RAILWAY INSPECTION

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19865, 13 June 1927, Page 8

RAILWAY INSPECTION

A NEW MACHINE DESIGNED BY WANGANUI MEN. Railway inspection is a complicated business, made more so by the use of cumbersome ♦•ravelling arrangements. This was explained to a “Chronicle” man on Saturday ky Mr G. M. Beck, A.M.T.C.E., assistant railway engineer in the Wanganui district. To Mr Beck, and Fitter Holmes, of the East Town railway workshops belongs the distinction of having designed a new motor machine for the purpose of railway inspection. Their work in this direction was supervised by Mr H. W. Beasley, district railway engineer. Mr Beck said that the new motor jigger was being tried out by the railway engineering staff. Saves Time and Expense. The new machine was built at the East Town workshops and is of modern design. By reason of its compactness and general utility it, will save time and expense during railway inspection work. The machine is a 5-scatcr and is for use on all North Island railway lines. Tho reporter was surprised to learn that its means of propulsion was merely a four horse-power motor-cycle engine. It is believed that this is the first time a motor-cycle engine has been adapted for such work. The new machine can he run by two men and is easy to manipulate. The jigger can be taken to pieces very easily, and from every point of view is decidedly handy. Unwieldy Arrangements.

It was pointed out that special trains were usually run for railway inspections. Tlds practice entailed considerable expense and was generally undesirable. The trains were compelled to run to time-table, and delays were incurred as a result of waiting for other trains. It is probable that the new Wanga-nui-designed machine will be adopted extensively throughout New Zealand in the future.