...New Zealand... Government Railways. No. 1.—Locomotive Department.

Progress, Volume I, Issue 2, 1 December 1905, Page 32

... New Zealand ... Government Railways. No. 1. — Locomotive Department.

New Zealand is not only the " Britain of the South," but she boasts an extraordinary variety of conditions under which railway work has to be carried on. The Premier, in a recent speech delivered at Petone, stated that despite the exceptional difficulties under which the railway Department has laboured during the past twelve years, it has successfully shouldered the responsibility of converting a semi-primitive system into one of the greatest efficiency. In the face of these disadvantages it is interesting to note how far we have really progressed, the figures from 31st March, 1893, to 3 ist March, 1905, being taken collectively as a guide.

- The real cause of the unduly arduous task imposed on our railway men lies in the erroneous adoption of a 3ft. 61 \ gauge — a gauge wholly deficient in the attributes which spell success in railway systems where the British standard, •or 4ft. B|m., is used. Then the grades must be taken into consideration, for these range, for ordinary locomotive work, from 1 in 15 , truly an ■exceptional condition applied to common tractive possibilities. Again the curves are such as to justify the working .of ." tajiks " on nearly all the main lines, the radius of some in the North Island being only five chains, while in the South Island they improve 111 the minimum to seven-and-a-half chains. To design locomotives for satisfactory working thus constitutes an engineering distinction which the mechanical section of the Depart-

meat deserves every credit for. The heads of this section were not slow m discovering that the locomotives of poor tractive power in use a few years ago were better in the shunting yard or at

ballasting work ; for the running of such engines meant high working expenses from continual piloting and dividing of trains. The midgets "A " although fulfilling all expectations, were in time relegated to their proper sphere of operations, and they were followed by '' C " and " D," which became for the time the most general types in the colony. These classes were all Glasgow-built. The " C's " were " saddletanks," four wheels coupled, with cylinders g\" x 1 8". The " D's " were of equal cylinderdimension, but had driving wheels slightly larger. Both these engines, for passenger and goods services respectively, did excellent work, but they were soon to be supplanted by "F " class, a

mixed- traffic type which, as may be supposed* became " generally useful." They were " saddletanks " having cylinders io-|" x 18," and six 3-foot \\ heels coupled As improvement became a sine qua non of railway practice, so our locomotives increased in their proportions and capabilities. A " Mogul " design, typified in class " J," next came into the running. This engine was a six-coupled, with Bissell bogie. The cylinders were 14" x 20", the drivers 3ft. 6m., the tractive power equal to seventy waggons, and the speed attained was- 45 miles per hour. Just at this stage a somewhat interesting phase presented itself, viz : — the entree of Americanism into our system. A few engines, having 12" x 20" cylinders, and coupled 4ft. wheels were ordered from Rogers & Co., New Jersey, U.S.A., and they worked the DunedinChristchurch section for some years. Then the " Consolidation," or "T " type of goods engine, made its appearance from the famous Baldwin shops at Philadelphia. These engines had eight coupled 3ft. wheels, with pony truck and cylinders 15" x 20". At the same time the single Fairhe engine, class " R," was imported, but the " Consolidation " type did so much better than this and other locomotives in working, that it set the standard for our modern basis of efficiency ; and it is to the present we will now transfer our comments. It is no exaggeration to say that extraordinary speeds are attained on this extremely narrow gauge of ours. The writer has frequently travelled behind a " Ub " 20m. stroke, between Hinds and Ashburton, at the rate of a mile a minute. Popular, and unthinking, testimony has it that our railways are too slow, and that it is possible for one to take liberties with the time table ; but

there can be no question that, given level country -and freedom from curves, New Zealand locomotives are able to hold their own with anything in the world — all things considered. The representative engine running m New Zealand at present is the "Q " of the " Pacific " class. The cylinders are 16m. diar., stroke 22m., •driving wheels 4ft. nn., six coupled, and steam pressure 200 lbs. Its tractive power is 17,200 lbs., and grate surface 40 sq. feet. This type is used "principally for the hilly work between RotoruaAuckland and Oamaru-Dunedm. It is said to represent the highest pitch of efficiency to which the handicapped section of our system has aspired, and truly it is an engine of exceptional steaming and speed capabilites. The classes which led up to the " Q " are the various " Us," the pioneer being No. 274, which is here illustrated. This engine was built at the Addington Railway Workshops, and although the six-coupled drivers were 4ft. 6m., that diameter was not repeated in the next two batches of passenger and mixed-traffic " Us." We also show a representative of the "Uc " class, built by Messrs. Sharp, Stewart & Co., Glasgow, and some difference in the external design to that of the preceding New Zealand built engine will be noticed.

The engine, -as illustrated on the cover of this issue, is of the passenger and mixed-tram [service class ",Üb" built at Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia. Diameter of cylinders 16", stroke 20" ; diameter of driving wheels 4' 1" ; diameter of bogie wheels 2' 2" ; steam pressure 2oolb. per square inch; tractive power 15,633 Ib. ; weight 111 working order 57^ tons. (To be continued.)

Oth?r companso HIS s — Miles open Mileage run Passengers carried Season tickets . . Goods tonnage . . Men employed . . Locomotives •Carriages Waggons Tarpaulins 18931,886 3,002,174 3,759,044 16,504 2,193-330 4,928 269 491 8,357 5.365 1905. Increase. 2,374 488 6,107,079 3,104,905 8,505,113 4,746,069 140,453 123,949 4,185,468 1,992,138 9,272 4,344 389 120 864 373 13.855 5.5 2 8 10,258 4,887

Capital cost 'assenger revenue Coaching revenue roods revenue . . liscellaneous re1893. Increase. £ £ I 14,733,120 20,692,911 5.959.791 390,619 738,158 347,539 44,801 115,051 70,250 707,786 1,277976 570,190 venue iross revenue . . rross expenditure 38,316 78,046 39,730 1,181,522 2,209,231 732,142 1,492,900 let revenue 449,380 7 1 6,33 i 'er cent, of net earnings to capital ;£3-O5 (1904)