D.—4

42

J. F. MCCARTHY.

75. They are merely put one on top of the other? —Yes. 76. How much is the spring thereby shortened? —It is not shortened at all; we do not put the same spring together; we get a piece that will make up the 7 in. 77. You have been thirty-three years in the Department: do you remember the old rubber springs ?—Yes. 78. How long have they been done away with? —About fifteen years. But the old rubber springs were not all dispensed with at onee —they disappeared gradually. I could not say when they all disappeared; they were used on horse-boxes the last I saw of them. 79. Then the experience with the present draw-gear came about gradually; and was the method of using these broken springs started all at once ?—No. 80. Can you give any idea as to how it came to be adopted? —I think, on the score of economy in the first instance. I remember they tested them a great many years ago under the steam-hammer. 81. Mr. Marchbanks.] You notice more of the broken draw-bar springs in the wagon stock than is in the bogie stock I —Yes. 82. Is there any reason for that? —It is not a higher proportion. 83. The bogie wagons are a good deal heavier than the four-wheelers; you would expect to get more?— Yes, but they carry a different class of goods. 84. Is there any instruction in the Loco. Code for bent axles ? Do you have many bent axles 1 —Perhaps half a dozen in the year. 85. Do you know the causes of the bending?— Generally derailments. 86. And you straighten about half a dozen a year?— Yes. Henry Fbancis Holder sworn and examined. (No. 4.) 1. Mr. Myers.] What is your position?— Workshops Foreman in the car-shop at Newmarket. 2. How long have you held that position ?—About three years. .S. Where did you come from to take that position? —I was acting in that capacity at Hillside for five years; previous to that I was leading hand in the Newmarket Workshops for nine years up to 1908; I was a carpenter prior to that. 4. How long have you been in the Railway service altogether?— About thirty-three years. I joined in 1883.as an apprentice. 5. Mr. McCarthy, of course, is your superior officer?— Yes. 6. What are your duties in regard to the repair of vehicles?—To take over the rolling-stock under repair, and all new rolling-stock under construction, under Mr. McCarthy's direction; then I have a leading hand under me in the new rolling-stock department, and a leading hand in the repair-shop. 7. When a vehicle comes in who takes charge of it?— The leading hand on repairs and myself; in my absence, the leading hand. All the orders go through me in the shape of a " Loco. 43 " with the number of vehicles and nature of repairs required. 8. You get a schedule of repairs required from the Car and Wagon Inspector, and very often straight from the train-examiner to the Manager from, out-stations? —Yes. 9. Can you say whether there has been any alteration in the methods adopted in that part of the work which you control between the time you arrived and the present time?—l do not think so; I do not see much difference from the time I was here prior to the last appointment. In 1908 I was here as a leading hand. 10. You have charge of this repairing work? —Yes. 11. Do you direct the repairs to be done?— Yes, most of them. 12. And the nature of the repairs?— Mostly. 13. And who makes the tests of the vehicle after the repairs have been done?— They are puton a rake for the Inspector; they are marshalled, the brake_is coupled, the Westinghouse is examined; nine out of ten times I would go round and see they are all right; in the fitting department they test the brake. The leading hand has a look at the vehicle after it is put on the rake. 14. Do you inspect the undergear yourself?— Yes; I do not make a set practice of examining every underframe. In my rounds of the shop each day there are hardly any vehicles going out which I have not seen at some time. 15. Then when these vehicles are marshalled for the Car and Wagon Inspector he comes round, does he?— Yes; but before he comes round we are careful to see everything is right, as the Manager has given us a, good shaking up now and again owing to the Inspector having discovered a bolt loose or something similar, and he has taken it up very severely with us once or twice for not having everything perfect before the Inspector comes along. 16. How have you found the Car and Wagon Inspector?—He is pretty rigid— T think,-over-rigid in many things. We have an argument now and again about standardization; there arc lots of things we standardize as opportunity offers when there is nothing unsafe about the thing, and we leave it until the vehicle is in for heavier repairs, and the Inspector and I sometimes have a few words over it. 17. Then he is a pretty careful man?— Yes, I think he is overrigid. 18. Have you got a pretty good lot of men under you?— Yes, I consider so. We have the same men on the repairs all the year round. When the work gets a little ahead of us we have to draw men from the new work and put them on the repairs. They are not strange to the work; they are there week in and week out. 10. Do you ever see Mr. Jackson round the shops?—Oh, yes; I suppose we might see him there at intervals of two or three months. He goes right through all the shops if he notices anything there is any doubt about; he then asks for blue prints.