SOUTH ISLAND MAIN TRUNK

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21826, 4 July 1936, Page 16

SOUTH ISLAND MAIN TRUNK

WORK TO RECOMMENCE IMMEDIATELY USE OF MODERN EQUIPMENT ’From Our Parliamentary Reporter. WELLINGTON, July 3. Work on the completion of the South Island main trunk line will be started immediately. The first task will be the construction at maii\ headquarters of camps for the accommodation of the hundreds of men who will be engaged on the job within a few months. It is expected that by the end of the year there will be 1000 men working *at several points along the line between Parnassus and Wharapui, according to a statement made this evening by the Minister for Public Works (the Hon. R. Semple). The Minister said that instruction had been given to have the work started immediately. The line would be recommenced cn a basis more or less similar to that in operation when construction was stopped, with the main headquarters camps at Parnassus in the south, and on the Clarence river in the north. Accommodation would be erected at those points, and at construction points along the line where the work was concentrated there would be several minor camps in addition to headquarters. New Plant Ordered The Minister indicated that the job would require virtually all new plant. Much of this had already been ordered. For the work at the north end. it would .all have to be new. The plant ordered included 10 new Diesel shovels for excavation or filling, and petrol and Diesel oil locomotives for use on light constructional lines. It would be the first time these Diesel shovels had been used extensively on any job in the Dominion. At the south end a huge dragline, which had been used formerly on the job, was being recommissioned on the site. Tunnelling plant for the job was being ordered, including giant aircompressors which would be needed in heavy tunnelling work on the Kai-koura-Conway section. Tunnels would soon be opened once the job was properly staffed and manned, and the preliminary work under way. Engagement of Workers At the moment only the carpenters have been engaged for work along the line, but the Public Works Department is now in the process of registering constructional workers at Blenheim. The men will be placed on the job gradually, the plan being to work up to 1000 by somewhere near the end of the year When work on the line was suspended, the full survey plans had not actually been completed over the whole route, but survey parties are now working on the unsurveyed section near Kaikoura, which is actually one of the most difficult sections along the whole route, running through the back of the Kaikoura bluffs and necessitating many tunnels. One of the first major jobs, the Minister stated to-day, would be to restore the completed sections of the line to the order in which they were left. As he indicated before, this would take many thousands of pounds and many men. The department has selected engineers and overseers for each end of the line At the northern end, the engineer in charge will be Mr C. Langbein, who is a brother of Mr F. Langbein, district engineer for the department in Canterbury. Mr W. i. Young will have charge of the southern section.