9.-2

XII

The expenditure for the year on new work was £9,651 155., for Dunedin electro-pneumatic system £15,619 3s. 7d., and for maintenance £2,364 3s. Id. Block-working. —The of block-working has worked with every'satisfaction. During the year forty-eight tablet instruments and seventy-eight miles of line have been fitted up and brought into operation, embracing the following sections : Waitati to Oamaru, and Invercargill to Bluff; tablet instruments have been installed at Mokoia ; service siding, Caversham, and Salisbury ballast-pit. The equipment of the sections from Mosgiel to Balclutha, Masterton to Woodville, and Omakau to Clyde is in progress. Automatic tablet-exchanging apparatus has been installed at twenty-five stations, and is giving every satisfaction. Telegraph and Telephone Facilities. —During the year 130 miles of wire and 126 miles of poles have been erected and brought into use, also various altsrations and additions have been made to improve existing lines. The construction of new telephone-lines between Mosgiel and Balclutha and Masterton and Woodville, and new Morse telegraph-lines between Auckland and Frankton and between Wellington and Woodville is in progress ; fifty-two telephones have been fixed and brought into operation, sixteen additional connections have been made with the public telephone exchanges, and four portable telephones brought into use. Twelve old-pattern telephones have been replaced by new and modern ones, and ten extension telephone-bells installed. One new Morse telegraph connection has been installed. Greater facilities are still needed in some of the districts to suit the more pressing requirements. The expenditure on the electric block-working, telegraph, and telephone facilities for the year was : New work, £11,022 Bs. Id. ; maintenance, £7,944 2s. 7d. ; public telephone exchange connections, £1,696. ' ■ Electric Light. —The electric light at stations where installed is giving satisfaction. During the year electric light has been installed at Inglewood and at Dunedin new station. Locomotive. Mr. A. L. Beattio, Chief Mechanical Engineer, reports as follows : — The engines, rolling-stock, machinery, plant, and appliances have been maintained in efficient working-order. Locomotives. —The number of engines in service on Ist April, 1906, was 395, and the number on 31st March, 1907, was 398. Three new large tender engines, of the four-cylinder " balanced compound " type, were built in the Railway Workshops and added to the stock. The new locomotives, together with boiler-renewals, have materially augmented the total tractivepower. In the New Zealand Government Railway Workshops to date 53 engines have been built, and 24 old locomotives rebuilt to more modern types. Four hundred and sixty-seven locomotives passed through workshops during the year, details as follows :—

Included in the above return are 5 engines for Public Works Department. In the Government Railway Workshops the following locomotives were under construction at close of year—viz., 3 large tender engines of the four-cylinder " balanced compound " type, one large tender engine, simple type, and 6 Class Wf tank engines. There were also in hand 8 large tender engines of the four-cylinder " balanced compound " type, being built specially for the heavy gradients on the North Island Main Trunk Railway. During the year a contract was entered into with Messrs. A. and G. Price, of Thames, to construct 20 large engines with tenders complete of the four-cylinder " balanced compound " type, so that altogether there were in hand at close of year 38 new locomotive engines.

Number and Type. Particulars. Fonr - .< i .■ cvlmder < Articu"balanced Tender '«'«"«"«■ Tank compound" Engines. po""* Engines. Tender __ Tank Engines. Engines. Fell Engines. Fairlies. Total. Single. Double. Number passed through shops Built new ... ... Thoroughly overhauled ... Heavy repairs Light repairs ... ... ! Painted and varnished ... Touched up 8 3 5 3 2 203 16 86 101 22 65 2 1 1 227 25 100 102 32 58 4 4 21 1 12 8 5 5 2 1 1 467 3 42 204 218 62 130