MAIN TRUNK RAILWAY.

Evening Post, Volume LXVII, Issue 79, 4 April 1904, Page 6

MAIN TRUNK RAILWAY.

WORKS BEYOND TAIIIAPE. (By Our Special Reporter.) No. 11. MATAROA TUNNEL. A ride on horseback up the formed lino from Tnihape to Mataroa, (six miles) ii ml on to Turangurorc, seventeen miles from Taihape by rail and twelve miles by road, is most enjoyable and instructive. The first thing to claim attention is a iive-chmn tunnel ; Iho heading is through, but no lining has heeii dunes. A big bank bolween largo cuttings is being pushed ahead ; there is still a largo gup to fill in this groat embankment. The cutting on the north side is being worked from one face only. The formation is complete on the other hide, ho the mirth is all being tipped towards the gup. Next comes Mataroa, tlio biggest of the tunneiw, which will pits* through a hill and open out on tin; settlement of the same name. Thirty chains of piercing must bo done, and it cannot well take less than two years. A longth of about four chains has been driven on the north side,' but so far driving h.is not been commenced on the south side. It seems that things are not roady yet for reception of the spoil. This tunnel is a work that should be pushed on unremittingly, with throe shifts nt both ends, aft at TaihajK). After a whilo one passes from the Mataroa to the Turangarere section. There in a long series oi nuttings moie or less in hand. A party of six or seven co-operatives is working on a cutting with a block that will take about two mouths .to take out. This done, a big stretch of formation will bo completed. Tn another place there is a similar connecting link that will take a party about five month* to work out. The papa in in places very heavy to cut, and the banks aro prono to slip. Some faces aro idlo on account of the considerations, men troned in my previous article, that govern thb disposal of the spoil. Others are idlo pending the putting in of culverts underlying the embankment which tlio spoil is intended to create. CULVERT-CONSTRUCTION, i As these culverts govern to a vorj large extent tho smiillor earthworks along the lino, a word may be added as U» their const ruction. On wet, forested hill slopes, where cutting and embankment follow each other in regular succession, tho general maxim, that drainage is thb essence of good earthworks, ha* douhlo forco. Wherever an embankment is to cross a gully, careful observation i» made as to the amount of water it carries' in winter : and according' to these observations it is determined whether to put in a stono drain or a concrete oulvert. The boulders found in the papa cuttings are carefully saved and broken for^uso in tho stone drains, which provide a ready channel for the water. Whero observation tends to indicnto that the flow ia big cnoufrh to requiro a culvert, then the concreting is done. Shell-rock, a kind of limestone rock, which outcrops abundantly near Turangarore and in tho upper part of the Hautapu valley, and which contains a very large percentage of shollsubstance, makes a fine body for the concrete ; it is easily crushed, and mixes well. The culverts aro well in hand for Korae distance beyond Mataroa. Th<<n follows a stoop, damp .stretch of three- or four miles, whore they aro not so well in hand, though tho construction stilt farther ahead is progressing woll. The reason seems to be (imply that places to which tho shell-rock is more easily conveyed receive the firtt' attention. In any ease, the Department is satisfied if it knows it cuu complete tho smaller works within tho minimum time-limit fixed by the Mataroa tunnel — ilitvt timelimit from which thero would seem lo be no' getting away. The multiplicity of concrete culverts has been criticised in some quarters, but it is probable that the dear way will bo the cheap ono in the long run. Tho quantity of water in tho gullies in winter time is very large, and the penalty foi non-construction of solid culverts is wash-outs. A BIG BANK.— RIVER-DIVERSION. Tho mammoth work on the Turangarere weetion is tho embankment and cuttings mentioned in conjunction with Mataroa tunnel. These will take eighteen months or two years to complete. The hollow which has to bo l/anked is nine chains long, and for four chain* is 50ft deep. About 60,000 yards of filling will be foquired. Operation* hero wero started about three months ago. liesides the two faces, one on each side of the gap, the engineer-in-chnrge is expediting the work by putting in a new faceon the line some distance back. . The parly working at this third faco will truck their spoil along the side of tho hill and tip it into tho gap, alongside of tho party working in front. Thus throe parties will be at work 'on this embankment, two from one side and one from tho other. It should be a very effective expedient. Another engineering device is the diversion of the Hautapu river. A sharp elbow of tho utrertm oncloses n narrow tongue of land, which may b« compared to the capital letter "A." Tho line crosses the stream on to the point lof tho "A," then crosses the stream again. It was at first intended to build two iron bridges. T^ow it has been decided to ciit a new channel for the water across the tongue of land — new channel ; corresponding to tho cross-stroke of a capital 'A." Tho river thus diverted, its old bod will bo crossed by solid embankments instead of by two bridges, and a considerable saving in cost is anticipated. Excavation of Iho new channel is well in luuid. THE PRESENT SYSTEM. Speaking generally of the works in hand, there is no doubt that they are being solidly done, and most of the workmanship is a credit to the engineers and to tho men. The present system in as fast as it is intended lo be, and it is I thorough. A einc qua non is that there should be no reduction of hands, and certainly not in summer. ThiH last summer, it seems, tho full strength wan maintained, but in 1902-5 them vas a big lcductioh, Summer is the best treason to push on earthworks, and all carting In preparation for the winter should be completed as far us possible before the weather breaks, even if teams huve to bo imported. Winter carting has led lo a terrible waste in the past, and m> reduction in the efficiency of tho present works is compatible with the professed determination of the Government lo put.thd line through. Whilo a quicker rate of progress up to Turangarcro is hardly in tho circumstance* to be expected, it behoves WelKngton to keop a vigilant cyo lest even the present hands aie reduced and the speed of construction diminished. To get through in three yeais will require the maintenance of at least the present strength. Tho co-operntivo system is giving good average results. Possibly a contractor, with an equal number of picked men, could work faster ; but that is another story. The engineers pick their men in so far that whero concrete work is to bo done they put in men with fcomo experienco on it ; whero there is a lot of blasting, men skilled in the use of explosives aro given preference ; and so on. The country i« heavily wooded, and theie is a groat deal of clearing to be done ; this is entrusted, as ,far as possible, to men. -with bush train..

ing. No totura on the line has been wasted ; it hus all buvn foiled and split for railway \mx. If nmong a party in it, cutting a b;id worker is found, his (.onirudctt have the power to ballot him out. Foituuatcly, the ballot-out is seldom used. Wheio the co-operatives congieguto in any thing like a number, temporary accommodation houso.s go up. Arriving unexpectedly at ono oj these, the writer Mns agreeably surprised at the quality .uid qii.intity of the food on offer. On tho \yiole, there is not much evidence of discontent. lUCH PASTORAL COUNTRY. After pushing the site of the Turangareio .station, and through the fairly old MoLllemoni of .s-uuie mime, consisting of womo farms and v sawmill, one leuches tho farthe&t-out earthwork at about nineteen mile.i (by rail) from Tuihuno, or twenty-four miles beyond tho prusent railhead at Uliku. 11 ere the atmosphere grows cold, mid the tussock guihs appears, proclaiming Iho proximity of the barren Wtiioutu plums. Turning back southward from this region, ono lellccts on tho limber and pasture possibilities of the Huntapu Valley, ilunked ns it is on the one 6tdo by the excellent • Moawhango land, a largo area, gruwsy und undulating ; ou tho other side by the valuable ltuauui run and other tracts not yet developed. Tho impetus that the arrival of tho" railway in Taihape will give to nil this district -will be veiy great. ,lt will be greater as the line creeps onward via Mataroa, bringing in the wake of it sawmill and factory und eieamory. Beyond Turangureie the ironhorso will cnir*o no great commotion, as there is nothing 'upon the plains to cornmove, nnd the urgency of tho line there is simply a matter of through communication with tho Waimarino Forr.st and tho North. But hero in the Hnutnpu nnd Rangitikci Valleys piogies-Mvu settlement will roiip a. rich luuvost, which will benefit Wellington generally, no Ires than tho settlers. Between Mnngawcka and Taihapo two settlements, Utiku and Torero, have sprung into existence, within a mile and a half of each other. They are already quarrelling us to whore tho railway station is to be. Torero is specially progressive, bonating a church, a rtchool, and a butter factory. Several sawmills aro operating in this country on the totara, rimu, mntai, and knhikatea. Ollior mills aro going in, and thero will j soon be seven working. Tramways are being built, and timber is to be hauled across the Rangitikei to the railway liiu' by a wire rope. Taihape is already a groat centre, having a more elevated and better «ito than Miingaweka. Fow places j present a busier scena than tho largo goods shed nt tho Utter "Htution, which is the present terminus. The •accommodation is congested, yet numerous fourhorso aud six-horso team:* puss daily in regular succession along tho AlangaweknTaihape road, conveying stores mid mnlerial. Very soon, much of this activity will b« transferred to tho goods shed nt Tttilmpe — and high timo, too, for heavy carting over these roods in winter in an appalling contract. Beyond Taihapo, the same talo of sawmilUaud butter factory will be told. Mills arc already at work bore, both on private and Government orders. The only drawback to tho country for many miles around Tnihapo, from a dnirying point of view, to its broken nature. If it could ho rolled out flat j or undulating, it would bo excellent. The land is incomparably better than tho pumice tract through which Iho northern section of tho railway is being carried. Hautapu praitH needs no coaxing. It springs everywhere, and becomes rank for want of feeding down. Tho clog of nnrivo occupation is being romoved by means of leases. On Turnngnrero section, iv tho middle of virgin bush, one suddenly opens out on preen cleared field*, nplondidlv graced, tho product of tho enemy of two or threo member** of on«u family, who have oeoured native lenee* for a goodly noreajro. An those native .lands nrc opon<»d, lnrvo arena of great producing power will be cleared und broken in. TO HASTEN THK TMJXK CONNECTION. So much for tho provincial aspect, and tho particular aspirations of Wellington province. Tho realisation of tJiowe is no\r well within view, and, fur icusons »Utud, ca-nuot well bo hurried. A change of policy that would cx]>odito tho trunk lint as a whole i», howover, well within the bounds of possibility. It would siinplj mean tho earlier patting in hand of Ihoao big works which rule the construction of the rest of tho liii*. Tho curlier coin* monocmunt of the big things would involvo a quicker rate of construction of, tho smaller onw, and a higher r.ito of c.v penditure. At present Utoro are 550 men on the southern end, and übmit the sum* number on the northern sections of th« lino. A really effective scheme of works would involve somo thousands of cmploy«es,' with plenty of bervicu rotidiiw und traction engines and other meaiw of getting ahead thu plant and material. It woukl include* the putting in hand of a third fcection of the lino ut Ohukunc, to which point material and plant could be shipped via Iho Wan^anui Rivnr^ Pipiriki, Mid Ruelihi Freight over tbi.i route would probably lun to JD4 or £5 a ton; but if you wish to construct a railway quickly, you must bo prepared to' pay something extra. It is nob clokned that the Waiouru ]ilains are another Hautapu, nor that thoy catl for a railway witi fevorish haste. Tho question is simply whether tho colony wajits tho North Island Main Trunk in ton years, or a little quicker. And it must not bo forgotten that royalty to be paid to the Government on (he timber ulone will, according to a reliable coumutation, bo equal to tho cost of ft hundred miles of this lino, thnt is to say, more than tho cost of the gap not yet completed.