FASTEST TRAIN

Hokitika Guardian, 21 May 1932, Page 6

FASTEST TRAIN

THE WORLD’S BEST.

(New Zealand Railway Magazine.)

For various economic and other reasons there has been a tendency throughout the railway world to curtail exceptionally fast running passenger trains during the past few years. Many trains running at abnormally low speeds, it i‘s true, have been" considerably accelerated, but few outstanding fast timings have been introduced in any 'country.

Until recently the world’s fastest start to stop run was credited to the Canadian Pacific Railway, with a train averaging G 8.9 miles an hour. Now the Land of the Alaple Leaf has to take second place in the world railway speed table, following new accelerated timings introduced on the Great Western Railway of Britain. The fastest daily train in the five continents is now the “Cheltenham Flyer,” covering 77| miles between Swindon and Paddington Station, London, in 67 minutes, or a start to stop speed of 69.18 miles an hour.

The existing time-tables of the Home Railways show some exceptionally fine passenger running. Trains like the “Flying Scotsman,” the “Royal Scot,” the “Atlantic Coast Express,” and the “Cornish Riviera Limited” have earned a world-wide reputation for speed, comfort and safety. During the next few months it seems likely many of these crack Home expresses will be considerably accelerated but for all-round speedy running, the existing record of the Great Western Line will be hard to beat. In addition to operating the world’s fastest train, the Great Western also claims to run the fastest night passenger train in the world. This is the 1.40 a.m. Paddington to Plymouth express, which covers the 225 f miles in 265 minutes, an average, throughout speed of 51.1 miles an hour. At present the Great Western time-tables feature no fewer than 53 passenger trains, covering 4,359 miles each week-day, travelling at start to stop speeds varying from 55 to 69 miles an hour, a really fine performance, of which any railway might well be proud.

THE RESTAURANT CAR. A particularly pleasing feature of the winter train time-tables of the Home railways is the very large number of restaurant cars that are being retained in service during the “off” season for tourist travel. Restaurant ear service has grown immensely popular in Britain, and each of the four group railways operates its own catering department. It the infancy of railways it was the custom in Bui tain—as it is to-day in America and other lands —to stop longdistance passenger trains at 'selected points for an interval sufficiently long to allow travellers to secure refreshments from the station restaurants The provision of luncheon-baskets, packed in the railway restaurants and taken on to the trains by passengers, was the next step, and even to-day luncheon and tea baskets continue in great demand on the Home railways. ,n ilie case of long-distance travel, the station restaurant and.the luncheon and tea basket hav been replaced by tiie dining-car.

The old Great Northern was the first Home railway to introduce diii-ing-cars. This was in 1879, between London and Leeds. r lhe first diningcar accomodated nineteen persons. Hie kitchen had a coke stove, and oil lamps were employed for lighting. Until 1893 dining-cars in Britain were only available for the first-class passenger. In that year, however, the North Eastern, North British, and Great Northern lines put third-clas diners into service in their joint through trains between King’s Cross Station. London, and Scottish points. All-electric kitchens were put into thh service in 1921. To-day dining-car service on the Home railways is in constant demand, and every year eight million are served in the Homt railway diners.

A FINE -SAFETY RECORD. During the year 1930 only one passenger was killed in train accidents on the Home railways—a safety record which is probably unique in railway annals, having regard to the immense business handled. The train mileage for the year was 421.2 millions, and the liability to casualty in the case of passengers was one in 1,(584,000,000. Some 522 passengers were injured in train accidents during 1930, this figure including many minor in juries which would not lie included in the railway statistics in numerous other (-ountries.

LARGEST TRAIN 'CONTROL. .Mainly with the object ol increasing travel safety, the Home railways an by degrees introducing automatic trai control on all the main lines. A lea; in this campaign is set by the Great Western, which has just completed tin installation of automatic control on its throughout main lines between London and Wolverhampton. Swansea, aiu Plymouth. This represents the larges; I rain control installation on any Home raiwav. no less than 2,130 miles ol track and 2,500 locomotives having been equipped. This system give; audibe warning to the driver of the state of th(> signal ahead, for in the event of a distant signal being passed at danger, the train is automatically stopped before it can reach the next stop signal. The trm.k installation consists of a ■need bar. oi ramp. 40ft in length.

placed between - the - rails— adjacent to the distant signal at a height of 31 inches above rail level. The level which operates the distant .signal is connected by wire electrically with the ramp. When the signal is in the danger position the ramp is dead, and when in the clear position the action of pulling the lever completes an electric circuit and causes the ramp to be energised. The locomotive lias an iron shoe, the bottom of which is 2-J- inches above the rail level. This makes contact with the ramp as the locomotive passes over. If the signal is at danger and the ramp dead, the action of lifting the shoe opens a valve on the vacuum brake apparatus, causing an application of the brakes throughout the train, and sounding a siren in the locomotive cab. On the other hand, should the signal be in the clear position, the ramp energised, and'the electric current passing through the shoe does not interfere with the vacuum brake, but rings an electric bell in the cab. The driver thus has two entirely distinct audible indications of the condition of the signals.

ROAD COMPETITION IN FRANCE

Road competition and need for economy on working has led the lailways of France to embark upon an especially interesting plan aiming at the full commercialisation and rationalisation of railway transport. At the outset the number of stations is to be drastically reduced, the idea being to increase the,average distance between stations from the existing five kilometers to twenty-five kilometers; Under the new plan there will only be about 1,600 “station centres” or distribution points, in place of the present 8,000 stations. For long-distance journeys, of 150 kilometers and over, the conventional form of train will be employed for passenger movement and for the haulage of freight in full wagon loads-Short-distance passenger business, and tho haulage of small lots of freight will be cared for by road vehicles or lio-ht power units running on tile rails. Connections with the main line services will he made at the “station centres” by road vehicles, some of which will be designed to run on either rail or road. An elaborate collection and delivery system will be instituted, employing motor trucks giving a door to door service, and a comprehensive telephone system will link all the outlying collecting points with the “station centres.” Perishables and live stock will be moved by fast road motors.

EDUCATION OF RAILWAY PER-

SONNEL.

In difficult times such as these the education of the individual railwaymen is not an affair to be neglected. To meet the problems of the future, highly-educated men are demanded in the railway world, and in Britain considerable attention is now being paid re the edneaton of the personnel of ilie four group lines. Wonderfully '.veil equipped schools for the education of their staffs are maintained at selected centres by the Home lailwajs. The York schools of tlie L. and N.E. Railway, and the Lambeth schools of the London Underground Railways, are two especially fine modern establishments that are performing rare service in the education of railwaymen of all grades.

It is possible for the keen Home railwayman to attain the most reresponsible of positions; and while all obviously cannot become leading exeutives, there is ample stops for everyone who shows himself a tryer. Promotion is usually based upon competitive examination at the outset, nd young men who show exceptional ibitty are given unusual opportunaties for securing" an all-round knowledge by transfer from department to department.