RESTORATION OF RAILWAY

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26126, 31 May 1950, Page 8

RESTORATION OF RAILWAY

‘NO THROUGH TRAFFIC FOR FORTNIGHT’ REPAIRS TO WAIMAKARIRI BRIDGE A long job was ahead of the gangs working to clear the Midland railway line, and it was not likely that through rail traffic between Christchurch and the West Coast would be resumed for about a fortnight, said an officer of the Railways Department yesterday. No trains were expected to cross to Westland until after the week-end at least. The Railways Department hoped to be able to bring a work train from Arthur’s Pass as far down the line as the west end of the Waimakariri railway bridge to-day, said the officer. Some progress had been made in filling in the hole gouged out at the eastern approach of the bridge and it was hoped that to-day it would be possible to get some rails over the gap. By to-morrow it might be possible to take some waggons across the bridge. Apparently it had not been possible to do work of any importance on the western end of the bridge, which should be reached by the work train to-day. If the train got through a start should be possible immediately, said the officer.

The repair of the bridge itself was expected to start to-morrow. A pier would have to be rebuilt and some piles of another pier driven in before it was safe for traffic.

Damage on West Coast Railway communication from Greymouth was restored as far east as Nellie’s creek late on Monday night, when the first works train from Greymouth reached Jacksons. Repair gangs are now faced with the difficult task of clearing the engulfed Rocky creek bridge, and restoring the line across a big gap washed out by the river. The line is suspended for some 120 yards, with a sheer drop of 20 feet into what is now the main flow of the river. At Kelly’s creek, a little further on, a 30-foot gap has been scoured from the west approach to the road bridge, and the stream has altered course. The rail bridge appears to be undamaged. Between these and Otira there are more gaps, and the approaches to some small bridges have been washed out.