RAILWAY INQUIRY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2997, 7 February 1917, Page 6

RAILWAY INQUIRY

By Telegraph—Press Association. ' Auckland, February 6. ' The Royal Commission into the condition of the railway stock of the Dominion was continued* to-day. Francis Evans Pepperill, leading lifter at Frankton Junction, said the rolling stook was right up to date, and the general nndergear of the vehicles jwas. kept in as good order as ever it was. It was not often that bearing springs broke, and when that did happen new bearing springs in a whole condition were piit in .immediately. X. good few. buffer springs wore broken on wagons, and a few on carriages. The new axle boxes ■ were a great improvement on the old type;' and were easier examined. Cross-eximined, witness said the number of wagons with piece springs was extremely small. At Frankton good provision in the_ way of appliances, tools, and supplies was made. It was very seldom that broken hearing springs were found on' running trains, and that also applied to drawtar springs and axle boxes. Breakages of bearing springs applied almost solely to wagoiis.

Leonard Thomas M'lntosh, District (Engineer, Auckland, in charge of the maintenance branch, in reply to Mr. Marchbanks, said he knew of very few broken tyres and axles, and only of two axlo accidents in many yp.ars to engines. There, had been fewer bearing springs broken and a smaller percentage of derailments to running trains during the past few years, despite tlio increased numbfer of trains and longer trains. .

'.Clifford James Dick, train examiner, at Morrinsville, and Thomas Prescott, leading lifter, Auckland, gave evidence qualifying that of Pepperill. Prescott expressed the opinion that two-piece springs were superior to whole springs, in that the spring tlint iiad broken into two parts was tempered and was jioc so liable to break again.