Our Railways

Progress, Volume X, Issue 2, 1 October 1914, Page 51

Our Railways

MR. HILEY'S REPORT The Report of Mr. E. H. Hiley, the new General Manager, on the N.Z. Railways, provides food for thought. It is unfortunate that since the report was written, war has broken out, as this will probably constitute a serious bar to the raising of a loan of £3,250,000, which is the figure Mr. Hiley states is needed to make the Railways up to date.

Under the heading "Education of Staff," Mr. Hiley says "the problems dealt with in each branch of the Railway Service are complex in character, and the men on whom the ultimate administration of any branch of the service will fall, should unquestionably be trained in a manner that will fit them for their responsibilities later in life." A regular course is suggested to bring about this very desirable result, and we look for greater efficiency all round as soon as the system has had time to develop.

With regard to engines, Mr. Hiley suggests that 72 of them should be "scrapped" as being obsolete. He suggests that twenty Garrett engines should be imported from America at once, as local engine builders cannot cope with the amount of work offering. This matter has been taken up locally, and an effort is being made to get the engines in N.Z. instead of sending work away. Mr. Hiley says regarding this:

"The engines now on order in the railway workshops are more than sufficient to keep the shops at Addington and Hillside going at full pressure for the next two years, and the contracts already let to the outside engineering firm will similarly keep their establishment employed for the same period. There is no reason to doubt that engine building at the shops within the Dominion will not be continued at high pressure for a considerably longer period." The passenger accommodation is inadequate for present requirements, and Mr. Hiley proposes aditional cars, similar to the ones at present in use with slight modification. He is an advocate for the petrol-electric car, but wants engines that will develop greater hauling power than the ones the Government have in use at present. Electricity is to be installed in the main through trains after various systems have been tried out.

In November we are to have a little better service to Auckland. The time table which comes into force on November Ist will save one hour twentyfive minutes between Wellington and Auckland. On the Napier route sixty-four minutes will be saved, and on New Plymouth route thirty minutes. This is a move in the right direction, and one badly wanted. Several of the present stops are to be cut out of the express trains' timetable.

An idea for town ticket offices where passengers can obtain tickets without the necessity of going to the station early to make sure of a ticket, will commend itself to the busy man,, and the experiment will be watched with interest. It is to be tried in the four main centres.

New stations are provided for in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Palmerston North, Hastings,

Lyttelton and Timaru. We illustrate the plans of the three first mentioned on the following pages. Numerous bridges are to be strengthened, and wooden ones replaced with steel structures. This will enable heavier engines to be run on the lines.

The much discussed level crossing difficulty has been provided for, material for 300 crossings having been ordered similar to the one which has been on trial at Levin, which has proved satisfactory.

Regarding railway construction, Mr. Hiley gives us some sound business-like sense. We quote his remarks: — arrangements under which new railways are authorized and built in the Dominion are, I would respectfully suggest, capable of considerable improvement. At the present time a new line is undertaken without any consultation with the Railway Department, and in consequence the only official estimate available before the country is committed to additional expenditure is the Public Works Engineer's estimate of the cost of construction. The Department which will ultimately take over and work the new railway is not consulted at to the route, grades, and alignment, nor are the plans submitted to it before the new line is commenced. No estimate is obtained from the Railway Department as to the cost of building the additional rolling-stock required. No estimate is made of the annual cost in the shape of working expenses, and no figures are prepared by the Railway Department as to the probable revenue from the proposed line, therefore no reliable calculation can be made as to whether the net revenue will represent a profit or loss.

I believe I am correct in stating that there are over twenty new railways in course of construction at the present time, and I submit that this is not an economical method of procedure. It must be obvious that if the work of construction was concentrated upon, say, five of these railways, the cost of supervision would be lower and the speed at which the railways would be finished and become traffic-bearing and revenue-earning would be at least four times as rapid. Over twenty uncompleted and unremunerative railways are a serious handicap to a comparatively small undertaking. The Working Railways Department is vitally interested in economical construction, because the expenditure ultimately becomes a portion of the capital upon which interest has to be earned.''

He then gives details of a form to be filled in for a proposed new railway.

A large sum of money is earmarked for reducing grades especially on the North Island Main Trunk, and also duplication works, the object being to use bigger engines which can haul greater tonnage. WELLINGTON STATION The Wellington business is at present carried on at two separate stations (not counting Te Aro), neither of which is laid out in a manner conductive to economical or expeditious handling, having been added to and patched as increasing traffic has necessitated. The present method of working is inconvenient to the public, whilst it is impossible for the Department to deal with the traffic satisfactorily. It is estimated that the traffic to be handled in "Wellington will, at the present rate of progress,

double itself in less than ten years, and as the stations are now taxed to the utmost at busy periods, it is clear that no time should be lost in providing the increased accommodation in a central position. Plans have been prepared showing a passengerstation fronting Bunny Street, and a goods-station slightly farther to the north, with entrance off Waterloo Quay. The station is in an admirable position, considering the area of ground required. It is necessary that the station should be adjacent to the wharves, especially the Ferry Wharf, to facilitate the exchange of both passenger and goods traffic.

The plan attached to this report (see pages 54-5) sets forth in detail the lay-out of the station, the inset on the plan showing how the passenger accommodation can be increased when the necessity arises. The lay-out of the goods yard can be straightened and improved when the reclamation is pushed out to the line of the future sea wall, and when this occurs the Department will be able to dispose of the valuable land east of Thorndon Quay shown on the plan as occupied by goods sidings. The engine depot will be placed on land to be reclaimed between Thorndon and Kaiwarra. It is proposed that colliers with locomotive coal shall berth alongside the breastwork and discharge their coal directly on to the coal-stacking ground or into trucks for country stations. The cost of the Wellington Central Station is £475,000, and the work will take five years to complete from date of commencement.

Regarding Te Aro Station, Mr. Hiley gives very good reasons for abolishing it entirely, and centralising all the railway work under one head. It is not usual to have two stations within three-

quarters of a mile of each other in towns such as Wellington. The traffic at present being dealt with at Te Aro is legitimate tram traffic, and can be better handled by the trams. In his opinion the greatest good to the greatest number will be promoted by closing Te Aro Station altogether. LYTELLTON TUNNEL A sum of £125,000 is set aside for the duplication of the Lyttelton Tunnel line which is badly wanted. Mr. Hiley does not give much space to the consideration of the electrification of the tunnel. He says: "I have had practical experience of the substitution of electrical power for steam on a working railway, and am an advocate of electrification under suitable circumstances. Electrification is most desirable in the case of railways serving densely populated suburban areas where stations are numerous and close together, and where practically a continuous passenger service is required; the rapid acceleration of electrical multiple-unit passenger trains enabling a quicker and more frequent service to be given. But the circumstances of Christchurch do not warrant the expenditure, the passenger business can easily be dealt with under steam haulage. The line is not densely populated, and the goods traffic can be as .well, if not better, handled by steam. The double line is necessary between Lyttelton and Christchurch, but electrification under the circumstances would be extravagant."

His scheme includes the. following— New Stations and Station-yards— £ Auckland 450,000 Wellington 480,000 Palmerston North .... .. 40,000 Hastings 40,000 Lyttelton 100,000 Christchurch 320,000 Addington 100,000 Timaru 40,000 Duplications Penrose-Papakura 75,000 Ohinewai-Huntly 40,000 Horotiu-Frankton 45,000 Newmarket-New Lynn 200,000 Lyttelton Tunnel 125,000 . Grade-easements Penrose-Mercer 150,000 Mercer-Frankton 10,000 Frankton-Te Kuiti. 40,000 Palmerston North-Marton :. 50,000 New Engine depot and Approach Lines- — Auckland 140,000 Additions to Railway Workshops— Newmarket 30,000 Petohe 30,000

New Lines Auckland via Hobson Bay 375,000 Signalling and interlocking 250,000 Level-crossing alarms 20,000 Bridge-strengthening 50,000 Locomotives— Ten Garrett Engines 50,000 £3,250,000