TRAIN ELECTRIFICATION

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17527, 23 July 1931, Page 5

TRAIN ELECTRIFICATION

SECOND THOUGHT NEEDED ALTERNATIVES TO STEAM THE PROPOSALS IN BRITAIN LONDON, May 17. There is a. great deal of enthusiasm and support for the proposals 'ot the Weir Committee to electrify the railways. “Modern Transport” is in favor of closer study of the. problem before big decisions are taken. It says: “Further consideration of the report-oi the Committee on Main Line Railway Electrification gives vise'to a number ot points calling lor the closest- study. . “The committee, no doubt, were chief-, Jy concerned with the benefits which air illtra-mpdern railway system might eon-, for upon the country generally, and although few will question this lino ot approach, it is yet necessary io ensure that the proposals shall lw scrutinised from the viewpoint of efficiency and economy in railway operation. j “We are not satisfied, for instance, that the ‘claims of alternative methods, of haulage were given the requisite attention. Once the country is committed to electrification on the scale proposed, it will be impossible, from the financial point of view, to change over the railway Ip some other and yet more economical system of traction. “The committee, while admitting that the most important alternative to the steam locomotive, other than electrification, is the oil engine, briefly dismiss it from their consideration. They conclude that- ‘none of the alternatives to steam is either sufficiently developed to .warrant widespread adoption as an alternative to the steam locomotives of to-day, or even holds the probabilities of development into an effective alternative to electrification for main line purposes,’ adding, however, that oil-electric units may he regarded as possible substitutes for steam on lightly loaded branch lines, and more particularly so in conjunction with a. general electrification of main lines. THE OIL ENGINE MAY YET WORK WONDERS “Wo are not sure that the protagonists of the oil-electric locomotive could not produce figures, based on actual operating results, to controvert these conclusions. We understand that in main line service, both in Canada and; South America, it has proved most, efficient. The fact is that the heavy oil engine is in its infancy, and the next| few years may witness remarkable develop niol, l s » of which, in pursuance; of an all-electric policy, the railways would bo unable to obtain full benefit. “Were electrification carried out as a gradual process, the railways would be free to adopt alternatives if grid when Jhey arose. The committee, it would seem, attached too much importance to the .disadvantages of dual working. If conversion io electric traction wero progressively undertaken from given centres covering gradually increasing zones, it should be possible for practically the whole of the traffic within those areas to he worked electrically, as is done in other parts of the world.

“The process must in any case be gradual, as otherwise, apart from other considerations, it would result in the number of men rendered redundant oil the railways becoming greater than the additional number given employment in the electrical and allied industries. It should not he overlooked, also, that the savings, estimated at ihe somewhat narrow margin of 6.7 per cent, on the total expenditure, were based on. 1929 operating figures, since when railway revenue has suffered a further heavy decline.

COAT. THAT WILL NOT BE! CARRIED

“In ihe end, the collieries, with the loss of the railway consumption of some 10,000,000 tons of coal annually will bo seriously affected, and it is possible that the traffic they are able to offer the railways, and which forms the major item of railway revenue, will he much less in volume than it is to-day. “There is a good deal of talk just now as to iljhe need for encouraging bold proposals such as those of Lord Weir’s committee. II is true there never was a time when statesmanlike measures for the rehabilitation of the . country wero more necessary. But we hold that all schemes, whatever their magnitude, should be based on practical considerations, rather than enthusiastic conceptions.

“Will the data underlying the conclusions of the Weir Committee boar analysis in the light- of bard facts? They themselves admit that the estimated re.turn of 6.7 per cent, on the capital expenditure, or approximately 2 pe.r cent, after the interest- charges have been met, would not by itself ‘appear from the business point of yiew to warrant the adoption of a scheme of such exceptional magnitude,’ They even add that ihe margin would, in their view, be too narrow for the risks and contingencies involved. It is obvious, therefore, that a good deal of enthusiasm and optimism have gone to weigh the scales in favor of their proposals, and it is in this light that they should be critically examined.”