RAILWAY ENGINES

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 653, 3 May 1929, Page 11

RAILWAY ENGINES

NO MORE TO BE BUILT AT THAMES TALK OF BROKEN PROMISE (Special to THE SUN) THAMES, Thursday. That a promise by the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates that A. and G. Price, Ltd., should build two locomotives, was not being- honoured by the present Govern - ment, was the allegation made by Mr. A. M. Samuel, M.P., to the Hon. W. A. Veitch, Minister of Mines, to-day. Mr. Samuel urged Mr. Veitch to persuade the Minister of Railways, the Lion. W. B. Taverner, that it was in the economic interest of New Zealand to build its own railway locomotives. Mr. Samuel said Mr. Coates had definitely promised the building of two heavy locomotives to Prices, in addition to certain repair work. The latter promise had been fully honoured but the Thames firm, which had built nearly 130 railway engines, had recently been advised by a certain departmental official that it could not expect any further orders in this direction. A year or two ago Messrs. Pr:lce, Limited, had spent £30,000 in remodelling their works in order to achieve greater efficiency in the building of railway engines. Mr. Samuel said he hoped the Government would honour the promise of Mr. Coates to provide for the building of two AB engines at Thames. It was definitely made and its non-fulfilment mpant ruination to the hopes of the Skilled Thames ironworkers, who had incurred heavy rating liabilities because they thought their jobs were permanent. He was going to Wellington to-night to personally interview Sir Joseph Ward with a view to quickly righting this grave injustice. The Minister said no one could listen unmoved to Mr. Samuel’s plea for the righting of what he considered an injustice. He would undertake to see that his request was faithfully represented to the Minister of Railways.