THE EXPRESS GOES BY

Otago Witness, Issue 3743, 8 December 1925, Page 25

THE EXPRESS GOES BY

RAILWAYS AND EQUIPMENT. One of the obsessions that most of us have never been able to outgrow is the railway train. From the very time we learned to walk it has wielded a fascination which we cannot shake off. As children we played with railway trains, building a tunnel with the family Bible, arranging a station from the cruet and making up for the deficiency of a whistle with a certain degree of ventriloquial skill. We have made nuisances of ourselves with our shunting operations in the back yard, when, with the aid of a little imagination, we played at being engines, with our arms effectively filling the offices of pistons and ourt feet chugging along right merrily. It was grand. There is hardly a grown man living to-day who can withstand the temptation of secretly playing with hig son’s toy locomotive. Therefore, tbe interest that is always shown when the express goes by is not surprising. It dates back to the childhood days that never die. It is in the New Zealand Government Court that the Railway Department hat an exhibit that never fails to draw a crowd of men, women, and children. A clapging bell brings them scurrying from all parts of the court, and a closer investigation shows that the noise is coming from a wigwag railway signal, the type which i» now being installed at all level crossings in New Zealand. This, however, is not what is going to hold the crowd. The real feature is a model railway train which runs along a lengthy stretch of platform that fronts the department’s exhibit. It is not a toy. It is an actual miniature of the most up-to-date railway system in New Zealand, and the line is fully equipped with the proper points, loops, and, above all, the newest style of signalling that is gradually taking the place of the tablet system. These signals are known as the automatic daylight colour light system, and about 300 miles have already been installed in New Zealand, theso installations being from Dunedin to - Ravensbourne, from Christchurch to Groymouth, from Wellington to Upper Hutt, and from Auckland to Penrose. Just now the last-mentioned installation is being extended to Mercer. The mode! it a wonderful little construction, and the gauge is to the scale of one-sixteenth. It is exactly as on the ground, and the train controls its own signals, the switching in being done by a number of relays. There are 54 of these electric switches, worth about £BOO, and the whole cost of the model was about £lsoo—quite a small sum, In fact. There are two loop lines, and the trains are shown crossing, and the whole system is explained thoroughly by the officer in charge, Mr Swift. All the operations in crossing are carried out faithfully, and all essentials are in evidence—points levers, detectors, plunger boxes, relay boxes, track ’phones, level crossings, cattle stops, and “look out for the signs. A wire fence proteots the “railway property,” and outside of this are the hills and roads.

The line is divided into sections, and the train, on approaching the signal, changes it to danger or dear, according to the proximity of any approaching train. The eleotrio lines ran 3300 volts, which

transform down to HO volts, which is the working current. All this is to run the one little model, with all its signalling. It is really astounding to see this diminutive train trundling up the line and the signals flashing end changing with its approach, and then to see it turn into a siding and wait the approach of its oncoming brother. It shows, eloquently and effectively, what a complicated thing a railway system really is and how necessary are all these elaborate devioes for safeguarding life. The railway train is a signal example of the rapid progress man has made in locomotion. It is not so many years ajo since a horseman rode slowly in front of each train to warn people of the danger behind. This model covers the system in a general way, but the various track devices and equipment are displayed inside the platform, where the different types of heavy rails are laid down. An interesting exhibit is the electrical point operating mechanism used in the latest equipped station yards. Instead of pulling a big heavy lever the signalman has only to turn a switch about six inches long, and the electric mechanism pulls the points over. Under the old system the signalman would not be able to pull the lever over if a stone had got between the points, and it might be thought that by the new method there would be nothing to show whether the points were changed or not. However, an electric device overcomes any difficulties in that direction. On private sidings, such as those owned by timber and quarry companies, an automatic signalling electric switch lock is used, and one of these also is on view. The effect is that the company or whoever owns the siding can control its own points as long as there is no other train in the vicinity on the main line. If there is the switch cannot be worked, else it would be quite within the power of some careless or malicious person to cause an express to rush pell mell into a siding, where it would very likely come to grief. When there is a train on the main line the mechanism indicates its whereabouts. Given a clear line, the points can be worked without difficulty, and when they are unlocked all the signals on the main line flash to danger. There is a full-sized signal here, too, and it is claimed that the colours are the purest it is possible to get. The lamps have Fresnal lenses, and even in the worst light, with the sun shining directly behind them, they are guaranteed to be visible 1000 yards away. At night they can be seen for miles. Three styles of track® are laid down—namely, the 53ft) to the yard, the 701 b, and the 1001 b. The 70!b is the standard type, and it is on these that one trugts one’s life when travelling on the Auckland. Wellington Limited. They look reliable. The heavier tracks are used for electric railways being intended to carry an electric current. The latest style of motor velocipede, built at Penrose (Auckland), and capable of moving at 40 miles an hour, is shown m contrast to the man propelled four-wheeler that is becoming out of date. Among the general exhibits is a beautiful working model locomotive with 4-6-0 wheels, built by Mr A. S. Thomas, and another interesting feature is a tablet outfit in complete working order, with a small tablet switch. Taken all round, the value of the display is estimated at £3500. Apart altogether from this, in the Machinery Hall, is another railway display, devoted to the heavier rolling stock. Passcbendaele, the huge A.B. engine that took the Prince of Wales over the railways of the South Island, stands here in all her mechanical majesty, and side by side is the queer little Josephine, built by Messrs The Vulcan Foundry (Ltd.), Newton le Willows, Lancashire, in 1872. She arrived at Port Chalmers on August 5, 1872, and hauled the first train on the Port Chal-mers-Dunedin line on September 18 of the same year. An equally strange contrast is seen in the two passenger carriages. One is the old type that clung, goodness knows how, to the couplings of Josephine; the other is a sleeping car that for luxury can compete with an ocean liner. It is a huge car, 56 feet long, and its coat is glossier than any yet seen on the New Zealand railways. Hie interior, however, is even more marvellous. All the inside woodwork has been French polished, and those who know what an arduous and painstaking work this is will realise that in aiming at a luxurious effect the builders have undoubtedly hit their mark. The compartments are fully equipped with hand basins, electrio light, electric fans, eleotrio bells, writing tables, and everything else that can minimise the discomfort of travelling. On such a car, indeed, travelling would be a real delight. The car is easily converted into a day coach with restful and springy settees, and outside is a promenade deck where the passengers can view the scenery. One would suppose that such a thing on the famous New Zealand railways would be too good to be true, and that supposition would be correct. These oars would not pay, and would soon be relegated to the great menagerie of white elephants.