16
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34. The Profit and Loss Account and General Balance Sheet omitted last year, have been included in this year's report, a ruling regarding the treatment of accumulated deficits having now been received. No records are available for the years 1940 and 1941 and the amount of $6,735,070 as appeared in the 1939 report has been taken as the total brought forward to the 1946/47 Account. It is possible that the 1939 deficit may have been increased during the years 1940 and 1941.
35. The Capital Account now stands at $21,298,081, there having been an increase of $2,335,558. This figure includes the sum of $1,145,143 which is the estimated value of six Austerity locomotives received during the year.
36. The working results for the past two years are as
under: --
Year 1946/47
1947/48
Gross Receipts
$4,431,700.03
Operating Net Operating
Expenses
$2,226,388.73
Revenue
$2,205,311.30 6,431,252.29 3,302,465.42 3,128,786.87
37. Receipts and expenditure under the most important heads during the past two years are given below:-
Heads
R-1 Passenger Service,
Passengers
R-2 Passenger Service, Other
R-3 Goods Service, Goods
"J
Operating Receipts.
1946/47
1947/48
$3,028,095.17
$5,129,206.43
293,799.51
167,485.47
738,732.78
618,634.42
R-4 R-7 Profit on Central
Other
?
11,706.00
15,206.60
Mechanical Works
131,951.74
50,276.19
R-8 Rents
89,651.67
137,768.87
R-9
Incidental Revenue
137,763.16
149,139.37
150,674.94
R-10 Auxiliary Operation
Foreign Haulage
R-11 Interchange of Rolling Stock
Operating Expenditure.
Heads
E-1 General Expenses
E-2 Traffic Expenses
E-3 Running Expenses
E-4 Maintenance of Equipment
E-5 Maintenance of Way and
Structures
1946/47
$ 186,766.48
326,345.94
719,707.20
537,697.44
455,871.67
12,860.00
1947/48 $ 305,316.90
466,677.06
1,346,110.62 658,678.24
525,682.60
38. A large area of storage space was let for the greater part of the year and in consequence revenue from rentals increased from $89,652 to $137,769.
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39. A revenue sub-head R-10 Auxiliary Operations Foreign Haulage was re-opened as considerable haulage was performed by British Section locomotives over the Chinese Section. Receipts from this source were $150,675.
40. In order to keep separate accounts for work carried out at the workshops on behalf of outside firms and Government Departments, and the Railway, a workshop suspense account was opened in April, 1947. This has proved satisfactory and has worked quite efficiently, the main difficulty being caused by delay in receiving debits for costs of stores supplied from the Government Stores. Services rendered by Railway Workshops to the Canton Hankow Railway, outside firms and Government Departments amounted to $1,315,602, $24,405 and $31,534 respectively for the year under review.
41. The Imprest Account which was opened on behalf of the Chinese Section in November, 1946, has worked smoothly. The account has been compiled by this Section, the average monthly debits deducted for work performed and stores supplied to the C.H.R. in connection with through running being $230,000.
WAY & STRUCTURES.
42. All way and structures were maintained in as satisfactory condition as the shortage of rails and supplies permitted.
43. The state of the track caused considerable anxiety as the rails were mostly over 30 years old, and whole sections required re-railing. No new rails were received during the year, and the Department was fortunate that there were no bad derailments which necessitated re-railing sections of the permanent way. As it was, 37 cracked and fractured rails in the main line had to be replaced with other old rails which were removed from sidings. The track in Beacon Hill Tunnel had deteriorated to such an extent that 370 lengths of new 110-lb. rails and 375 pairs of fishplates were obtained from the Chinese Ministry of Communica- tions and the whole length of 14 miles was re-railed.
Owing to destruction and lack of maintenance during the war, it was found that the existing labour force was insufficient to deal with the arrears of maintenance, and at the same time, reduce the weeds and undergrowth which had been allowed to grow unchecked during the occupation. An extra gang of sixteen platelayers was therefore engaged in April, and by the end of the year most of the permanent way had been cleared of major undergrowth and
weeds.
44. The work of repairing Beacon Hill and Taipo Tunnels commenced in August, 1946, was completed in August, 1947, the final task being the repairing of cracks in these tunnels with a cement gun. The total cost of repairs which were necessary owing to damage caused by military demolitions in December, 1941 was $701,356.