3—Owing to the considerable intense of passenger traffic and the shortage of passenger stock, five trains in-use in. former days have mow. to be divided into seven or eight. As a consequence, the coaches have to be detached and attached for distribution purposes many times a day. In the eircumstances it is impossible to have the pipes in the coaches connected with the engine for as long a time as hitherto. During the time the' coaches are detached and under; hunting operations, the steam-heat Jeaves the pipes and the vapour left} therein becomes frozen, thus bleek-Ang the circulation of the steam.
%4—Tho stooping cars, on being sent to the station for attachment: to the train, ave usually attached to a small engine for the supply of steam heat, But, once they are: detached and attached to the train the steam current would cease if one pipe in the coaches was blocked.
"5—-As the tine is in the southern the country, where the weather is generally' warm, the coaches axe dui poorly equipped! with heating apparatus and are not comparable in this respect with the coaches of the northern lines. The situation, therefore, has been great.
aggravated by the exceptionally cold weather this winter. Such cold) weather has not keen experienced during the past 12 years.
Old Rolling Stock "G—Since Nanking became the seat of the Government, the passenger traffic has been increasing to Such an extent that there is no way of coping with it but to attach more coaches to the trains. But the gines, which are comparatively old and generally are made to haul a too heavy load, are unable to supply sufficient steam to the heating pipes.
"The fellowing recommendations to remedy the situation will be canned out immediatel "1—One more blanket will be provided for each berth in the sleeping cars, *2—Stoves will be installed in the first, second and third class coaches the stove installation in the first and second classes is already com-leted, that of the third class will be completed in a few days.
'3—Immediate repairs wi made to, any disorder in the steam pipes.
"4—Three new locomotives of the Lunghai line will be used, pending the arrival of new rolling stock for the Nanking-Shanghai Rail "5—Any train with more than 10 cars will be divided into two trains.
"8—Repars to the old sleeping, cars Nos, 33 and 31 will be made Immediately.
New Engines Needed "The following steps, which are regarded as fundamental medy of the position, ai "[—The provision of a sufficient number of engines and passenger cars 40 cope with the "increasing traffic, Uniform type of steam pipe to be installed on all coaches; the conches to be put into service whole, without separate coaches! being detached and re-attached.
Carriage sheds to be constructed at the stations at both ends of the tine in which: sheds with steam heating furnaces are to be installed, so that the whole train, on arrival at either station, may ' be sent to.the ched to be connected with the steam heating pipes of the! furnace for the continuation of steam current. When the train to go out from the shed for service, to be shunted to the station with the same engine that will haul it, #0 that there will be no interruption in the circulation of the team and freesing and bursting of the pipes will be prevented."
At the same time, arrangements are being made to have one heater stove installed in each sleeping ear, and the first and second class cars are to have the steam pipes refitted. When this is done, one man will be detailed to each car to look after the heater stove to make sure that sufficient wavmnth is given—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.