Railway Diversion at Waitepeka.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 18, 5 November 1874, Page 4

Railway Diversion at Waitepeka.

♦ . —^ — ; In. our issue of the Ist ultimo we. pub- -„, lished a report of the -meeting of /a deputation with His Honor. the; Super- .- iriterident regarding the i proposed diver- .. sion of the Southern Trunk Jjhe of. railway by way of the Waitepeka Valley, instead of, as proposed by Mr. Brunton, by the Four- mile Creek. In .the ;fblr ' ; , .; lowing issue we gave copy of a. letter written by the Superintendent to, the A. Colonial Secretary upon the subject,. , and in which he strongly urged, the adoption by the Government of. -the r , views of the, deputation which had,, waited upon him. So far as we are , aware, no reply has yet. been returned ' to this letter, and the settlers of the . . district must be , excused for feeling considerable anxiety as tp the result. To them the matter is one of very great ... importance. Judging from a : personal examination, and from* the opinions of , intelligent men of business who. have been long in the disti^t, and, are tho-' •' roughly acquainted with both, routes,. .,, we think there cannot be a doubt as ; to which would afford the greatest amount . . of benefit to the largest number of in-i- . habitants, and also be likely to give the. best returns for the money .expended. In the one case — by Four-mile Creek— the line would pass chiefly through . pastoral land, and by a narrow gorge, its sides so steep as to render access to . any station which might be fixed upon almost impossible. If taken by -this-, route the traffic from the district adjoin- „ ing, the railway- for a long distance ,* would be comparatively/ nothing. Should . the Waitepeka Valley be' chosen, the. line would pass through a. thoroughly , settled district, which would contribute . largely to the traffic. Not only would tho, traffic be caught of the Warepa, Puerua* and Waiiepeka districts, but also, ;that of Poty Molyneux, Glenomaru, Catlin's River, &c, all of which would other- , . wise continue to go; as at.preseht-^by „ water. Thus, even granting; that the < ', original cost of construction^ the lino ; by the one route would slightly exceed . that of the .other, there cannot be, a doubt that the proportionate , returns would be much more satisfactory. ThoEngineer gives as his reasons for selecting the Four-mile Creek routey that the; .. one by the Waitepeka Valley would be,,, about three-quarters of a mile, ; longery ... . would entail an extra expense, in .earthworks of £12,500, and that, the gra-y dients would be much steeper. , We desire fully to defer to the opinions of a professional gentleman upon all matters. . coming within the range of his profes- *; sion, but we are bound to say that but few - men acquainted with the. different : routes, unprofessional men, no doubt, but at the same time men of common." . sense,; and of some experience in rpad making, gradients, &c,- will agree with . the Engineer in the conclusions ,at . which he has arrived. They are con-v : . vinced that the earthwork > would' ,p> j; cheaper, and the gradients .easier ;by ; •• the Waitepeka Valley . ; route, f and r -' this opinion has been fullfy'exnressed in, . the memorial upon the' i subject , ,for- ' ,' warded by the settlers of the surround^ . ; ing districts to the Minister of Public, ; Works. It is to be .hoped ;>f hat; the. ., prayer of the memorialists? will at ? { pn;c6' „ be granted, or, if not, 'that the, Govern-* ment before refusing it will, cause <a<re;«i. :) sii'Vey of the line 'to be made <by a■, •'. second engineer, and also, obtain cpn^r ; petent advice upon the questions f as.<to 5 what route Would most benefit , the diftrict, arid be. likely to pay best.-, Aa> : ', already said we wish to give ; eteryide*. , ferericeto the opinions of; professional v. men,' but no on«* can traverse the ordi- A nary roads of this ■ Province, or study <•■ the lines of railway in their relation to >A: the convenience of the inhabitants,- "and „.-; the rail Way returns, without seeing that h many serious ; blunders; have? been comr ;, J mitred— -blunders such as; but veryjfewj .;- unprofessional but practical men would < fall into. The haste; with; which) tho>:. exigencies^ of the cpuntr^ademapdefjtji';,that; such road-lines : should, beclaidtoffivlr , may form an excuse for their absurdity ?>; "mmahy cases,-but . in .the present^n**? .. g ; stance the selection iof the route, is^of ao, s ; much 'importance to the, district) and the ,, .country: 4 at large,,; thatV'.the djilleit v quiry-and. ealculatfo^^ ; : before a^ecislort!is*arrived|jafe^j jsjhquj^' this be done, we have no fear that in diie time the prayer of the memorialist^ will be granted. "" '"* ■" ':"' .'■"-..