RAILWAY MANAGEMENT.

Southland Times, Issue 1888, 1 April 1874, Page 3

RAILWAY MANAGEMENT.

(TO THE EDITOE OF THE- TIMES.) 1 Snt, — A Winton correspondent of yours has, I see, been hinting in a mild fashion th".t the management pf railway mutters is not all it should be. Yonr correspondent, I take it, cannot be personally miach interested, or his language would : have been more vigorous. That things have been so bad, without eliciting a stronger expression of opinion than an ocea, sional cursing bestowed on the station master here (ha if he were at all to blame in the matter), can only be accounted for by everybody's business being nobody's business. During the wool season waggoners as a rule were kept waiting for days before they could get their wool off. There wa.3 no 'room in the sheil to hold it, and no trucks to talto it- away. TJiat the'Riiilvray Manager, by running' the trucks lie had • twice as often would have practically doubled their number, does not seem to have occurred to him. Keeping a dozeu teams waiting for days, involving a serious loss to the waggoners, was a small matter, riot worthy of much consideration. That mone of the waggoners" tried' how far the railway was liable for'detention .is :another of these thitfgs that can only be accounted for by everybody's business beingnobody's .business. Another evil still in full force without any appearance of abatement i 8 the detention of goods between the Bluff^"ahd" ; Winton. If a steamer arrives at the Bluff in the morning j with goods for Winton on board, any person accustomed to the" working of railways elsewhere would (excepting in the case of very large shipments) expe ;t them to reach Winton at night. But instead of that, four days is the usual time they occupy in transit, and a week is not unusual. Where they are or what is being 'done [with them in the interval is; a mystery 1 have never been able tos.ol.ve, but judging from '■the disgraceful condition in which . much of the goods- arrives, the packages must be subjected to some strange processes. It seeing pecaliifr that goods from the Bluff to Winton should bjs often foSud ifcblocCupy mbrei timet tnau^' from Winfeoh' to"' Kingston. ,. ..••■■ Queenstown merchants, if more care i 3 not taken, may note another fact to the disadvantage. ' joit- the Bluff route, namely, the .damage their 'goods receive for which th'ey^can. ;r,ecpv,e.i\. np.. 'Compensation. If a waggoner loads Jn_Dunedin, with, say, sugar, he gives , a. receipt for -the weight,, and is liable for loss,' Neither, .'steamer ' "noV railway are liable if thay' cah ! count! out" the bags . And the way the employes of both handle sugar, and goods of a like nature, shews t"ney"fuTly appreciate their, glorious -jprivileges. \I, have actually known half r a tdn^of sugar '"sKipped^ a^ ' Dunedin arrive at Winton -sixty rfoor pounds, Bh6rt." ;' ' ' ' .. . . ' ....'. . -. ,'^ Passengers by rail, as well as persons fiavirig business with the goods department,, are .long suflvering. The .trsdns.to^nd frqm Win ton Inyercargill are' trying' to 'the 'patient. The .following -list of the stoppages: id a distance .somewhat under nineteen .miles maty astonish the untravelled : — Jack's Crossing, the boiling down works, Keith's Crossing, Fern Hill,. • Wilson's ■ Crossing, sawmill, Ryal Bush, . Makarewa, Buxton's,-, sawmill^ ' Wallaoetown. :• crossing; fellmongery, -sawmill. ' At -'all' of these stoppages; have /to be made some days,at most of them every .day. Bosides ai good- deal of shuuting has be done, .and-Jime wasted at most of these places. • In- fact, tbe traffic has increased to such an extent that if the legend of tbe old woman who preferred walking because she was in a hurry is nol to be repeatedi. two itrairis daily require to' be iaid on-. These matters touching the : traffic management of jthe. railway I have directed your attention to with the hope that publicity may work some reform. .._... Another matter, for which ; the ;Government more than the railway "authorities is blameable, is the very inadequate accotntnodafcion at this end of the line. JSy running trains twice daily the Manager might in a, great . measure relieve the pressure. But stiJl the fact remains, that there is far too little space for goods in -any oasp,. and what space there is is not fully . available, as it is unsafe to more than half-fill the shed with grain, owing to its very insecure condition. . There .is absolutely no accommodation for passengers. The want of waiting rbonia and other -conveniences for ladies arriving by coach is disgraceful.' When on the subject of accommodation, the office of the station-master is worthy of a passing note. It is a small low room jt< built against the goods shed, and coyored with galvanised iron. In sumaaer the sun boats on, . it until the climate in its interior Resembles Equatorial Africa, while the stench from an open sewer underneath, is constantly ascending. ,:The severities of winter are supposed to be tempered by a little demon of a stove. When the office door is shut, there is a choking smell of sulphur and hot "ironf "when" open, wind and "rain, or" whatever may be going on outside,: comes in.— -■•• Yours, &c, f itEPCTRMEB. - Winton, 23tbr Ma-rchj 1874 v : „ ;