RAILWAY DEPARTMENT FEELS CUT IN OIL

Chronicle (Levin), 9 January 1948, Page 3

RAILWAY DEPARTMENT FEELS CUT IN OIL

AUCKLAND, Jan. 8. The conversion of railway locbmotives to oi! burning will come to a temporary stop next March when the numbers will reach 42. Tliis has been made necessary by a cut in the oil allocation by Britain, the Dominion's quota of 4(3,000 tons for 1948 and possiblv 1949, being only sufficient to keep 42 locoiuotives supplied. Mr. J. Sawers, General Manager of1 the Railways Department, said when interviewed by telepkone that the reduction in the oil alloftation was • the result of the dollar crisis. It meant tliat the original plans to convert 75 locomotives to oil burning had to be abandoned for the moment. .The future position was indelinite but it w.as hoped that the position woiild imprbve allowiug tlie former programme to be proceeded with. Thirty-three locomotives had alreadv been converted, said Mr. Sawers and* the other nine, which would be completed by March, were the only ones on which work was proceeding, sufficient warning having been received to prevcnt conversion being begun unnecessarily. In any ease, Mr. Sawers indicated, there would be difficulty in maintaining the railway services unless further supplies of coal could be obtained. The recent cut iu the alloeation of coal froru Britain from 20,000 tons to 10,000 tons, was not a good augury but efforts would be made to get the necessary coal from somewkere as the Dominion was 100,000 tons sliort in its requirements. Asked if electricity might provide an answer to part of the fuel shortage, Mr. Sawers said its value was recognised but that it took several years to put the electrieal services into operation.