RAILWAY WORKSHOPS

Otago Witness, Issue 4042, 1 September 1931, Page 5

RAILWAY WORKSHOPS

PROGRESS OF AMALGAMATION QUESTION OF STAFFING FURTHER REDUCTIONS PROBABLE. The progress of the scheme initiated some years ago for the concentration in different W'orkshops of the construction and repair work of the Railways Department is reviewed by the general manager (Mr II H. Sterling) in the course of his annual report. Further staff reductions as a result of this policy of centralisation are also foreshadowed. WORKSHOPS AMALGAMATION. A matter that has received further attention through the year now that the main workshops are completed, says Mr Sterling, has been the amalgamation of the various workshops attached to the maintenance branch and the signal and electrical branch into the reorganised locomotive workshops. The amalgamation .of the signal and electrical branch workshops at Wellington and the maintenance branch workshops at Kaiwarra with the Hutt workshops has been completely carried out. The amalgamation of the locomotive shops, maintenance branch shops, and stores branch facilities at Greymouth has been vigorously pursued, and is now nearing completion. In carrying out this work the whole of the combined requirements of these branches have been located at Elmer lane on the same site as the recently completed locomotive running shed. The preliminary work in connection with amalgamating the Penrose workshops of the maintenance branch with Otahuhu workshops was taken in hand. The general plans for amalgamating the maintenance shops with the locomotive workshops at East Town (Wanganui) and Invercargill. have been made. Work on these projects, however, has not been proceeded with during the past year, principally owing to the necessity for restricting new expenditure. STAFF MEMBERSHIP. The staff situation, particularly with regard to the main workshops, has been very difficult throughout the year, and there have been many occasions when work ha« had to be adjusted to suit the staff when, for the most economical operation, the staff itself should have been adjusted to suit the volume of work. The following table shows the staff variation for the past six years: — Permanent Casual

The total staff employed at all workshops as at March 31, 1931, was, it will be noticed, 543 less than the preceding year.

In general terms, it must be stated that the staff situation has not been satisfactory from an economical viewpoint, be cause the conditions that obtain when there is surplus staff can never be akin to efficient and economical working. It is' anticipated that on account of the general depression the requirements from the workshops can be met with still less staff than that now employed. The reduced volume of capital work in the main workshops will also necessitate further staff reduction in due course.

In conclusion, on the question of staff in the workshops, I would empahsise that up to the present no employee on the permanent staff has been paid off in connection with the reduction of staff, on'y employees whose tenure was temporary being affected. We, of course, require to take on temporary employees fiom time to time to supplement the perman ent staff establishment in order to meet the fluctuations in the volume of work requiring to be done by the shops that are inevitable in our business. When these employees are taken on they are aware that they are not being placed on the permanent staff of the department, and it is difficult to see how their retention can be justified when the work which required their employment in each case has been finished, and there is no other work at which they can be employed. Quite obviously if the staff is not to be ad justed to the fluctuations in the volume of work, then we would have to carry sufficient staff to deal with the maximum quantity of work that would require to be dealt with at any period of the year, even although the peak volume may last for but a comparatively short time. The impracticability of such an arrangement will be at once apparent, and much as we regret having from time to time tc pay temporary employees off as the necessity for their employment ceases, it is impossible to see how, under present conditions. such action can be avoided if the business of the department is to be run on economic lines. Other phases of this question are touched on in the portion of the report dealing with staff generally NEW ROLLING STOCK. The year ended March 31, 1931, represented the second year of the programme of new- and replacement rolling stock that has been formulated, and can be said to constitute a record so far as output from the New Zealand Railway Workshops is concerned. While the volume of work undertaken during the year in question was high, partly on account of the accumulation of the previous year’s unfinished programme, which year was spent in bringing the arrears of repairs up to date rather than in the completing of new rolling stock, it has demonstrated the capacity of the workshops to meet the department’s requirements. A comparison with previous years’ output of new construction is given hereunder:— Locomo-

In addition to the above, 15 new boilers, 405 new tarpaulins, and 10 new motor bus bodies were constructed in the workshops. Also for public bodies and oil companies 10 20-ton tip wagons

and seven rail tank wagons were constructed. In addition to the foregoing, the workshops have fabricated for the maintenance branch a considerable number of girders in connection with bridgestrengthening programmes which they have in hand. Otahuhu delivered 223 tons of girders, and Hutt workshops delivered 621 tons completely fabricated ready for erection. LOCOMOTIVE CONSTRUCTION. During the year 12 C class shunting locomotives were completed in our workshops, leaving 12 yet to be finished to finalise the original order. These engines are being built to replace obsolete shunting locomotives, and their building permits i permanent stopping and writ-ing-off of some very old locomotives, which were deficient in power for existing conditions and which were costly as regards maintenance. The engines already on the track have amply proved their usefulness, as they handle shunting operations with more marked despatch than was formerly the case.

During the year a survey was made of the general efficiency of all our locomotive stock, from both an operating and a maintenance point of view. This survey indicated that it was essential to take definite steps in the commencement of a renewal programme, so that the elimination of our obsolete and low-powered units could be effected as rapidly aa financial circumstances would permit. The design of a suitable general-service main line locomotive was therefore put in hand, and the drawings in connection therewith are well advanced. The proposed locomotive will be of such power that the elimination of considerable “ assisting ’’ mileage will be possible Apart from this factor, modern practice is being followed and ruggedness in construction, aimed at. , COAL GAS FOR CAR LIGHTING. Towards the end of the financial year a completion was made wi-th the changeover from Pintsch gas to coal gas for car lighting purposes. The new system is functioning satisfactorily; but to obtain still better results minor modifications are being made to the apparatus. A comparison .of the expenditure for car lighting during the latter portion of the year as against the corresponding portion of the previous year shows that with the use of coal gas a saving of approximately £lOOO per four-weekly period is being obtained. This saving is in line with the estimates initially made, and shows that the changeover was justified. COAL-HANDLING APPLIANCES. During the year consideration has been given to the question of employing more economical methods at the respective locomotive depots as regards the handling of coal for locomotives, the idea being to reduce costs by the elimination of manual handling as far as is possible. As the schemes for each depot are completed and as finance is available, such mechanical plant will be installed. To date proposals for several depots have been completed, and the plant required is actually on order.

RECLAMATION OF OLD MATERIALS. The Reclaim Department in each of the main workshops is now working on a satisfactory basis, and the reclaim operations, which commenced on April 1, 1930, have, as a result of the first year’s operating, clearly demonstrated the need for the inclusion of such a department in the workshops organisation. The work has principally been confined to .the handling of the scrap from shops and depots, sorting and classifying same, the recovery and reconditioning of reclaimable material, and the issue of same as required for use in place of new materials. During the year 27 obsolete locomotives and 12 condemned boilers were scrapped and completely handled by the Reclaim Departments at Hutt and Hillside. In addition, recoveries were generally made from various branches of the department and from other Government departments. MAINTENANCE OF LOCOMOTIVES. The output of locomotives overhauled in the two main locomotive workshops was 234, which number was considered reasonable to meet the traffic requirements and have due regard to the finance available. Comparison of the output with previous years shows that this output figure compares favourably with that of former years, and the work on the engines overhauled generally has been heavier, as the engines individually have been called upon to run a greater mileage between overhauls. The reduced expenditure on locomotives for the year ended March 31 last amounted to £99,319.

Year. employees, workers. Total. 1926 .. .. .. 2,332 1.197 3,529 1927 .. .. .. 2.355 1,182 3,537 1928 .. .. .. 2,241 1,086 3,327 1929 .. .. .. 2.211 1,439 3,650 1930 .. .. .. 2,330 1,886 4,216 1931 .. .. 2,317 1,356 3,673

fives. Cars. Vans. Wagons. 1926 6 46 18 367 1927 .. 12 6 6 216 1928 .. 2 4 21 252 1929 . . — 10 6 497 1930 . . —— 11 3 399 1931 .. 12 48 24 1436