LIGHT LINE RAILWAYS

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 10715, 19 October 1912, Page 6

LIGHT LINE RAILWAYS

Tiu<; (U)vr:rLNiviK.\T's I'IWPOSAI.S. In tho course of tlio Public Works Statement, delivered in the House oi Representatives last night, the Minister of Public Works .sau:--ftuihv;iy-construction throughout the. Dominion has, during the Inst ten years, been proceeded with at a rate as rapid as can be considered warrantable by any one having regard to the linancial obligations which we, as trustees for'posterity, are justified in incurring. S'la.ch year witnesses an appreciable increase in the mileage of lines completed and opened for traffic; nevertheless the applications received from all parts of the country ! for new railways and for extensions |of existing lines—in many cases with : every prospect of returning a profit sufficient to pay interest on the cost of construction—are more than the Government can see its way with prudent linancial administration to entertain. A moderate calculation place? the length of railways still requirei to give an omeiont service through out the Dominion at 1500 to 2000 mil es, the cost of which, calculated a£Booo per milo (which is a fair «-vo rage under prevailing conditions) will amount to £12,000,000 to £lO. 000,000. Hitherto all our railway; have been constructed in accordant with a. high standard as regards stahi lity of formation, weight of rails, am quality of permanent-way generally but I suggest to honourable member that the time has arrived when w should consider the question of provicl ing lighter and cheaper railways t serve the districts where settlemen is advancing and where i he mainton !ance of roads, in (it eovditkm to ca: ry produce to the main lines jrh rough oubtlic year-, is likely to prove a heav, burden to the settlers, fii the intei ior of the Xortlj. island, particularly road construction is an expensive iui dertaking, and the maintenance w; der -heavy and regular trnnie i.s i many instances likely to be a cc.ii tinuous burden owing to the absent' of metal and the reoid detvrioratio of the formation through broken conn try in wet weather, if the hi;lk o the produce could bo carried cu rail to the main lines, or to a:: 'j-'.'et t the markets, the roads would bo re ! . lieved of tlie worst of the traffic ! and the settlers would not be expose* to the heavy charges, and sometime long delays, now incurred in bringin: | , their produce to a distant railway. Jt is not proposed to depart fror the standard 3ft Gin gauge, but con sidera-ble saving can be effected by de creasing the width-of banks, avoid ling tunnels and heavy .euttngs hj; adopting a steeper maximum grad and sharper curves, constructing brid ges of light design, using lighten rail than the present mininnnn of 551'b reducing the standard depth of hal lasting, and greatly curtailing the ex ' penditure on station buildings. Th> retention rf the 3ft Gin gauge is im portant, as the experience of coun tries where a gauge as narrow as 2f lias been ado;)ted is that roiling-stocl has still to bo provided of standa'n heiglit with greatly reduced width which renders the passenger carriage and covered vans less capable of re sisting wind-pressure unless perman . ently loaded-with dead-weight at tin hasp, which is undesirable. Jn a conn try like Xow Zealand, where higl winds are frequent in most parts, i would often npt he safe to nm regulai ! traffic, particularly in moumainou; localities, on a line only 2ft wide. The most favourable lines to operate as light lines are. disconnected sections carrying their own locomotiveand rolling-stock, which never go oil tho section. Jt will not be feasible to adopt- much, lighter construction where- a line is traversed by express trains carrying passengers at a high rate of speed, or on lines where coal or timber forms any considerable portion of tho freight to be handled, as both these commodities require -heavy rolling-stock and n line up to the standard o-f strength. It is desirable that any section on which the system is tried should be. long enough to maintain in use its own equipment of locomotives 'and rolling-stock. Short branches of a main line, which would necessarily have to be traversed by the rolling-stock of the main line, would be letter built in accordance with the usual standards.