RAILWAY YARDS FLOODLIT

Southland Times, Issue 23782, 1 April 1939, Page 6

RAILWAY YARDS FLOODLIT

AID TO SHUNTING OPERATIONS

BIG IMPROVEMENT IN VISIBILITY The first step in a scheme of floodlighting the Invercargill railway yards was taken last night when three powerful searchlights, two facing south and one north, were turned on. Each ot 1000 watts, the lights throw strong beams from the top of a steel tower 120 ft high, and even at a distance or 500 yards adequate lighting was, provided. , , „ The yards to the north of the tower were even more brightly illuminated, and the claim that the new lighting system would give two or three times the efficiency of the old appeared to be well justified. It was interesting to learn that approximately the same amount of power, a total of 3000 watts, will be used in the floodlighting as in the system by which light standards were placed at different points in the yards. A ribbed rectangular lens governs the length and width of the beam. Greater safety will be provided for shunters, because not only do the floodlights throw out beams for more than a-quarter of a mile, but a visor deflects downwards what would otherwise be “lost” rays. As a result efficient lighting is provided right at the base of the tower. Also, the visibility between rakes of trucks and carriages has been vastly improved compared with the system of individual lights. The steel tower was made in the Hutt Valley railway workshops and was brought to Invercargill in sections of 30ft each. The base of the tower is embedded in a block of concrete 12 feet square and Bft 6in deep and weighing about 70 tons. This block of concrete is prevented from sinking by four 25ft ironbark timber piles, upon which it rests. The heavy foundations are necessary because the tower has no stays. As all the details of the erection were worked out beforehand, the complete tower was put up in three days. An inspection of the new system was made last night by Mr E. Gallagher, of the signals and electrical branch, Wellington, and Mr R. Darroch, of the same branch at Invercargill, who was in charge of the erection. The beams were adjusted upwards and downwards and to left and right until the best results were obtained.