REASONS FOR THE DEVIATION.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 7866, 18 May 1891, Page 2

REASONS FOR THE DEVIATION.

The followins; reasons were given —« August, 1888, why the proposed deviation shoxiil be carried out:— '* Ist. To pass through better land fit for agriYttlturvl fcettlement. . **2:ii. To get access* to a larger ares of timber 1.-.-- t. . - *3. T • touch the lake at placeswhere sh-tlt-..-. i h,i;-;«.rs could enable- traffic on the kike to load and unload without disturbance from -miffs. . ***;c.h. To secure „aK«r gradients fo line oa the ' through *' traffic to Otira Gorse. "The deviation will effeot th-a**. several objects in the manner following : — " Ist. It is estimated_thst ua tiie deviation there* are about M.OOO acres of good atid fair land within easy reach of the line, some of it bems*: the best land on the West Coast, and bearing a crop of very fine timber. Altogether the deviation gives access to country" as far as the Kopara Lakes, which has a total area of 75,000 acres, as all ti:is country would f->r traffic towards Christciiureh seek the hike stations in preference to stations at Ahuura. " On the original line it is estimated that there is only eight to ten thousand acres of good land rit for -jetclement within easy rtjack of the line, the remainder being auriferous land or rough hills. "2nd. It is estimated that the total area of timber 1-tnd commanded by the deviation is ninety-three square miles, distributed on ii..ts «'i* te.race Lmu, and on the original line forty-nine square miles growing mostly on broken country. " 3rd. The deviation touches thelakeat the mouth of tho Arnold river, where an excellent sheltered harbor is afforded by the river itself, which is here about 18ft deep. Here any quantity of rafts of timber, cargo boats or steam launches could lie in safety. There will be a siding on to a wharf at th_4 place. "The line also lias a short branch to Cashmere Bay, which is a harbor completely enclosed, with a narrow deep entrance, and with some of the finest land and heaviest timber on tiie West Coast all round it ; a beautiful site for an agricultural settlement and township. " The original line has no sheltered spots at any place where it touches the Lake, except tiie bay at " Mitchells," which in an easterly gale affords very indifferent shelter. ' - 4th. The deviation was contemplated with the view of getting, on the line from lirunnerton to the foot oi the Otira inclines, a riding effective gradient of 1 in 60, ' effective gradient' meaning the gradient and the curves on it considered together, as affecting the hauling power of the engine. In this respect the gradients on the deviation are 1 in 66 towards Christchurch. towards which the heaviest loads will be carried, anil 1 in 62 towards Bruunerton, towards which the loads will be lighter. '' On the already constructed line between Bruunerton and the commencement of the deviation it is true there are two short pieces of 1 in 54. one of them twentythree chains long and the other twenty-four cliains long. These can easily be reduced to 1 in 60 whenever the ' through' traffic to Christchurch requires it to be done. On the deviation there are no curves of less than fifteen chains radius. '' On the original line the line has to rise over ridge or table land 190 feet high, the effective gradients being 1 and 48 towards Christchurch and 1 and 46 towards Bruunerton.

" On the original line there are eleven curves of 7fc chains radius, four of 9, and twelve of 10 chains radius.

" The deviation is 1 mile 60 chains longer than the original line, but the cost wi 1 be about the same, as the original has very heavy work on it, including many cuttings in granite rock ; but the deviation will be the cheapest to maintain, because it has less grades and wider curves. "