Light Railways for New Zealand.

Progress, Volume III, Issue I, 1 November 1907, Page 24

Light Railways for New Zealand.

[By Fbedk. Ei \ck, A.M. Inst. E.E.]

It cannot be denied that there exists in many parts of New Zealand at the present time a veritable railway hunger. During the past few months deputations of representative men have come literally from the east and from the west, the north and the south to impress upon the Minister for Railways the urgent need and superior claims to consideration of their respective districts for branch railways. It is not merely a twice, but a twenU times, told tale, and in spite of the practically uniform answer given to each body of applicants, the rnakirg of deputations still goes on. The Minister s reply on each occasio.l may be summarised thus • — (a) The G vemment admits that the district would be greatly benefited by having a branch railway to it or through it, and it expresses no d .übt" as to the traffic possibilities, but (b) The completion of the country's trunk lines is of paramount importance, and will require for the next few years the whole of the money that it is possible to obta n n by the same borrowing policy (c) And when the trunk lines are Fnished, branches will be duly considered, and some of them will be built. So plairly, emphatically, and repeatedly, has the Goveinment made the=e statements that its attitude ought to gi\e pause to those committees which are preparing "to bring under the n ,tiee of the Minister the great natural resources <md tnffic prospects'' etc Neither the Minister, nor anyone personally acquainted with the districts concerned, questions either the resources or the present difficulties of marketing thfm, but the best of proposition^ cannot be carried out if money is lacking As a matter of harj fact, however, a number of these ,'esired branch lines are not payable propositions, and, if constructed, would throw a greater or lesser buiden on that part of the railway system which docs pay. Few people realise what a tia f fic shouH be, in volume and character, to justify the construction of a railv. ay , and perhaps fewer still consider the matter very seriously, when it is a question of their district obtaining transport facilities without having to shoulder the whole of ?ny loss resulting. While the unanswerable argument as to the concentration of the money on the trunk lines is available, tht Minister has no need to Jiscuss .vith deputations the probabilities of branches paying ; but later on when some money is ay? liable, not a few districts will be hard put to show prospects that will warrant railway construction on a business basis. With a more general recognition of the really hopeless outlook for branch lines during the next few years, public pttention will more readily turn to tne building of light railway systems by local bodies, and it may be by private enterprise al«o. Already there are some County Councils giving this matter their earnest ?ttention, and from 30 to 40 miles of track are now under consideration in districts wheie the burden of icad transport ard road maintenance is becoming too heavy to be borne. The light railway 1= not much understood by the general public in New 7ealand, and perhaps on this account it is regarded as something a long way removed from the usefulness and permanence of the standard railways of the country It may therefore surprise some people to learn that our mam lines, as originally constructed, have been classed by more than one eminent authority as light railway 5 There is t o hard-and fast division between light and ordinary or heavy railways but it is toleraoly safe to asseit that lines ot ?,' 6" gauge employing 001b to 701b rails, and built on land exclusively resen ed

for them, aie not h<*ht railways, so that the main lines cf to-day do not fall within this class. Or the other hand, a 3' 6" or any lesser gauge line, with roils from 201b to 401b could under most circumstances be fairly described as such. The general significance of the term and the one I have in mind, is a railway of lighter and cheaper corstruction than the standard types adopted in this country. Such a system is, generally, though not invariably, of comparatively short length, not often exceeding 50 miles, and more commorly is from 10 to 20 miles only. In many countries systems of this kind are m extensive use, and render the most valuable services more especially m agricultural districts. In Belgium there are 1100 miles of narrow gauge light lines and nearly as many m Italy. Both France and Germany (like Italy) have classified light railways into three or four grades, and possess many examples of each. Of other Continental countries Sweden and Holland have adopted them, and in A.ustria there is a considerable mileage. In England provisirn is made by law for grants of public money to private enterprise establishing these undertakings in certain classes of districts, but this State aid has not been so fruitful as the Government assistance given in Belgium and France, probably because the English agricultural industry is a dwindling one. Ireland, among its limited number of these lines, possesses at least one of special interest in the Bessbrook and Newry system, which was the world s first electric railway , as first built it was 3 miles long with a gauge of 3' 0" and the cars were run by hydroelectnc power. It is some years since I visited it, and probably it is now — hkp another famous pioneer work in that country, the Port Rush to Giants' Causeway electric tramway, with its extraordinary third rail conductor — reconstructed on a modern design. In India there is a very large mileage of light railways with gauges of 2' 0" and upw ards , and in Canada Mexico and most ot the South American republics there are many examples. The gauges adopted are numerous ranging from the V liy ot Fastimog (Wale?) to the metre (3' 34") which is ? favourite one on the Continent where also the .75 metre (2' 5-k") is largely used. In British countries 2' 0", 2' 6" and 3' 0" are almost exclusively used, though there are instances of light lines on the standard ttause (4' BJ-'), such as the So ithwold line in Suffolk, now worked by the Great Eastern Railway Co., as a branch to its mam system. On the majority of these lines, steam locomotives are employed, and short trams of cais are hauled. Electric traction will in time be almost universally used where the traffic movement l 1l 1 - not of insiom cant amount , for infrequent traffic having small scope tor development steam will always be the cheapest pOAver. Some reference will probably be expected to the latest idea in light railways ot which a good deal has been heard during the last few months — the single rail Brennan system. So far, no actual installation has been carried out, and only a model has been built, therefoie nothing is definitely known as to the limitations this inventio.i will experience when tried on a piactical or commercial basis, After gathering such information as is available, I am inclined to think that it will find its chief field of usefulness (if it proves able to find one at all) in service of a temporary nature, such as the transport f an army through new country, maintaining communications between a military base and the front, or piloting the way in an unroaded district for the construction of the more conventional class of railway. At present there is no evidence whatever as to its carrying capacity in relation to its cost, nor indeed as to either its f rst cost or w r orkmg expenses. It is quite clear, however, that every car on the Brennan system must be equipped with the two g> roscopes ana a motor, or engine, to rotate them — plain trailer cars will be ou + of the question — and it is a fair inference, therefore, thit the laboui and maintenance cost will not be small, and that the rolling stock will be expensive. High speed machinery demands close attention, particularly at bearings ; and it is certain that if a bearing on a gyroscope shaft, which runs at several thousands ot revolutions per mirute started to sei/.e, it wouldn't be many seconds before the shaft fractured and the gyro=cope wrecked the car. It is not pleasant to contemplate the opportunities that would exist for this occurrence on a Brennan line laid over, a pumice plain in the North Island, or a nor-

wester - swept distnct m Canterbury, when grit and dust were plentiful in. the summer air. However until some experience of the system has been gamed, judgment must be suspended, but T think it will be wise en the part of New Zealand to contentedly allow Home districts, which have the advantage of being within a few hours of the works manufacturing the plant, to undertake all the experimenting and perfecting of parts that is inseparable frcm any new system. (To be continued )