BOROUGH TRAMWAYS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 16212, 24 August 1923, Page 10

BOROUGH TRAMWAYS.

COUNCIL DISCUSSES EXPERT’S REPORT.

MAYOR PROPOSES LOAN FOR EX TENSION OF SERVICE.

The Borough Council Inst evening held a special meeting for tho purpose of discussing the report complied by Mr. A. R. Harris, Christchurch, on the storage battery tramway system. After a lengthy discussion, tho Mayor moved a resolution providing for the raising of a loan and the extension of the service on tho lines laid . down in the recommendation of Mr. Harris. The debate was adjourned, at 10.30, until the next meeting of the Council. In opening the meeting the Mayor remarked that he was pleased that they had a full Council present to discuss so important a topic. ' He would allow a free discussion to permit expressions of opinion. He would then, by way of giving a basis for further action, move a resolution which they could support or vote out as they liked. He would not care whether tho councillors were with him or not. He assured them that it was a report which he would cherish. It was suggested that the report be taken one section at a. time.

Im connection with tho first section, dealing with the history of the service, Cr. Todd mentioned that £lO6l 5s 3d had been spent on the trams which had newer been mentioned for a period of four years. Ho also drew attention to the fact that tiho original loan for trams was stated at £25,000, but actually £25,875 had beeil debited to tho tramways account/- It showed the slovenliness of dealing with this sorb of report. Cr. Hill questioned the term used by Cr. Todd, Who explained that slovenliness in bookkeeping was indicated. He was proceeding to speak on other points, whom hd was reminded that tho Council was only dealing with the first section. H The first'section was "taken as read. General. —Cr. Todd mentioned that it was stated that the two original cars were still good for several years. As he remembered it, Mr. Harris bad told them that they should have been scrapped years ago. Cr. Bickford said that Mr. Harris bad said they would require overhauling, and that was what ho said in this report. Cr. Coleman pointed, out that the report said that about £2OO had been expended in J.he provisiort of a ‘machine shop and plant that was capable of little use by tho trams. Buswoll, in reply to tho Mayor, said that the electrical department had littla use of the machine shop. Mr. Leech, tramways manager, said that the lathe was only pled for re-turn-ing small wheels. Tho larger wheels had to be sent out.

Cr. Todd commented that it showed how the service had been overloaded.

Section 3 (traffic expense).—Cr, Do Costa pointed' out that mqtoimen were apparently called upon to do other duties.

Mr. Leech said'it wag only for work on the cars, and did not. hold up the service.

Fower cost per unit.— : Cr. Todd took ani opportunity Of pointing out .that Mr. Harris referred to the indispensability of keeping proper accounts. He bad himself urged this,a year ago. Battery repairs and maintenance.—Cr. Todd claimed that full provision was hot made for depreciation. There was only provision for once renewing the plates- in the batteries, whereas .in ten years’ time, they would need Renewing again. Cr. Corson: It’s a good thing we have experts here. I’m not one ! Cr. Hill: The only expert is the man who wrote the report. Cr. Todd: When) I’m buying a horse, I-don’t depend entirely upon thel man who sells it. I’ve studied this question, and if you don’t like to listen to me, then don’t.

Cr. Todd, referring to general repairs and maintenance, asked if a skilled engineer and say a boy, could do the work of repairs? 1 Mr. Leech, said that the work would be too heavy for a man and a boy. Most of tho work would have to be sent out.

Cr. Coleman mentioned that if they had spare parts and a skilled engineer, they 'might anticipate troubles and prevent them getting past, where a skilled man and a boy could handle them. Cr. Hill drew attention to the fact that Mr. Cross had left the tramway service during tihei war, 'because the Council would not grant bis recommendations. Ho was afraid the service might break down, and so had left. Cr. Todd asked if it were true that part of the plant had been, removed to the lighting department’s engine room. Mr. Buswell stated that the plant mainly comprised a motor generator, or a balancer. Ho bad held that the powerhouse would be the correct location, in order to keep jt dry. It had never been used, but it Was really in excellent order. They already had an identical one in operation, and this was doing the work for tiho cars at present-. Cr. Todd : It does not make any difference to thd cost of charging the ears? Mr. Buswell: No. The lightnig department’s balancer is being run for tho benefit of the tramways department. He went into technical details of the work; ing of the balancer. Cr. Todd asked whether tliei application of resistance to the current wastes current—mops it up?

Mr. Buswell: Yes l , resistance wastes a percentage of the current. 110 bad, ho said, recommended that the cells in each car be /educed to 120, in order that no resistance would have to bo applied. Under the heading of “Fares,” Cr. Todd questioned Mr. Harris’ contention that the raising of the fares affected the popularity of the' service. After they

raised the fares, the receipts rose, and it was the rise in fares arid not the extension of the service that favorably affected the revenue.

Cr. Coleman pointed out that there wore less passengers carried in the three months following the rise in fares, than during the previous quarter. Cr. Todd said to extract any accurate .conclusion from the figures it was necessary ,to reduce them to pence per carmilo

Touching upon the figures relating to payments and receipts were not correctly transcribed, and he and Cr. Hill indulged in an altercation oni the subject. Cr, Todd challenged Cr. Hill to prove that he was wrong, the loser to pay.for “drinks all round.”

Cr. Gray asked-, whether Cr. Todd could enlighted them on the question whether the report gave them anything in favor of the present.system, or not. Cr: Coleman said. that Mr. Harris revealed that there had been a big loss, but considered that if they carried out his recommendations, they could substantially reduce, the loss. . .| * Cr. Todd said he was giving his opinion very freely, but it was necessary, be held, to go through the report very carefully. There was £60,000 at stake—more, there was £70,000, and if it took them a fortnight it was their duty to deal with the report faithfully. When the Council came to consider tho deductions, Cr. Todd t pointed out that about half a page was devoted to proving that the storage battery system was the ideal one for tramway service. Mr. Black, regarded as tho ablest electrical engineer in the Dominion, had condemned tho system. Mr.. Harris was in the position of a man 1 who wanted to sell a liorse. Mr. Harris had been questioned, when last- hero, as to where the storage battery had been successful in traihs, ,lmt lie had not been 1 able to remember it. Basing liis argument, on the deductions of Mr. Black, and the Edinburgh city engineer, and also tho observations of Mr. Boland, of Tola go, in New York, bet declared that the storage battery bod been thrown out wherever it bad been tried out. Cr. Bickford commented that while they could assume that "Mr. Harris was boosting his own system, his report was ( worth something to the Council, whereas Mr. Black’s report had. been worth nothing more than the paper it was written on. Mi-. Black took the; opportunity to bring'forward the railless tram system. Cr. Coleman said that the tramways bad come nearer to paying with every successive extension.

The Mayor supported this view. MB. HARRIS’ RECOMMENDATIONS The Council then proceeded to deal with / the recommendations of Mr. Harris.

Cr. Todd asked whether a clerk, commencing at £lB2 per year, could,do the clerical work -for which the .tramways account was now debited to tho extent of-£IOO per year? Tho Mayor said it was hardly a fair question .to- ask the town . clerk. Referring to tho charging plant, Cr. Todd asked Mr. Buswell if there was anything in the paragraph that lie bad not already explained in his pi’pvious remarks. 1 ;

Mr, Buswell said the extra switchboard for discharging car batteries apd testing from ,1 to 120 cells at 60 to 9C amperes on -either discharge or charge would be an improvement. If the panels were in the car shed, they would require to- bo watched all the time, whereas, with,the charging panels in,the power house at present, tho watching could be done by the powerhouse engineer. Cr. Collin asked) what it cost per k.w.h. to generate the power for the ears. ■ ' -• v . ’ - 1

Cr. Todd said that that figure was shown on a previous page; Mr. Buswell said the cost of fuel varied. In 1923 it was oosting 1.31 d. They were actually charging 1.6 d to the trams. Mr. Harris recommended that tho price be reduced to 1.5 d. Cr. Collin said that there had been statements that the trams were getting power at less than cost price. Mr. Buswell had corrected that misapprehension. '

Cr. Bickford said that tho track would practically have to bo relaid. The track repairs were -the heaviest charge the tramway account had to meet. Cr. Todd said that for the ten years, track maintenance had averaged £244 per year. That was not what was making tho loss on the! trams. The town clerk said that the streets account had paid for 75 per cent, of the track repairs. Discussing the extension along Ormond road, Cr. Todd so,id he would be prepared to present- the tramways account with the track, and it could not pay. Mir. Harris was further estimating that the rolling stock, was going to last for 30 years. His provision,for battery repairs and renewals was on the estimate that the batteries wore going .to last for another ten years ._ He had also over-estimated tW receipts, putting them at 19d per ear mile, fie pointed out that by over-estimating the receipts, and under-estimating the costs, any system could ho shown to make a profit on paper. The oxpei’ti was anticipating that they would' have tho same traffic on Whatoupoko as in the main street. The trams on Whataupoko would have the compctitioni of the buses to Mangapapa,. They should never have extended the trams along Ormond road until they had an arrangement with Mangapapa, which had now put down a good road which they would not tear up in a. hurry. He

estimated that the cars would have to make £2IOO of profits, to pay their way, even if they were made a present, of what had already been spent.. Commenting on the appendices to the report, Cr. Todd instanced eases of what ho stated we 10 inaccuracies in Mr. Harris’ figureis. Ho pointed out that the figures purporting to bo copies of the correct . borough balance-sheet figures were not correctly copied.

GENERAL DISCUSSION

THE MAYOR’S RESOLUTION,

1 The Mayor 1 then said that he was going to put something definite before 1 tho meeting. Tho storage battery car had never liaxl a fair chance in Gisborne, and those.wfio had supported them had no grounds for self-reproach. No system could have made a, better showing ,on such a short lino, while seven miles of rails lay rusting in tho yards. Mr: Harris’ report was a good one, presenting an honest attempt to show the way out. He felt warmly on the subject, because bo held that the storage battery bad not bad a fair run. He would urge the Council to extend the system and give it. a chance. He would take his share of the responsibility, and would point out .that there were other centres of population to develop. He reminded the Council that the roads did not pay, but were maintained for the benefit *of the. public. Tho trams must for the present bo considered in the same way. He would move a. resolution which be hoped they would support. He believed that had he been oni the Council when the question was first raised, he would have voted for the overhead system, but he had had no.hand. in it. Ho believed that they had to- take things as they found them, and make the best of them. He,pointed out that tho stor age battery was showing good results on trucks in New Zealand, and what could be done on the roads could be done on the rails. He reminded them that other town services had spare cars which allowed them to tnks cars out, of servicei for early repairs, but the Gisborne cars had had to be, kept in service as long as possible. He would ask them to give full and serious consideration to his resolution, which was asi follows (a) That the Council’s resolution _of thei 17th April last be carried out, viz., that tho commercial accounts of fhe tramway department be kept by the electrical engineer’s staff upon standard lines.

(b) That Mr. Buswell ho appointed tramway engineer and manager in conjunction with his other’ duties, (c) That the, manager be empowered, to confer with Mr. Harris regarding a suit able man with battery experience to take charge of tilie tram cars and batteries, and. that such appointment be authorised.

(d) That Mr. Leech be transferred to motormani. , ]

(e) That .the electrical department purchase' from , the tramway the machine shop and plant) costing £2070 at, say. £ISOO cash. As this, together with a balance in the present tramway loan of £I2OO, plus credit balance in tramway ’•unnirng account of £llOO, will allow, the Council,a total of £3BOO to obtain plant and get a car.ready for, running on the Ormond ,i’oad section immediately tho bridge is opened, and that tlieso work' ho hereby authorigedf as, before the. larger scheme as suggested could h-< undertaken, it will necessitate a poll of ratepayers being taken and tho requisite loan money borrowed. (f) . That recommendations in the report, section 6, page 27, battery repair plant, storage’ battery overhaul, charging plant, tramcars’ overhaul, he under taken atJ an estimated tost- of £2695, also that the tram track be overhauled and put, in order. (g) That the! present fares j of 2d, _3d, and 4d be redpeed by Id each section, and a trial made to ascertain if the tak. ings increase and the service is appreciated by the public. (h) That the engineer, in conjunction with Mr. Buswell, prepare loan proposals upon the line® indicated in the report for submission to (he ratepayers in due course.

If they went on the lines lie laid down, the Mayor continued, they could have the four cars in service ...all the timo, and could solve the difficulties which faced them. They could pot, always look at it from the same point, hut ho contended that they had , only to extend the trams to make them pay. Tho public would have an opportunity of voting on the proposal. He considered that there was a big chance ,of Mangapapa coming into the borough again, and if this transpired, the service could he extended to that area. There was also the Haiti to draw upon for patronage of the trams. He urged them not to lie afraid. They had started,, and must carry on. To turn the trams clown would be to set the clock back. He was satisfied that they would have to .take tho course recommended hv Mr. Harris.

Cr. Mirfield suggested that they should have typed copies of tijo,resolution for consideration. j Cr. Hill seconded the morion, and congratulated the Mayor on bringing down the resolution. He considered Mr. Harris’ report a masterpiece. He had gone to a lot of trouble over it, and lie would not siet his name to a report that was not accurate. In tho past, whenever recommendations wero made for spare parts, .they were turned down. The service had had to pdt up with a lob of buffeting through the* war period, in company with commercial concerns genierall.v. He, rejected tho thought of discontinuing the tram service. He had never, candidly speaking, been in favor of the storage battery train, hut it had done remarkably well. Cr. Corson asked that the Mayor give them time to consider the motion. He gave credit to the Mayor for the trouble ho had gone to in drawing up the resolution, and also to Cr. Todd for the

trouble ho had taken, in investigating the figures. Ci'. Coleman said lie could agree: with tho Mayor in that the trams had not had a fair run. Ho quite believed that, had tho storage battery proved dm unqualified success, it would have been a keen disappointment to many influential people in Gisborne. Ho supported the suggestion that time should be given for tho digestion of (lie Mayor’s resolution, in view’ of tho fact that they faced tho question, of whether they would scrap the trams, or whether they would extend them. ' DEBATE ADJOURNED.

The Mayor agreed to the course suggested, and the debate on tho resolution was adjourned till the next ordinary meeting of the Council.