TRANS-AUSTRALIAN RAILWAY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 12632, 8 December 1911, Page 5

TRANS-AUSTRALIAN RAILWAY.

Scanty plans have so far been made for the construction of the Trans-Aus-tralian railway (says the Melbourne Age), and the Government's decision to provide only £23,000 for the work during this financial year indicates 'that little will be done for at least eight months. The work will necessarily be experimental at first. One point at issue is whether oil engines shall be used. If they are considered sufficient m power a great part of the expenditure on water works will be saved. An6ther point is whether the line can be laid on reinforced, concrete sleepers. The Federal Railway Engineer, Mr H. Deane, is having experiments made. These sleep-ers-cost from. 8s to 10s each, as against 6s or 8s for wooden sleepers, but they can be made out of the sand that lies along the route, and cost of carriage -will be limited to that of a few trams of cement. In a report to the Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Deane states that various Australian ' designs have been made and Tried, but the sleepers have generally disintegrated under vibration, j A design, however, has been submitted by Messrs R. Johnson, Slapham and Morris i who are willing to furnish 50 sleepers for practical testing on some railway with heavy traffic. Some improvement on this is now suggested, and will, shortly bo available for testing. In addition Mv Deane is asking the British Improved Construction Company to furnish a number of sleepers for a test on a New South Wales or South- Australian line. State engineers are <at> variance regarding the proposed use of -a third rail during the transitional period associated wit V.the conversion of railway gauges. A Victorian, Mr Brennah, ha"B: invented a switch, which, it is claimed 'by a number of engineers will make a third rail safe for working. New South Wales engineers approve of the switch, but Victorian railway authorities not only v look askance upon it, but disapprove of the use of the third rail for fear that ifc may be made. a permanency, and thus cause confusion m the manufacture of rolling stock.