MAIN TRUNK LINE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 323, 9 October 1908, Page 6

MAIN TRUNK LINE.

PETONE WORKSHOPS BUSY. NEW ROLLING STOCK. ' Whatever may be the, degree of inactivity in other local branches of the industry, tlioro is at present not a moment's idleness at tho Petone Railway Workshops. Tha function of tho Petone works, these times, is to fit out the rolling stock , to bo used on the Main Trunk Railway. With tho exception of the locomotives, every car, truck, and van to run on the Wellington-Auckland lino is being mado at tho local shops. And when it is seen fit to provide Petone with machinery capable of turning out tho boilers required for tho high-power engines, locomotives of tho latest type will be built there for tho North Island section. This, of courso, must come when more extensive railway business entails increased repairing work and demauds a greater output of cars. The Year's Programme. ■ The year's programme at Petone has been larger, perhaps, than ever before, and very good progress has been maintained during , the past few months. In order to keeppaco v with the. work in the carpenters' shop, it has been necessary to incur some overtime, more especially in 'the brass-moulding ana brass-finishing departments. Over 50 casualhands have been employed in tho works, bringing the total number of men engaged up to'about 450. Since April of this year, when the additional work of building cars for tho Trunk lino was added to tho ordinary routine, the whole of tho various staffs have been working at high pressure. The workshops have been producing on an average one vehicle weekly, and by the time the rush is over they will most likely have established a record for tho Dominion as far as rato of production is concerned. In undertaking the fitting out of rolling-stock for the new line, those in authority looked to the efficient equipment of all the shops. It was found desirable to purchase some up-to-date lathes and a horizontal milling . machine. Another most important addition to the gear of the fitting shop is the hydraulic stamping machine. Tne machine was made at Petone a few months ago. Besides being used to bend or 7 straighten channel bais, it' shapes the ventilators for tho roofs of passenger carriages. • By this machine the ventilators are stamped out of sheet brass at the rate of about' 100 per hour, whereas previously the ventilators could bo cast only at the rato of 20 a day. Further, a 7-ton travelling crane has been sent up from the Hillside Workshops, Dunedin, to facilitate the handling of tenders and other heavy lifts in the yard. The crane, too, is very useful in shunting when the small locomotive is not available. Tho Sleeping Car. The latest in railway construction is tha sleeping car. Eight sleeping cars are in course 1 of building at the workshops. Like tlio present "bird-cage" carriages, theso sloeping-cars comprise several compartments arranged down tho side of one long corridor. They are capable of being, fitted out with 20 bunks, arranged as in ships' cabins. Four of the compartments have each four berths, and in each of tho remaining two there is sleeping accommodation for two passengers. Tho upper bunk is formed by the swinging out of the back of the seat. Tho cars are, therefore, intended to he used as ordinary first-clasß accommodation during tho day, and when night comes down tho attendants have little to do to make thorn comfortable bedrooms. The curtain-rods and other fittings are to be electro-copper plated, and tho furnishings are such as to ensure for passenfers .the greatest comfort and convenience. he intention is to dispense altogether with blankets,, and'to provide only sheets and rugs, which-will ,be carried in lockers under the seats when riot in uso. UIA .: uo usniJ", i£S Refreshment-oars. W- c Four refreshment-cars aro also on tho plans at Petone. One of them is almost ready for the track, and-will ba .put into running on the mail-trains in the course of a few days. ' These - dining-cars can seat 24 persons at one time, and are fitted up in the usual way. Pintsch gas is the source of heating in the kitchen, where a modern range, besides tables, lockers, and shelves, makes work easy for the chef. Four new postal cars, intended for subsequent service on tha Main' Trank lino, are now doing duty on tho mail-trains to Napier, and ■ Now . Plymouth; and six of the new "A" cjass, four-cylinder compound locomotives are running in tho Auckland district. Twenty of these are on order with Messrs. Price Bros., of Thames. They aro of the same type as those used at present to draw the mail-trains on the Hum-nui-Bluff section. Improvements. In the new second-class cars (eight of which are ready for the metals) there aro chair seats, comfortably cushioned in leather, and similar in almost every particular to tho first-class carriages now in use. , One "new 'feature —a remarkably good one—is that the back of the seat cannot bo moved unless by authority of tho guard. Tho back of tho seat, in dropping into its placo, becomes automatically fixed, and it can only ba changed to tho reverse position, when the guard unfastens the catch. This will prevent damage likely to be incurred if tha backs of tho seats were freely movable, and liable to bo tossed carelessly one way or tha other. In the first-class cars, however, it is still left to the option of the passenger in which direction ho shall face. With hardly an exception, every oar to bo used on tha Trunk lino will be 50ft. in length, whereas tho usual length previously was 40ft. There is to bo a corresponding increase in width, from 7ft. lOin. to Bft.. llin., which adds noticeably to the roominess of the carriages Rolling Stock to be Built. Set down on tho list of rolling stock ta bo built specially for the new line are tha following: — Eight first-class sleepers,' four first-class day cars, four first-class smokers, twelve second-class day cars, four second-class smokers, four refreshment cars, four bogie brake vans, two first-class cars, and two secondrflass cars. It will also be necessary to build a' new Governor's car and" a new Ministerial carriage for the line. To assist in tho ordinary, running, which', of courso, will be affected in some degree when the new route is in. uso,'four " W.F." class loco, motives aro coming from Addingtou. In , fact, ono has arrived and has just been put together at the Petone works. " Right-Through Servlco." As somo of the fittings for the , sleeping cars - will not arrive in the Dominion until about the middle of next month, it seems unlikely that a "right-through" service can be established, much before tho new year. At tho same time, as tho Hon. tho Minister for Railways seoms anxious to have communication established at the earliest possible moment, it is quite reasonable, to expect that a service could be commcnccd before December, the journey each way occupying two days. ■ '