476 REPORT — 1891. 



is £431,624, thereby reducing interest-charges by £21,581 ; and 

 if it is assumed that the author's estimate of cost of working 

 proved incorrect — which cannot be admitted — and the difference 

 in cost amounted to £6,000, there would still remain a balance 

 on interest account of £15,581 per annum in favour of the Abt 

 incline, which gives a railway of practically unlimited capacity, 

 as will be shown, and a perfectly safe method of working the 

 traffic. And, further, it is self-evident that this reduction in 

 cost of construction means an advantage not only to the 

 company, but also to the colony, and that the incline, far 

 from being a " makeshift," as some have stated, is the safe and 

 permanent method of location, having the advantages of im- 

 portant reduction in cost, as well as a great saving in the time 

 required to construct and open the line for traffic. 



The question is naturally raised. Is such an incline, as 

 surveyed and located over Arthur's Pass, capable of dealing 

 with the estimated traffic on the line, and the future increase 

 due to the development of the West Coast districts ? This is 

 conclusively answered in the affirmative, and is proved by the 

 following details, derived from a graphic time-table on which 

 this section can be worked. 



The incline as located has provision for four passing-places 

 upon it. These, of course, will not necessarily be worked in the 

 first instance, but by so doing it would allow of five trains being 

 on the incline at the same time. Provision has also been made 

 in the length of these sidings so that, instead of two trains only 

 being able to pass each other, four can do so, by two trains 

 each way being run close behind one another loosely coupled, 

 this being a preferable plan on this system to a train double 

 the length, with two engines at one end. The proposed engines 

 to work the incline are estimated to haul 118 tons of gross 

 weight, excluding the weight of engine ; but, in calculating the 

 capacity of the incline, the gross load is taken at 100 tons, in- 

 cluding the weight of waggons, which would give 60 tons of 

 nett weight. For purposes of estimation, take first a single 

 train only on each of these passing-places. Thus, nmeteen 

 journeys can be made each way in twelve hours, which is equal 

 to thirty-eight journeys ; this is equivalent to 3,800 tons of 

 gross load per day of twelve hours ; and, excluding Sundays, 

 there are 313 working-days in the year, which gives a gross 

 load of 1,189,400 tons per annum, or a nett paying-load of 

 713,640 tons in the same period. The traffic which is 

 likely to be obtained on opening the East and West Coast 

 line has been estimated as under 200,000 tons per annum. As 

 two trains can go over the incline close behind each other, in 

 place of the single train, this at once doubles the capacity, 

 giving a gross load of 2,378,800 tons, and nett load of 1,427,280 

 tons, per annum. Further, as this system can be worked, like 



