RAILWAY INQUIRY BOARD'S REPORT.

Shannon News, 9 April 1926, Page 4

RAILWAY INQUIRY BOARD'S REPORT.

SAFETY FOR SHUNTERS, IMPROVED LIGHTING AMD LAY- , OUTS. WELLINGTON, Last Night. The report of the Board set up to inquire into the great run of shunting accidents a while back has been prepared. The Board of four commenced Us sittings on July IC, 1925, and conducted a full inquiry into all matters coming within the order of reference, inspecting shunting yards and facilities at stations throughout New Zealand, besides taking evidence at ail important jgtations. The Board present a summary or tl;e accidents for ten years ended June, 1925, which shows that of 569 accidents, 40 were fatal and 30 serious. Of the fatal accidents, in 14 cases members of the staff were knocked down by moving vehicles or engines and eight \were caused througn slipping or jumping off wagons or cowcatchers of engines,' the otners being clue to yarious causes. om,y on 0 faital and two minor accidents were due to slip shunting of wagons and one serious and ten minor' accidents due to tail roping for ten yws prior to the fatal accident which occurred to Shunter Carmichael at Palmerston North on August 3, 19 25. Tni's shows that with experience ana care, the work is not dangerous. The frc-fiuent fatal accidents of lat c nre. not due to changed conditions or work, but in the majority of cases to errors of judgment. It had neen slated in evidence that a contributing cause of the accident was the employment of inexperienced men in tne shunting yards. This,, says the Board, may be true in some respects, but it id a significant fact that during trie war years, when the staff was at a low ebb and there was a shortage or experienced men, tlie average number or fatal accidents per year was lower than for the years following 1918. In 1!. ; 19, no" fatal accident occurred. In recent years, the numerous promotions and resignations and the increase in staff required to handle the increased business has in certain directions impaired the working efficiency in some of the shunting yards, and these-frequent changes together with the placing of .-some men in shunting j ards who were insufficiently alert; or temperamentally unfitted for tne • v. oik, constituting a danger to ,tticmselvos and their workmates, had to a eercain extent contributed to- a number of accidents in recent years. Shunters are Born. . Shunting requires to be performea with reasonable quickness and even under the very best conditions, a 1 member employed at this work- is liable to make a miscalculation or slip and be seriously injured or killed. The Board is of opinion that only men who are ■' physically active ana mentally alert should be placed in the shunting yards. The majority of the men at present carrying out the won* possess these qualifications. To this portion of the report ,tne Railway Board, which has examines. the document, says that investigations are now being made to determine which nien are unsuitable and to have these men transferred to duties coinpatible with their qualifications. The Inquiry Board goes at lengtn into the question of th 6 length or .shifts. It says that during the nusy season, long hours were worried at some of the stations and considers that this should lie avoided wncre possible. It considers the six-nour day too costly and the seven-hour day impracticable. Seven and a-haif hour shifts should apply at Auckland, Prankton, Marton, Wanganui, Palmerston North. Wellington, Lyttclton, CLristchurch, Timaru, Dunedin, Inwrcargill and Greymoutn, where the shunting work is of an arduous nature. Comment on Supervision. The number of men in the shunting ;.;angs is generally satisfactory, with tew exceptions, provided no men are withdrawn for other duties, a practice which prevails at a number of piaces and this should be avoided where possible . Very few complaints were received from shunters in regard to the time allowed for the making up of trains, and .there 'appeared to be no justification for the statements jmade in newspapers that th e speeding up of the express trains had speeded up the' shunting work. The supervision of the work has generally been found to be sufficient. The control of the shutting worn, with the exception of Palmerston North, has generally been found to bg satisfactory.* Lighting' and Lay-outs,

The lighting of shunting yards, with few exceptions, the Board found to be fairly good, and where the electric light has been installed it has considerably improved working conditions. When the additional lights recommended have been placed m position and the lighting programme completed, one or the most serious complaints in regard to the conditions under which shunters are working will have been removed. Gas lighting in yards is generally unsatisfactory. In some cases it was noticed that trie lights were not placed to the west advantage, and the Board considers that in future, when new lights are being installed, members conversant with the working of the yards should be consulted. On the subject of the layout, and (lie proposed layout cf shunting yards, the Inquiry Board says: Although the layout of a number of the shuntingyards is good, the majority of them arc not effective for the quick handling of traffic. This has been brought about in some cases by patching tne yards instead of reconstructing them, which results in wagons haying to be handled several times, with a consequent delay to (he work and tralilc aiul increased operating costs. The main difficulty experienced at tne various, centres is the lack of suf- j

fleient siding accommodation and the want of long roads for receiving ana dispatching trains. The traffic lias outgrown the capacity of the yards at some centres and at other .places the roads are too short to accommodate the long trains now handled. The congested areas at some,of tne yards and the want of suitably arranged accommodation for handling the wagons has increased the difficulties of the shunters and the risk or accident. "PToteeMvt; Measures. The demand for the quicker handling of goods makes it essential that the facilities thoula provide, for the handling of the traffic through the shunting yards with the least effort and the, greatest speed. A nunmer of accidents has occurred through wagons running back or stopping foul after being kicked off into the different roads. When new yards are being designed the grades should, if. possible, be so fixed that the wagons will gravitate from either end of the yard toward the. centre. In the larger yards the shunting layout should be such that all operations can De carried out without fouling the crossing loop or main dine. The clearance from the shunting ladder or leg" to I the adjoining siding, irr which space shunters work, should be at least l» ! feet, and car sidings should be spaced at 12 feet centres. Before additions or alterations to the layout of a yard are made, tlie yard staff should be consulted. The Board observed that a number. of the foot rests on Which shunters stand on the engines are worn-smooth with the result that the men are liable to slip. These foot rests should be kept jagged. The Railway Board- remarks that action is being taken to improve the foot rests. Wanted-- Idea. The Inquiry Board reports that one of the greatest risks in shunting in New Zealand is the need for hand coupling and uncoupling. Of 369 ac-. cidents in ten years, 214 of them, principally minor accidents, were due to employees going between vehicles for the purpose of attending to the couplings. They recommend that tne designing of a mechanical device, v. hich would minimise the need i*or men going between vehicles should be investigated. > The Board favours first aid tuition for raihvtiymen, and considers tnau men should be paid at the maximum rate for time spent in charge or a regular shunting'engine and shunting engine gang, V