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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 9, Issue 3 (June 1, 1934.)

Our London Letter Modern Track Construction and Maintenance

page 12

Our London Letter Modern Track Construction and Maintenance.

1. and N. E. R. Petrol Rail-car for track maintenance.

1. and N. E. R. Petrol Rail-car for track maintenance.

In few branches of railway activity has greater progress been recorded than in the permanentway department. It is a very big jump from the primitive wooden rails employed for the old horse-drawn tramways of Britain, or even from the rough iron track of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, to the modern permanent-way such as is found in Britain and New Zealand. Rightly enough, soundly constructed and adequately maintained tracks are regarded as a prime essential by railways all the world over. In recent times there have been interesting developments both as regards track construction and maintenance

The improvements effected during the present century in track construction are pretty generally known. Not so widely appreciated, however, are the many mechanical and other aids to efficient maintenance introduced in recent times. In Britain it was usual, until a few years ago, to carry out track maintenance by small gangs of men, each gang being responsible, on an average, for from three to four miles of line. This involved a great deal of unproductive time in walking to and from work, and the system now has generally been replaced by one involving a combination of permanent-way gangs and the utilisation of petrol-driven maintenance trolley cars.

Next to savings effected in this manner, probably the biggest economies in permanent-way operations are those which are being made through the use of portable welding sets in crossing renovations, and the like. Economy is also being secured by the employment of special drilling, boring, screwing and sawing machines of various types. Ballast screens are another recent worth-while innovation in Britain, while mention must be made of the patent rail oiler which enormously lengthens rail life on sharp curves where side cutting of the rail is severe. For the majority of the Home railways, it may be noted, 95 lb. rail is employed, with 85 lb. steel for secondary routes. As a general rule, a length of 45 feet is favoured, although there is now a tendency to utilise 60 ft. rails for main-line work.

Rolling Stock Yesterday and To-day.

Stout permanent-way and efficient maintenance has added enormously to the comfort of the traveller, but the modern rolling-stock designer and builder also deserves praise in this connection. In a corner of the Science Museum at South Kensington, London, there are to be seen enlightening exhibits of the railway pioneering days, when what to us moderns look little better than glorified horse-boxes did duty for first-class passenger carriages. We have certainly progressed somewhat since those roughand-tumble times, and George Stephenson and his enthusiastic fellow-workers would rightly marvel at the comfort, nay luxury, of the presentday railway rolling-stock.

The four group railways of Britain own something like 48,000 passenger carriages, having a seating capacity of 2,670,000, and including 550 restaurant, 250 sleeping, and 300 Pullman cars. Improved passenger stock has increased the weight of trains from 4 cwts. to 12 cwts. per passenger; and while an ordinary local compartment train with a tare weight of 300 tons will seat 800 persons, a luxurious main-line train of the same length will accommodate only about 360 passengers. Almost all British passenger carriages are of bogie design, and in several instances the articulated arrangement is employed with success. Across the Channel, four-wheeled and six-wheeled stock is still being constructed. There is a good deal of argument as to the relative merits of the saloon and the compartment type of vehicle. In the main, saloon travel seems best fitted for long-distance work, and compartment stock for short-distance and suburban operation.

Multiple-unit trains (Stuttgart Suburban Electrification) German State Railways.

Multiple-unit trains (Stuttgart Suburban Electrification) German State Railways.

Air Travel and the Railways.

Air travel, the newest form of movement for mankind and mankind's belongings, is a subject which is at present engaging the serious attention of the Home railways. Last year one railway—the Great Western—commenced to operate air services for passengers between the Midlands and South Wales and certain holiday resorts in Devonshire. These services were tolerably well supported by the public, and during the present holiday season the experiment is being repeated. It cannot genuinely be said that air travel is really popular in Britain. Ninety-nine people out of a hundred frankly admit that “they feel safer on the ground,” and until such page 13 time as air travel secures the confidence of the public there does not seem much prospect for the operation of air routes by the Home railways.

One recalls that, in the infancy of the “Iron Way,” there was a good deal of timidity on the part of the public in entrusting themselves to the new form of movement. By degrees, however, rail travel lost its terrors, and it may quite well be that in course of time we shall all become air-minded to a degree. In any case, it is well that railways should not be unmindful of the progress of aerial transport, and if in years to come big scale air movement is realised, then nobody should be better able to engage in such transport than the railway undertakings. The probability is that in the years that lie ahead railways the world over will themselves operate air services in much the same manner as they now in many lands conduct transport by road and sea. For the present, however, railway-operated air services may be looked upon largely as an advertising “stunt.” The wisest course would seem to lie in wholehearted co-operation between railways and existing air-carrying concerns, and it is on these lines that development may be looked for during the next decade.

Electrification in Germany and Austria.

Electrification work completed on the German and Austrian railways holds out possibilities for the ultimate through operation of electric trains between Vienna and Paris, a distance of approximately 860 miles. The tracks electrified are those of the German Railways between Stuttgart and Salzburg (245 miles), and the Salzburg-Augsburg section of the Austrian Federal Railways. The Stuttgart-Salzburg electrification forms part of a big conversion scheme covering the whole of Bavaria, and already in this corner of Germany about 450 miles of track have been electrified.

Single-phase alternating current is employed for the German electrifications, and main-line passenger and freight trains are hauled by powerful electric locomotives. The passenger locomotives have a maximum speed of 68 m.p.h., and are of the 2–8–2 wheel arrangement. The freight locomotives are of the 0–6–6–0 wheel arrangement, and have a maximum speed of approximately 35 m.p.h. For suburban service in the Stuttgart area, there are utilised trains composed of motor and trailer cars, operated on the familiar multiple-unit principle. The loaded motor cars weigh 70 metric tons, have four traction motors, and attain a maximum speed of 47 m.p.h. Their length over buffers is 66 ft. 6 in., and a train composed of six cars accommodates 278 passengers. As illustrating the utility of electrification, it may be noted that in the through run between Augsburg and Stuttgart, a saving of from 30 to 45 minutes has been effected in journey times of express trains as compared with the former steam timings, and of from 45 to 80 minutes in the case of stopping services.

Road Competition in Hungary.

Road competition continues to hit the railways of many European lands, and in Hungary the Government has issued a decree granting the State Railways an exclusive concession for the movement of freight by road. This concession has been granted on the understanding that the right to operate road vehicles is exercised through a co-operative society of the existing road carriers. As a result of this move, road transport in Hungary is now administered by a committee of six, of whom three members are appointed by the railways and three by the co-operative society.

Under the new arrangements, Hungary has been divided into seven districts. Freight moving within each district may be transported throughout by road, but freight passing from one district to another must travel by rail, the co-operative society being responsible only for terminal cartage. Provision is made for a scale of minimum charges for road transport, based upon loading capacity, and fixed at a definite sum per kilometre regardless of the nature of the load. Care is to be taken to ensure that only skilled drivers are employed on road vehicles, and each driver is required to carry an identity card, a map of the area in which he is authorised to work, and other official documents. State railway inspectors have the right to call for the production of these documents at any time.

The latest type of Buffet Car, L. and N.E. Railway.

The latest type of Buffet Car, L. and N.E. Railway.