ANNUAL RAILWAY REPORT.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1844, 18 May 1888, Page 3

ANNUAL RAILWAY REPORT.

(from oub cobrebpondent.) Wellington, May 17. The annual report on the working railways of the colony, which vias presented to-day, showa that at the end of the year there were 1758 miles of railway open, as against 1727 miles m the previous year. Interest at the rate of £2 Gs per cent, has been earned on ths cost of the opened lines, which is the same as the previous year. The expenditure has been reduced to £087,328, being nearly £3000 lower than it was four years ago, and nearly £12,000 lower than m the previous year. Very stringent economy has been exeroiaed to effeot this, as there are nearly 300 miles more railway than m 1885. On the average the department is able to work with 200 leBS hands than m 1884-5. Owing to the late harvest and other causes, the traffio has remained praotioally stationary since last year. The wool traffio shows a moderate inorease. The net revenue has slightly increased, but the gross revenue is lower than the previous year, and £50,000 lower than it was four years ago. During the year 11 oarriagea and 92 trucks have been added to the rolling stook. The praotice of doing all this work m the colony, except charcoal iron and steel tyres, has been followed during the past eight years, and m that time more than £100,000 worth of new work m truoks and carriages has been turned out of the Government shops, of a kind which had previously been imported. The report conoludes : — The hydraulic cranes at Greymouth ereoted for the purpose, of loading coal into steamers have been completed, and await the finishing of some fittings and Bidings to be started at work. This is the first introduction into this colony of the important system of hydraulic crane-working on a large scale, Three-ton coal boxes will ba lifted from the truoks, lowered into the hold of the steamer, and emptied through a bottom door m the box, giving the coal a very small drop. It is possible that the system of hydraulio cranes will ba of great advantage m the grain sheds at Lyttelton and other places. i