Re: Eucalyptus, again
Samantha Lane wrote:
p.s. some eucalyptus species make very good fire wood.
Samantha
Until they changed to oil burning somewhere towards the end of the
1930s, all the locomotives of the East African Railways ran on gumwood.
Plantations were grown at intervals close to the permanent way and
housing provided alongside for work gangs whose job was to keep up piles
of cut and split timber beside the lines for loading into the engine
tenders as they went past. This is a railway which rises to very high
altitudes necessitating plenty of engine power and the trains seemed to
run perfectly well on eucalyptus. The principal snag for passengers was
the flying sparks, which could get you in the eye if you put your head
out the window or come into the compartments and set your luggage on
fire.
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata,
New Zealand (astride the "Ring of Fire" in the SW Pacific).
