RAILWAY PROMOTIONS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 89, Issue 225, 22 September 1945, Page 4

RAILWAY PROMOTIONS

WANGANUI AFFECTED TRAFFIC AND ENGINEER DEPARTMENTS. Retirements and promotions in administrative officers of the Railways Department affect Wanganui. Mr. P. H. Curtis 1 , district traffic manager, Wanganui, is to retire and Mr. A. V. Finlay, at present assistant district traffic manager here, has been promoted to the position. Mr. F. C. Wilson, Wanganui, is promoted to the position ol assistant district traffic manager, Wanganui. Consequent upon a re-arrangement lo expedite a large number of important railway works to be started in the near future, Mr. J. Dow, district engineer at Wanganui, is being transferred to Auckland and Mr. 11. C. Stevens, resident engineer at Hamilton, is being promoted to the position of the district engineer, Wanganui. Other retirements, promotions and transfers, as announced by the Minister of Railways (Mr. Semple), and telegraphed by the Press Association, are as follows:

The officers retiring are: Mr. A. T. Hawken, transportation superintendent, Wellington; Mr. F. G. Clark, district traffic manager, Christchurch. Mr E. J. Chapman, assistant district traffic manager, Chr.stchurcs; Mr. P. H. Morey, district engineer, Christchurch; Mr. H. C. Langford, commercial manager, Wellington. The following officers are being promoted to fill the vacancies:

Mr. C. G. Browett, district trajffi manager, Invercargill, to be transportation superintendent at Wellington.

Mr. F. Gray, district traffic manager, Wellington, to be district traffic manager at Cnristchyrch.

Mr. L. V. Carmine, assistant district traffic manager, Wellington, lo be district traffic manager at Wellington Mr. W. Pocknail, a sistant district traffic manager, Auckland, to be district traffic manager, special duties, at Auckland. Mr. H. A. Steers, chief clerk of the Commercial branch Wellington, to be commercial manager at Wellington. Mr. J. J. Mitchell, assistant district traffic manager, Dunedin, to be district traffic manager at Invercargill. The following officers are promoted to assistant district traffic managers: Tvlr. R. S. Cochrane, Auckland; Mr. R. F. Hayles, Wellington; Mr. C. E. Vigerr, Christchurch Mr. T. Johnson, Dunedin. Mr. O. J. Doidge, district engineer. Dunedin, is transferred to fill the vacancy in Christchurch in place of Mr. P.* H. Morey.

Mr. W. T. ' Langbein, resident engineer, Greymouth, is promoted distr’ct engineer, Dunedin. Mr. W. E. Puddy, assistant district engineer. Dunedin, is nr'imoted to fill the Greymouth vacancy. “In view of the large number of important railway works which muut be commenced in fhe near future, and other works which are under consideration, I have decided to appoint two officers who will concentrate on this particular phase of the department's activities,” states Mr. Semple,

“and thus expedite the finalising of plans and investigations for these work'. Mr. H. W. Beasley, district engineer, Auckland, who will be released from his present position and Mr. Pocknall will deal with this important work. Mr. J. Dow, district engineer. Wanganui, will be transferred to Auckland as district engineer, and Mr. H. C. Stevens, resident engineer at Hamilton, will be promoted district engineer at Wanganui. Mr. C. H. Hawk, assistant district engineer. Auckland, has been promoted resident engineer, Hamilton.”

Mr. Finlay joined the Railways Department as a cadet at Mercer in April 1907, and served at various stations in the Auckland district in that capacity, and later as a clerk. In 1916 he enlisted with the Ist N.Z.E.F., and after service overseas in World War I, returned to New Zealand in 1919, resuming with the Railways Department in May of that year, when he was attached to the staff of the district traffic manager’s office, Auckland. In April, 1927, Mr. Finlay was appointed as a train running officer at Auckland, and in 1929 was attached to the train control staff in the same centre. In 1930 he came to Wanganui as a train running officer, returning to train control, Auckland, in August, 1935.

After a further period as a senior member of the train running staff, Auckland, Mr. Finlay came to Wanganui in April, 1940, as tiansport officer, and in September. 1943, was promoted to assistant district traffic manager. Mr. Wilson, who is also departmental representative on the Raiidays Appeal Board, joined the service in November, 1907, as a cadet at Auckland. After serving in that district as a clerk he was appointed stationmaster, Greenlane, in 1922, and stationmaster, Levin in 1925. In the following year he was attached to the staff of the district traffic manager, Wellington, and two years later was appointed assistant wagon supply officer. Mr. Wilson's first appointment at Wanganui was as a train running officer in August, 1938, and in May. 1940 he became staff, clerk, Wanganui. In June, 1941, he went to Auckland as a train running officer, returning to Wanganui in September, 1943, as assistant traffic manager. He is also a returned soldier of World War I. having served overseas with the Ist N.Z.E.F.

Mr. J. Dow, A.M.I.C.E. joined the railway service as an engineering cadet in Wellington in 1915, and in 1924 went to Auckland, where he was appointed assistant engineer in charge of new works, which included the construction of the new station yards at Auckland the Otahuhu Railway Workshops, and duplication of the main line from Penrose to Papakura. Another major development with which Mr Dow was associated was 1 he Auck-land-Penrose deviation of the Main Trunk Line out of Auckland. In 1932 he was promoted to district engineer, Ohiakune. then headquarters of the Middle District, and in 1933 was transferred to Invercargill as district engineer.

In 1937 Mr. Dow came to Wanganui as district engineer for the central division of the North Island. From 1939 to 1942 he encountered a particularly difficult period due to much destruction being done to the track by slips and floods, not only on the Strar-ford-Okahukura lino, but a’so on the* Main Trunk. Added to this was the heavy wart imp traffic.