H,—24

40

Frame Eenbst de Guerrier duly sworn. Exailiined by Mr. Myers :My name is Frank Ernest de Guerrier. iam an electrical engineer, and a member of the Institute of Engineers. I have been practising about twenty years. For about twelve years I specialised in tramway-working. I have been on the Auckland system for more than two years. Prior to that I was a short time at Home, five years in Calcutta, India, and previous to that with the Brush Electrical Traction Company, in their head office at Swansea, also at Tynemouth and Gateshead. At Swansea I. was Resident Engineer. They had horse tramways there, and we electrified them. We had hand-brakes there operating on the wheels, also hand-operated slipper. On the majority of cars we had no slipper brakes, just the hand-brake and an electric emergency brake. The district was not as hilly as this, but there was a grade of ] in 13, which was the worst. The next place was in Tynemouth. They had the air brake, and slipper brake, operated by hand. There was one -particularly dangerous gradient which had the sea at the bottom, and a bad curve; and if you missed the curve you went into the sea. I could not give you the grade: it is pretty severe —about lin 11, I think. At Gateshead there was one very bad gradient, in West Street, and at the bottom of this was a railway-bridge with five roads coming across, and further on a bridge going to Newcastle, and if you had a runaway it was certain to mean a collision. We never had a collision. We had the hand-operated brake and wheel brake, also the emergency brake. In Calcutta it is a flat district, and we ran trailers attached, but only fitted with the hand-operated wheel brake and no track brake. In this place the same braking appliances were used as you have here, with the exception of the two cars fitted with the air brake. The appliances were considered sufficient. As to the Auckland system, the brakes can control the car. The hand-brake cannot be applied so rapidly as by air, but once they are applied they are efficient. The company recognised the exertion entailed on the men, and are prepared to meet that point. I have had no personal experience of working trams fitted with the air brake, excepting in Auckland. I have no personal knowledge of the magnetic brake, but I lived in London where the cars were fitted with them, and I have knowledge from personal observation and from reading about the brakes. 1 have not considered the air-brake system very much until lately. I have gone into the question of the air brake or the magnetic brake for Auckland In spite of the different Commissions at Home, they have not been able to make up their minds as to the best brake for general use, and therefore' no legislation has been made at Home • there is nothing arrived at yet. 1 consider the best form of brake is the hand-operated track brake as the first consideration; because I think, the district being so hilly, we must first of all consider the best way of coasting. And the hand-operated track brake is very simple it practically never gets out of order, and when the car stops on its journey the motorman can feel he has it "under his control. In combination with that wheel brake, there should be an air brake by means of which he can adjust the speed of the car, and I think, with all brake systems at present on the market, that that particular combination cannot possibly be beaten. As regards the air brake it is very simple, the great point being that there is an indicator in front of the motorman's eye's by which the pressure of air at his disposal is seen, and that would, of course, give him confidence. He knows there is a brake to put on, and that it is in good working-order. I say emphatically that it is from the result of my observation and consideration I should prefer the track plus tie wheel-operated air brake to any form of magnetic brake As regards the magnetic brake there are so many possible ways for it to get out of order. If the coil gets burnt out, if any connection is loose, or anything goes wrong with the controller--any-one of these things wil throw it out of action. Then, of course, there is the excessive heating of the motors, which in this particular case would be a most important point.- The motors could not stand the magnetic brake; they would burn out, and the service would be disorganised. I consider the track brake and air brake on the two cars in Auckland very satisfactory. The cars have never been mte.the.depotfor repairs. The motormen were keen on having those cars out I may say that when in Madrid they had the electrical system of cars there, but I do not remember any form of cars better than these wo I hat i ever heard of a failure on the two cars here. I know of the failures of the^magnetic to Dftv £10 000 damages, which means that several got kilted. P Bv Mr. Rosser The Auckland service is faster than the service in the Old Country where they Sigi Spiff!