1949-1950 — Page 13

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44. The profit in operating receipts for Central Mechanical Works was 67.35% lower than the previous year owing to less work being carried out for the Chinese Section of Canton- Hankow Railway.

45. In the operating expenditure the charges for main- tenance of equipment have continued to rise during the past three years, and the figure for 1949/50 relates to repairs to carriages. This is not surprising when the age of the stock is taken into account and the intensive use to which the coaches are being subjected.

46. The annual repayment of $776,000 as refund of this department's allocation of the Rehabilitation Loan, has been included in the accounts. A sum of $19,400,000 was allocated from the Loan Fund to this department, of this sum a total of $5,309,211.78 was expended by the end of the year, but outstanding orders with

with the Crown Agents approximate $12,208,310.

47. As shown in the balance sheet the surplus for the year is $3,989,418.04, with a sum of $814,618.40 brought forward as surplus for the previous year.

48. Up to October 14th 1949, when goods and passenger traffic between the Kowloon-Canton Railway (British Section) and the Canton-Hankow Railway was suspended, the exchange of accounts between the two Sections was reasonably prompt and dues to the British Section were correctly claimed in Hong Kong dollars.

MECHANICAL WORKSHOPS.

49. Locomotives. There have been 7 austerity 2-8-0 loco- motives given medium repairs, 3 of which-Nos. 28, 30 and 31- have had Hulson rocking grates installed to replace the fixed grates of 6 coal-burning engines. Fixed grates are useless with the high ash content in the coal available in the Far East.

Five locomotives have had Wakefield mechanical lubri- cators installed to replace the hydrostatic type and a small saving in cylinder oil has resulted.

The adjustable type of driving axle box guides designed and built for an austerity 2-8-0 No. 23 for test, as reported last year, has been so successful that the remaining locomotives which are now equipped with the fixed horn-block lining will be gradually replaced by this type. The saving in maintenance costs by their use has been considerable.