COST OF TRAMWAYS IN VICTORIA.

Southland Times, Volume 3, Issue 102, 17 October 1863, Page 7

COST OF TRAMWAYS IN VICTORIA.

The following statement of the cost of constructing a short line of tramway [query, railway?] at Warrnambool, in' the colony of Victoria, was furnished by an eugineer of the line, Mr R. Kerr, in reply to inquiries made by J. M. Allen, Esq., concerning the probable cost, of a contemplated line between Port Albert and Sale. We take the letter from the Gipps Land Times : — My dear Sir, — In reply to yonr letter, dated I7th July, I have very much pleasure in responding to your application for full particulars respecting the Warm am • bool Tramway. The tramway in question, one and a quarter miles in length, was constructed in 1857, in the following manner : — After the roadway was formed, and all necessary cuttings and enbankmenls cxc cuted, which amounted altogether to 7,u0 cubic yards, transverse sleepers of split | timber 7 feet 0 inches in length, average thickness 6 inches, were laid every three feet ; notches were cut out of those sleepers 3 inches in depth by about 5 inches in breadth to receive longitudinal rails of red cum ; the dimensions of the rails were 7x3 inches, placed on edge, and were secured to the transverse sleepers with timber keys. Tlie roadway was afterwards ballasted with the best material arising from the excavatious, to the level of the lop of the sleepers. The total cost of completing the work, as described was .£2,909. The detailed cost was as follows : — Formation and. construction of I \ miles of roadway, as described , . . . £2,185 Six trucks .... 340 Commuting a shed, 80 x22 ft 384 £2,909 After the tramway had. been in opera tion about six months, it was discovered that the timber rails were badly adapted for heavy traffic, especially round the curves, as the abrasion both on the top and sides of the rails was excessive, caused by the attrition or friction of the wheels of the trucks; the top of the timber rails

was, therefore/ covered .'.with bars of flat iron, 3 by & inches, at a cost of L LI S. Tha flat bar iron was secured to the rails with clout iron every three feet. This cheap and nasty plan was a considerable improvement on the plain timber rails, but ultimately it was found that" the continued heavy traffic had a tendency, by rolling the upper surface of the iron, to make the flat bars spring at the ends. " This caused a considerable expense in repairs, in order to keep the roadway in anything like good working order. I, therefore, recommended to the Council that the flat bar iron should be removed, and that the timber rails should be taken up and placed on their flat, converting the longitudinal rails into longitudinal tleepers, and on the top of the timber rails to lay down proper rails, weighing 35 lbs. so the lineal yard. This plan was adopted in 1808, and the roadway has been in firstrate order ever since, requiring very little repair. The cost of the iron rails was LI 3 per ton, and the quantity required for one and a-quarter mile was 90 tons. The cost of re-lajing the roadway was LI OO. The Council have lately erected a goods shed 100 feet in length by 42 feet in breadth. They lave also supplied six additional trucks The cost of the tramway, as it now stands (everything complete), is as follows : — Formation and construction of H mile, including iron rails, &c. . £3,358 Two goods sheds, one 100 by 42 feet, and one 80 by 22 feat . 1,020 Twelve Trucks . • • 600 Total .... £4,978 The working of the tramway is let for a period of three years, and the revenue the Council derives from it is LI ,075 per annum. The scale of charges far receiving and transmitting goods and produce is as follows : — Goods and produce 3s 6d per ton, parcels, under fifty-six pounds, (id., hides, bags, wool, in the same proportion. This scale of charges, of course, includes the loading of the trucks and discharging the same into the lighters, which, of course, would be just the same although the line was twenty or fifty miles in length. The cost c-T merely conveying the goods along the Hue would, therefore, not exceed one shilling per ton per mile ; add to this the loading and discharging of the trucks, say 2s per ton would be sufficient data to base any calculations you might have to make on the probable returns that might be received from a tramway in Gippsland between Sale and Pert Albert-. Every thing, of course, would depend upon the quantity of produce or goods that is likely to be transmitted. The quantity transmitted alongoTiY short line is about 16,000 tons per annum. With regard to the cost of forming 1 -and constructing a tramway between Sale and Port Albert, a great deal will depend upon the general features of the country, because, if it be found necessary to construct many expensive bridges or culverts, ihe cost of the work would be very much increased. A great deal will al-o depend upon the material available for the construction of the line. If plenty of timber can be found in the vicinity, and stone of a description suitable for ballasting, the cost of the work would be much less than it would be if the same had to be im ported. I would certainly strongly recommend your friends in Gipps Laad not to make a tramway of timber alone, as I am certain, from the experience I have had of works of the kind, it would be found to be veiy badly adapted for the purposes intended. I am of opinion, from what you have already stated of the character of ihe country in Gipps Land, between Sale and Po.t Albert, that the expense of the Warrnambool tramway, including the iron rails, would be a very good guide for a similar construction in that locality. A proper survey of the whole line (fifty miles) and the cost of preparing all necessary plans, sections, and specifications of the tramway, bridges, culverts, and the whole of the works connected therewith, would be worth L2OOO. Offers might be had from incompetent parties to do it for less, but I am certain, if the plans, sections, and specification are properly executed in detail as they ought to be, it would be impossible to get them done for less money. A preliminary survey and sections of the work sufficient to estimate the cost of the same could be executed for about LSOO. I am as'onished that there should be no District Roid Board in that locality. If the place is of the importance that 1 suppose it is, there ought to be a large district formed and managed by a District Council under the new Act, which will shortly becofie law, they would then he in a position to borrow money to execute works of the magnitude contemplated. In conclusion, I would strongly urge upon your friends in Gipps Land that, in the event of their forming a tramway between Sale and Port Albert, it should be constructed in a manner not less substantial than the one I have described, as it would enable them to use engines of about six tons weight, instead of horses, without any danger of injuring the roadway. R. Kerr.