1941-01-20 — Page 108

CHINA MAIL, PAGE 60

1841

HONG KONG CENTENARY NUMBER

now

Colony's Transport Facilities

THE history of Hong Kong's transport through the century closed would not differ in fundamentals from the similar history of any of the cities of the world of comparable size,

The Colony has been quick to take advantage of every new de- velopment in means of surface transport and a flourishing tram- way service was in operation on the island as early as 1904.

In the very earliest days, trans-

The port was simplicity itself. Chinese population walked to their destinations. Foreigners, in the main, did the same For ventures farther abroad than the precincts of the city, ponies were the rule, and it was not long, of course, be- fore the carringe-and-pair was a common sight on the roads. The first, it is believed, arrived as early as 1841 when, on completion of the first real road, from Wynd- ham Street to East Point, "a car- riage and pair, with coachman, arrived from Manila to show off the new road."

Sedan chairs quickly found their way into the Colony, naturally, and rickshus came before mech- anical means of transport.

Utility services are dealt with in detail elsewhere in the course of this article, and it is only neces- sary at this point to note that there are now over 350 miles of roads in the Colony, approximately 180 miles on the island and the balance in Kowloon and the New Terri- tories. The majority of these roads are Arst-class roads in every sense of the term. Over 200 miles of roads are constructed in waterbound macadam dressed with asphalt, some are sheet as- phalt on a cement concrete found- ation, some are of tar maçadam. and in some areas there are gran- ite settes on cement concrete foundation.

The public travelling over the roads increase yearly, with a cor- responding increase in the num- ber of buses, which are gradually replacing the ricksha.

Peak Tramway

It was as far back as 1881 that Mr. A. Findlay Smith finalised details for a Peak Railway and presented a petition for a conces- sion to the Governor of Hong Kong. Two years, however, clap- sed before the necessary legisla- tion was passed.

Mr. Findlay Smith did not ap- proach the project rashly. Tra- velling extensively in Europe and America, he made himself conver- sant with nearly every existing me hod of railway employed for mountain ascent-San Francisco, Scarborough, Rigi, Monterey, Lu- cerne, the Rhine, Mount Vesuvius -and returned to Hong Kong thoroughly convinced of the feasi bility of his idea. 'The actual construction was begun in Sep- tember, 1885, and in May, 1888 the line was officially opened by His Excellency Sir William Des Voeux, the then Governor.

Steam power was used until, 1926, when a modern Ward- Leonard system of electric control was installed. Two steel cables, reach 5,000 feet in length, are wound on separate drums, which, by means of an inter-locking gear wheel, work in unison. A power- ful air brake controls the cable drums and in the event of a fault developing in the system the brakes automatically, come into play.

An engineer-driver, is in charge of the cable which pulls up one tram at the same time as it lets down the other. In front of him is an automatic track indicator on which two moving pointers show the position of each car at any moment. Should a fault decur in the machinery or an obstacle" up- Rear before a moving tram, the. tram driver can immediately warn

the engine driver by means of an In the emergency electric bell. event of extreme urgency, it is only necessary for the driver of the tram to lift his hand from the safety bar which he is continually holding and braking system, which is installed underneath the car, comes into play.

B

In trials which are held period- ically, it has been found that the car will stop within eight feet on the steepest slope of the tramway. 1 in 2!

The old Lower Station was de- molished in March, 1935, and the

modern Station present

with

was Studio Apartments above completed in February, 1936.

On the ground floor is the new station with ample waiting room and light alry platforms. Three stalls are provided, equipped with every necessary detail for the suc- cessful display of the goods to be sold therein.

The first and second floors are devoted to self-contained studio apartments, which represent the very latest ideas in the design and construction of living accommo- dation aiming at the maximum of comfort, convenience and artistic perfection.

made in 1936, the Hong Kong Tramways provided what is prob- ably the lowest fare charged by any transport undertaking in the world. At exchange 1/3d, to thu dollar, the third class fare of five to the cents from Shaukiwan Western Market works out at ap-

miles for proximately nine penny!

The double-decker tram made and its first appearance in 1912 there were many experiments in methods of protecting passengers from the weather before the exist- ing superstructure, with windows which can be opened or closed to: the convenience of the passenger, were revised.

Like all pioneers, the Company has not been without its stormy periods.

the In 1912-13,

trams result were boycotted as a

of Government's request to the Com- pany to refuse acceptance as fares of Chinese subsidiary coins. The boycott lasted for four months and Government eventually paid the Company $45,000 as compen- sation.

In the 1925 strike, which started at midnight on June 20, no vehicle left the tramways depot for nine days. It was not until June 30

Á vehicular ferry between Kowloon and Hong Kong-the most modern transport development,

London financiers were respon- sible for the original development of tramways in Hong Kong. The Electric Traction Company formed at the end of 1902 and in July, 1904, the first tram ran on Hong Kong's roads.

was

The company became the Hond Kong Tramways Company, Limit-- ed, in 1910.

The system extends from Shau - kiwan to Kennedy Town, a dis- tance of 8.42 miles," and the total mileage of track is 19.482 miles. In 1905, the Company had 35 tramcars in service--single-deck- ers with accomn:odation for 28 passengers,

that five cars, operated by volun- teers among European officials of the Company, were put into ser- vice, although in the following month, this number was increased to 28 cars, all operated by volun- teer drivers and conductors,

It is interesting to note that 02 members of the original Chinese staff are still with the Company.

The following, table shows the growth of the undertaking since 1905:-

Passengers Carried 6,488,000

8,562,000 9,785,000 12,283,000

Year

1905

Car Miles Run

954,000

1910

1,181,000

1015

1,232,000

1918

1,283,000

was

1921 1924 2,805,000 27,392,000 1027 2,092,000 27,758,000 1930 3,020,000 27,443,000 1933

32,640,000 1038 3,051,000 30,814,000 1938

4,220,000 52,075,000 1039 4,408,000 62,712,000-

1,653,000 || 17,194,000

Old-timers recall the day when the first tramcar was drawn through the streets, drawing crowds of excited Chinese, many of whom fald down in the roadway to look under the vehicle to see what made it move, prav

Fares charged are lar - Below. those authorised · by ́ Ordinance. When a further reduction

Prior to 1918, there was no re- gular ferry service between Vic- toria and the Yaumàti, Mongkok, Shamshulpo, Hunghom and Kow- loon City Districts.

There were, however, some 18 small Chinese companies operat- boats which ing "taxi-ferry"

in cruised along the waterfront search of passengers, plying be- tween Yaumati and a small pier at the end of Jubilee Street.

On the mainland, there was (with the exception of the Star Ferry Pier) no regular embarking point for passengers,

In. 1918, Government granted a ferry monopoly to a Chinese con- cern called the Kowloon District Company which opened services between Victoria and Mongkok and Shamshulpo. Ferry-boats left both sides at intervals of one hour.

The service improved and big- ger boats were put into operation and accommodation divided into first and second classes.

In 1924, the Hong Kong and Yaumati Ferry Company took over the franchise and by 1925 were operating new steel double-ended boats.

The most recent and interesting development was the commence- ment in 1932 of the vehicular ferry service.

This new service filled a long- felt want and an average of 550 vehicles now utilise this service daily.

The daily average of passengers is 100,000.

Kowloon Buses

The bus company on the main- land operates 150 buses serving different routes, including the New Territories.

The first buses were roughly covered trucks on which were three rows of wooden benches ac- commodating six first class and 10 second class passengers. First class passengers were provided with straw mattresses to cushion the bumps.

The Star Ferry

The Star Ferry Company which operates a service between

the central district and Kowloon peninsula with an efficiency which earns the respect of all visitors, commenced operations in 1898, business taking over the ferry commenced by Dorabjee Nowrojee many years earlier.

Subscribers to the first Company were C. S. Sharp, E, S, Whealler, C. Bearmann, D. Gubbay, N. J. Ede, Armin Haupt and E. Osborne, Its growth has been commen- surate with the rapidly expanding importance of Kowloon and it carries millions of passengers to and fro in the course of a year.

A

By Air To Hong Kong

small paragraph appeared

in the Hong Kong newspapers in 1936 stating that an Imperial Air- ways air liner had arrived at Kai Tak aerodrome, Hong Kong, with a record load of mails totalling 1,652lb. The announcement was small but it was significant indica- tion of the increasing use which until the entry of Italy into the war in 1940, made by the Far East of its connection with the world network of air lines with which it has been linked through the Imperial routes. --

When the first regular air mall to Hong Kong left England in 'March, 1930, the 8,600-mile jour→ ney seemed an impressive under- taking for such a tiny British. community of such an isolated territory. But that once-a-week; service was quickly appreciated and even in the first year 2001b. of United Kingdom and intermediate

mails were fówn each; week. In

the second year this figure was

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1941