1940-06-13 — Page 10

"You're picking winners well today- see if you can tell this whisky.”

“It's White Horse, of course- I could tell it blindfold”

The rare and subtle character of White Horse sets it apart from any other whisky. You can tell it by its exquisite bouquet alone. But it is the perfect blending of fragrance with mell- owness and smoothness which makes White Horse Whisky the equal of a fine liqueur. The millions of gallons of finest Scotch whisky matured and maturing ensure that the quality of White Horse never varies.

WHITE HORSE

WHISKY

Sole Agents for South China: JARDINE MATHESON AND COMPANY LTD.

I

REGIMENTAL BADGE BROOCHES. 'SECOND TO NONE IN THE ORIENT"

THE

H.K.V.D.C. BADGE BROOCH

GOLD & ENAMEL

Obtainable at

"

PEDDER STREET

}

EAT AT —

FALCONERS

TELEPHONE

Jimmy's Kitchen

INEXPENSIVE SATISFYING

Bringing Up Father

THAT'S CONGRESSMAN

AL LABAMA AND THE ONE IN THE SILK HAT IS SENATOR LOU WEESYANA-

22148

THE CHINA MAIL, JUNE 13, 1940

TROOP

TRAIN

TRIP

The troop train from Somewhere in the North of England to Somewhere on the Coast starts at dusk, and it has a special War Office number. It starts at dusk because the railways prefer to unload soldiers arriving at strange billets or embarkation ports in day-

time.

It has a special War Office number because there have been many thou- sands of other troop trains since war began. You may be due to catch one yourself.

The

wagons must be ready too. Your troop train might be carrying 250 men, baggage, 100 horses, 20 machine- guns, and stores. Each horse takes its own supplies of oats and hay, its nose- bag, saddle, nets for slinging, water- bags, and cleaning materials.

For this "lot" the railways would for hand out six passenger coaches the officers and men, 13 cattle cans for the horses, three carriage trucks for the machine-guns, eight food vans for the stores, and three vans for fod- der-a total of 400 tons.

As an introduction to a troop train, I would like you to meet Mr. X, who If your unit is mechanised it needs watches over such a troop train from more wagons; for every five passen- start to finish. As he talks to you, he ger coaches a mechanised force needs stands with his back to the fire in a 20 vans for tanks, armoured cars, room at one of the big railway junc-etc., most of which are carried tions. His official title is Divisional specially constructed wagons Superintendent.

drop sides and drop ends.

HORSES HAD TO FÁCE EAST

SEEING HOW THEY RUN His operating system in war time, as in peace time, depends on a number of strange-looking diagrams which map things out automatically so that he can see at a glance how trains are scheduled to run and where specials can be, worked in.

These diagrams consist of sheets of lined paper, with a scale running down the left-hand side. representing distances, and a scale along the top representing time. This makes it possible to draw the path of a train on the track, and to see that it does not cross the path of any other train.

The motto that might well hang on the wall of every railway office reads: "Conserve engine power."

a

By the graph system, Mr. X and his 'colleagues can see at once where special train. can be attached to a re- gular train to save engine power.

IT'S WORKED OUT BACKWARDS

on with

. Once the War Office officials were a little puzzled when the railway com- should pany asked that the horses be facing east when loaded into a train. They could not understand why this was of such vital importance until it was explained to them that the horses would have to be watered at an island platform where the train was due to stop, and unless they were fac- ing east their heads would not be to the platform.

Following the troop train are supply trains of all kinds. They are of four different types, the most magnificent being the FF1's, which are fitted with vacuum brakes; because they can stop more quickly, they can go faster, and they average 50 m.ph. on the run.

Next come the FF2's, of which 33 per cent. are vacuum-brake fitted; then the Maltese Cross express freights (so called because they are indicated by a Maltese Cross in the goods time-

brake vehicles.

The movement of troops for over-table). They have four seas is planned on the principle of "back timing." The War Office state that a troopship will sail at such and such a time.

Assuming that the troops are com ing from the North and that they are sailing from a south coast port: Rail- way A, on whose system the port lies, inform Railway B at what hour the train should arrive in A's territory.

Railway B inform Railway C what time the train should arrive in their territory, and Railway C work-out how long it would take to get the train from the northern depot to Railway B's territory,

Railway C then. inform the War Office that it will be necessary for the troops to entrain at such and such an hour.

Through the control system operat- ed by all railways the superintendent can watch this important train on every minute of its journey. Forms are used giving the War Office move num- ber, the date on which it is to be made, the departure point and the destination, the particulars of the unit, the details of the traffic and of the rolling stock to be used.

The running of each train has then to be checked all along the line. The correct signals must be open when it passes, engines must be ready to draw it on its departure, and there must be platform accommodation for its arri- val.

THAT'S SENATOR DICK KOTA AND SENATOR KEN TUCKIE AND OVER THERE IS SENATOR CALORADO -TO YOUR RIGHT IS SENATOR NEB RASKA AND THAT'S SENATOR HUGH TAW-

vacuum-

Less swift are the express freight and the through freight trains. Fin- ally, at the bottom of the list, come the 25 mineral trains, which average mph. on the run.

TRAINS PUT “OUT TO GRASS" A heavy goods train weighs around- 900 tons, and may have to be assem- bled from several different places.

Stations too small to have their own shunting engines are visited by trip-trains sent out from a big Junc- tion.

On arrival, the trip-train detaches its own brake-van (a brake-van al- ways brings up the rear of every goods train), hitches on the rear of the waiting wagons, and sets off again on its way back to the marshalling siding.

At the marshalling siding, the trip- train is put over the hump-that is, it is moved backwards at about. two m.p.h, to the top of a slope, at which point the wagons are uncoupled, sent off down the slope, and switched on to the correct siding by the yard staff. A train of 70 wagons can be broken up in about 15 minutes, thus creating parts of, perhaps, 40 new trains.

These, in turn, set out on the line. How fast they can go depends partly upon the number of fast passenger trains coming up behind, for every

19 passenger train time a

(Continued on Page 11)

duo

By George McManus

AN* GO

WHAT'S

ARE

SENATORS

YEH-BUT THAT

MUST BE A VOTER THAT THEY HAYB

SURROUNDED.