The Tokomairiro Valley Railway.

Clutha Leader, Volume II, Issue 63, 23 September 1875, Page 6

The Tokomairiro Valley Railway.

: * ; What has become of the Tokomairiro Valley Branch Railway, which was^ to, open' out such grand prospects to the dwellers on the river banks ? '. W e ; believe the scheme is a '/ sleeping dogv" At present it is said still to.be in the hands of its promoters, who are employed in. getting up elaborate plans and specifications for the work. It was stated at one time that nearly all the < shares of the " embryo company " -had been taken up ; but as its legal establishment has not yet been attained, this may be said only to represent the -first cry of the hounds, and, as is usual- in such cases, it is their best. , There can; be no doubt that a branch line . in .'the direction indicated would result in a* valuable addition to the exports of Tokomairiro in coal; but whether it would be a paying one to the generality of the shareholders is a question of considerable doubt, and chiefly for the following reasons : — That the Bruce Coal Company's field and the Real Mackay pit, together with the; coal in neighborhood of the Fortification,. are not the only sources of the valuable coal measures of the Tokomairiro district ; that others exist in close proximity to the town of Milton is 1 a fact too well known to be disputed j and although Mr Mackay 'spit were capable pf yielding a million tons of coal, without counting the other down river sources, it would bear as nothing in the scale when placed in competition with the Elliott Vale mine, only fou and a half miles from the railway line. These fine coal measures, whicjv are ; well known and duly tested, ; and : only considered second to the Eaitangata

i iyqqo UU V.Hi:^r.,;:i'i iti ji;;,j ,UZiZiciu ;i>i coalman §§njl any quantity; ;0t .this ; fftel f into /; ij#nedra, r and,i that rwijthout assistance;; of v , public •c^pitaWyiz., o jby, ,t ie cpnstructipn ofj at .private , : .hranph ; li ne. ; Moreover,, from, the reasons •st ley ; can .undersell jvith. profit/to, .ttiem-; i* ilves any, p£ ; £he;; valley ; paines, unless, t icy Brain.chopon^pany arej.preparedj.to. "give coal, haulage at half-price. .. 7 Even : supposing that?.this \yere l! the : .case,;cthere ;if another jhreaker ahead . .whose, dimensions have not yet been* even calculated, uponj wey yeter; -to : the Grqye : coal .measures just above; Miljton, ; within a nlile and a half of the; railway station. That -coal ; exists on this property, and oif extra quality, there is no doubt, the indications ;being of such a nature as to justify the statements of practical individuals in relation to) it.,-., What then WilL be ; the probable history of this company if ever launched 2 , ; ; yVe . may safely; say, ruin to itself;, but a measure: of prosperity to its. projectors— the, proprietors of the coal mines. . And even , this will not.be realised to the fabulous : extent, some would: have, us believe. .Even, supposing the Valley .coal were to be deceived with favor in the Dunedin market, the competition, as .hinted at, .is too great to admit of large profits. .Were it possible to secure a monopoly of - the .cpal, then something might be made of it; but this is not now possible. The Kaitangata coal top, which in all 'probability will now. be first in the r market, will always be better patronised for domestic purposes, than the-Toko-mairiro coal, and if with it the rates of carriage are higher in consequence of the longer distance, Eaitangata has the water Carriage to which it can have recourse, and by : means of which it should be placed in^ the market at a cheaper price than, the Tokomairiro coal.. In the opinion of many the Kaitangata. Coal Company, should" have merged into a Steam Shipping Company, instead of a Railway Company. It remains, to be seen whether Mr GT. F. Reid will not with his steamers manage to. carry out a , successful competition against the Railway Companj', even although they may be the .proprietors of the coal. At all events, what between the Kaitangata .Railway Company and the steam costal . trade, a very serious competition will be established in opposition to the Tokomairiro coal trade. It is to be ; hoped, howevpr, we shall shortly have, the Valley railway set agoing, It will operate as a check against enormous charges for the Kaitangata article, and will help to swell the revenue from the main line of railway. . Besides, it would be a pity to have such extensive resources of wealth undeveloped.