August last year, ! and the dine opened for, traffic about the middle of March, so ihat little time was lost in the completion of tlie undertaking.. , . , The. works, throughout. were designed and carried out by Messrs* Reid and Duncans,. the. Company's .engineers, and they are to be congratulated onthe successful aoiapletion of this important enterprise. • , , .; • „ • The line has now been running for over three weeks without a. single, hitch of any, kind, and in addition to ita utility and convenience- to the hill residents, we are glad to learn that the tramway.is likely to turn out agreat financial success. 'The present allotted capital of the. Company ia- held- by only 32 shareholders, and the- direction is under Messrs Bastings, Baiid, JTenwick, . Hazlett, Hart, Jack, and