Image TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage Tile
Image size: 5632x7680 Scale: 35% - PanoJS3
Page overview thumbnail

Article text

CONTINUOUS BRA RES ON TEE' VIC
TOR i AN RAILWAYS .
In the Asesmbly on Thursday evening, Mr,
Gillies made & statement explanatory of the
working of tbe Woods and Westinghouse
brakes on the Victorian Railways, and said
that a firm representing the Smith Vacuum
Brake Company had communicated with him
and requested permission to fit a train with
one of its brakes. The Sydney agent of tho
Smith brake, Mr. N. Vickers, has arranged to
have an interview with Mr. Giilies on the sub
ject on Wednesday next. Mr. Gillies is
favorable to tho idea of affixing a Smith
vacuum brake to the express train which runs
to Albury, and if this is done the public will
have au opportunity of judging of its
merits. The Smith vacuum brake is tbe in
vention of an Englishman named Smith resid
ing in the United States of America. It has
been highly spuken of in America, Canada,
and England, where it ia in uso on several
lines. On the Grand Trunk Railway in
Canada the Smith vacuum brake superseded
the Westinghouse brake on the ground that
its simplicity of construction rendered it more
I economic to maintain. The Smith, brako is
: worked by an. ejector on the engine, which ex-
i bauets the air from vessels, causiug the latter
to close like an accordion, and in doing eo
applies the brake. . Naturally the application
of the vacuum brake is instantaneous, hence its
full power is exerted from the momeut it is ap-
I plied. The cost of applying the Smith brake to
! the trainson the metropolitan undergroundraii-
j way in Loudon was £48 per engine and £14
\ per carriage. In Canada the first cost of ap-
' plying tho Smith brake was £50 per engine
and £20 per car. On the other hand, the cost
of applying the Westinghouse brako was £05
per engine, whilst tho cost per car was the
same as in the case of the Smith brake. Mr.
Gillies on Thursday night stated that the
: Westinghouse Company's representative bad
tendered for fitting up 300 carriages and brake
vans at £42 each, or a total of £12,600; and
80 locomotive? at £102 each, or £3060, the
total being £1 5,060. The Woods Brake Com
pany had also offered to supply and fit brakes
to 300 carriages and vans for £13,620, and 30
locomotives for £900, being a total of £14,520,
j or £1140 less .than the Westinghouse lender.
$