North Island Main Trunk Railway.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XXVIIII, Issue 2817, 11 September 1894, Page 2

North Island Main Trunk Railway.

Detailed reports of surreys of proposed new routes for the main trunk railway, famished by Mr E. W. Holmes, for the inland) and Mr B. Don kin for the Ureonz route, have been laid before Parliament. * The reports are summarised by Mr W^ H^ * Hales, the Engineer-in-Chief, who reports on them as follows : — The Resident Ed*j gineer, Mt R. W. Holmes, who has been*-' engaged in exploring and running trial lines for the proposed deviation of the central route between Ohakune and Poro-o-tarao, via the Ohura Valley, and Mr R. Donkia, 0.E., who was speoially employed to survey a line from the Waitara Railway, by way of the Urenui river, to Tangarakan, on the Ngaire route, which was surveyed in 1889, have sent in their "" reports of the explorations and surveys conducted by them on these routes. Ohura Deviation.— With regard to the surveys executed by Mr Holtueß with >a view of obtaining a better line for the raitway on the oentral route by a nearly direct course from the present surveyed line at Ohakane to the junotion of Ohara with the Wanganui River, thence by the Obura Valley tiil it would join the Ngaire line about Nionio, the engiueer has made a thorough examination of the whole i °£ U ™ y alonß tb ? routo from Ohakune to the Wanganui River, and his report, whioh gives a full description of the oharaoter of the oountry gone over, indioatea very dearly that no practicable line for a railway can be obtained in this direotion tha> would be any improvement on the line] previously explored fop the central ronte, and avoid the rise over the over the Wainiarmo Plateau. Ujcenni Route.— -Tha work done hv-Mr *

and tnwkiuK a oareful trial survey of a line for a railway for a length of eiflUt miles alontf the Ureuoi river, from a point on the Wiiiiam l«ue surveyed Hevoral j»'ar» u«o by Mr JameH Blackett, H rnileß 80 chains north from the Wnitara terminaa of the opened railway, and a rough traverse for a further length of iivo miles ivlong the valley of a small stream called Mangawhero, nnd over the (lividirtK-ranxe betweon ihe Urenni nnd Waitara rivers, to the Tangita creek, a a total length of thirteen mileH. Of tho eight miles if surveyed lido along the Urenui Valley, the plaon nod eeotioue prepared by Mr Donkin hliow that, for tho first two uiilos thn formation would bo light, but a« the line skirts the liillh on the Houth Hidool tho nvor there «ro i'ft(Uiont ourvos and changes of direotion in the alignment ; und for the next flixiniloa the valley narrowß in, ho that, except in one or two plaeoß where it oroaseß short flats at tho bondfl of the stream, it runß along tho hill eideu, which have numerous ateop spurs running out to iho riverbanijß; oonHequently, there are numerous ourv^ and short Btraiubtß, aod tho earthworks reqairod in formation will bo heavy. From the end ol the surveyed lino at Hm., tho plan of the rough truvcrne Bhowß that tho lino iB over rough country, orosfling a number of gullies of varying depths, until tho point where it is propoßod to tunnel through the range is j reaohed ; this portion, about two miles 13 ohaios in length, ib supposed to be on a grade of 1 in CO, which ih carried through the tunnel a farther length of 02 chuinH. At tho east end of the tunnel the hue is along the Pehu Crefk for about a mile, but there is no Hoction of this length to indicate what the contour of the ground ib like Exoept at the two miles >v the entrance of tbo Uronni Valley, the land on this line is very rough and broken, and tbeiefore unsuitable lor agricultural aud cloßeHcttletnent purpoHOH. As compared with tha Wa'tara line, via tho Miuii river, surveyed by Mr lilaokett, the Urotnii line reoently survoyed cannot bo considered BUperior in uny respeot, as except for about threo miles on tho Waicara line— where the works would be very hoavy— the character of the country is similar on both. BoaiileH, the Urenui line will be longer than the Waitara line, whioh, for thirteen miles north from the starting point of the Urenni line is over exceptionally easy couutry, about six miles of wbioh ib in old Hottloment.