THE ABT RAILWAY SYSTEM

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1881, 30 June 1888, Page 2

THE ABT RAILWAY SYSTEM

MR MAXWELL'S REPORT. (From oor own Correspondent.) Wellington, Jane 29 , The Minister for Public Worka to-day ' laid on the tablo a paper containing an extrnot from the «' Engineer " of November 12, 1886, giving a full acoount of the Abt system of railway working, which la adopted on the Blankenburg — Tanne Railway, m the Harz mountains, In addition to the following report by Mr Maxwell, ac prepared for the Information of the Committee of the Legislative OouuoU on the subject o? the Midland Railway : — In considering the sabjeot of adopting a ateep incline m preference to a comparatively flat grad?, the point to be settled is whether the additional ooßt of working the former will compare favorably with the saving m interest of large capital to constract the latter. The experience gained In working the Rimataka i inollne, which is conduoted on the Fell Bystem, with a grade of 1 In 13, will be of Borne use, as much misapprehension prevails about the oapaoity of each a line for •'irrylng large traffic. Ie may be remarked that, giving proper siding accommodation at foot aod summit, enough engine power, and working twalvb hours a cUy. there woald be no difficulty m taking np 200,000 tons of goods per annum; that is, four times as ranoh aa now goes over it In both directions. The. length of thla 1b about five miles. The Abt syetem, which haa been wall tested of late years, la considered by competent authoritlea to be superior to the Fell syetem, and there can, therefore, be no doubt of the efficiency of such a eyatem for carrying a much larger traffic than la likely to develope for many years oa the Springfield Brunner line, It will ba well to vote, however, THE DIFJRRENT CIRCUMSTANCES In the cases of the Riuautaka lnohns and the proposed Arthur's Paaa incline. The former iraa adopted as an alt amative to a circuitous and expensive route some twenty-five miles longer, on ordinary grades, as it la quicker m point of time for the transit of traffic, and cheaper to work to an extent equal to 200 tons on the present traffic than the longer and more expensive route wonld have been. In the c »se of Arthur's Pas?, however, the proposed inoline does not shorten the route, and it gives a short disadvantage m point of time. In my opinion, tho adoption of a steeper grade than 1 m 15 on the Abt system, with 130-ton loads, would be a mistake, booause it woald introduce great practical difficulties m working through tha strength of stock and the drawbars of the Government stock being Insufficient to bear greater strains than thla grade and load would entail, and the through transit of the Government stock would bB thus prevented. This is a point whloh the Company building the line would have as much Interest m as the (Government, and whioh would no doubt iofiaenoe them In considering the advisability of adopting a steep grade. - The only means I have of arriving at a rough estimate of the ooat of working the Abt Incline la by comparing it with the Fell Incline. A Fell engine, weighing 35 tons takes usually 65 to 70 tons gross load up it. I find it stated ilut an Abt engine of 51 tons would take 120 to 130 tons gross load up an Inollne of one In sixteen up the Blaokenbere; — Tanne Railway m the Harz dlatrlot, In Pruaala, The latter probably has considerable adv&ntige, but It cinnot be expressed »C spaieiy with the dats availably. The ooat of locomotive power on the J?ell incline, Rlmutaka, Is equal to about 41 per ton per mile on the present traffic. As, however, the rate of wagea and price of fuel govern the cost of working, it is neoeaaary to imke considerable modification m ESTIMATING THE COST of working the inoline at Arthur's Pass by a Company, first, becauaa fuel would probably coßt-ieas than half tha prioa'of that at Rimutaka, and, secondly, because the Company would probab'y "command cheaper wages. Taking these three iteme, better loads, (jlieapac fajl, and lower wages, and allowing the'}irge traffic of 150, QOO tons, wo shou'd probably be safe In estimating the looonptlve oharges at 2i per ton per mile } and allowing a length of Abt line of six mlle3 for two inclines, one on eaoh Bide the Baddle, and making deduction for the alternative of working the ordinary line, we should find that the extra annual cost of workIng the Abt line for locomotive oharges would be about £6000, whlob, capitalised at five por oont represents £120,000, If more than this aum wonld be saved by adopting Abt lnelinfa of I iv I£> to work 130 ton loads on the total length df inollne, about six mlloa, Instead of having one In 60 grades and a long tunnel, it would be reasonable to adopt the Abt system. *j?hla U P P?y p <"Bgb estimate, but ii would probft})!y be found BUfoqleut. If a longer length of Incline were adopted, about £1000 per extra mllo sHcsjld be added for working eqoh traffic As 1 hare Jn^loafjed, aorae additional charge wutfd ba entailed by' the e*tra'r#&latenanco oharges of this IneHne. I have no . very Intimate acquaintance with the locality or trial surveys, and oannot, therefore, offer an opinion as to the pos- ' alblllty of ctoßslng the Baddle with auch a gradient, or of approaching it bo as to oroes It with IneJfnea of moderate length." Ac a note to the above, Mr Maxwell adda the following :— ' ' The locomotive ohargoa on an ordinary line with J. m §0 grades, arid wages" at ratea cqtrent on £h.e New Zsaland railways, should not expeed £d J per to» per wile. lam since informed that It la unlikely that the length of the inollnes would be leas than eight miles.