:
Col. (CA) Works, Hongkong.
C. + Hilops Laconn-M
50
K.C.R. 001
124
Kowloon-Canton Railway,
Kowloon.
24th November, 1945.
1.
Subject: QUARTERLY REVIEW
Reference PWO 1/45
The restoration of the Railway has been hampered by the absence of such elementary transportation maintenance stores as a well equipped relieving force would normally have brought in. Further, no railway trained European personnel were available on entry of the British into Hongkong and at the present time, the Manager is the sole European officerwith Railway technical knowledge.
2.
The Railway Workshops are in charge of a Warrant Officer of the R.A.F., and the Civil Engineer's Department is run by a Chinese Civil Engineer. The Manager is carrying but the combined duties of Manager and Traffic Manager, and a Flying Officer of the R.A.F. assists with general administration and stores,
3.
The native staff have returned in considerable numbers, many of them undernourished, and some welfare attention with medical supplies would be welcomed and would react favourably on their work.
4.. A period of three months has elapsed without any sign of es essential railway stores, such as permanent way tools, detonators and red and green flags Ey diligent search a few machine tools have been discovered and utilized in carrying out minor repairs primarily to locomotives and secondarily to passenger coaches and goods wagons, as well as a few items of manufacture for other services.
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5.
Two local trains and one through train to Canton each way being run daily with occasional cancellations resulting from loco- motive failures. The writer in commenting on the UNRRA scheme for China as received at SACSEA stressed that locomotives would form the bottle neck of the rehabilitation programme for the country, and already in South China this view has been amply confirmed. The early arrival of locomotives for this line, gate-way to the Central Chinese System and the middle Yangtze, will play a not unimportant part in Hongkong's relations with China, for with a very heavy transport pro- gramme facing them the Chinese Section of the Railway have only six locomotives which are even reasonably serviceable. A heavy lift ship could be used to no better purpose than to bring out the loeo- motives, since if loaded with I.W.T. craft, such craft is of little or no value on the North River beyond Canton.
6.
There are already indications that the recommendatios of the
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