Another Te Aro ''Railway"

Feilding Star, Volume XIII, Issue 120, 7 April 1892, Page 2

Another Te Aro ''Railway"

+ Have you seen the Cash Eailway at Te Aro House, Wellington? The following is what one of the Wellington papers says about it : — Mr James Smith, of Te Aro House, habitually keeps his eyea pretty wide open, and on his re--1 cent trip to England he combined business : with pleasure, as his late importations of " things new and strange," attest. While in New York, Mr Smith was very much struck with the system of cash railways j in vogue in the large stores, and be spent a whole day in examining these latept of labor-saving devices. The result of this inspection was that he decided to fit up Te Aro House with a cash railway system. This has now been effected, and there is in operation, at that popular mart, a " railway "of the very newest patent. It was brought into operation on Monday morning, and the employees are jast beginning to get used to it. " The cashier's desk is centrally situated in the establishment, and from this centre slender steel wires radiate from the cashier's desk to the sales stations, all coming in overhead. The cars pass noiselessly along these wires until they reach their destination at either end, where they automatically interlock with a fixed spring motor and come silently to rest. The speed of the car, as well as the distance to be traversed by it, are regulated by simply adjusting the releasing device. The beauty of the thing is its regular and easy working, and the saving of labor which it effects. The sale* man at his counter takes the money from his customer, unscrews the bottom of the little car or box overhead, puts in the money, and with one touch of the finger sets the car in motion. It proceeds rapidly to the cash desk, where the cashier detaches it, takes out the money, and if necessary puts change back, and in any case sends the car away again to the salesman. The railway was erected by Mr Thomas Ballinger, Willis-street, and Mr James Wilson, builder, and their work has been most efficiently performed.