TE AEO RAILWAY.

Evening Post, Volume LXXX, Issue 97, 21 October 1910, Page 7

TE AEO RAILWAY.

■ ♦ "NEVER PAID FOR AXLE GREASE." THE LINE DEPENDED. CITY COUNCIL'S VIEWS. A long-standing grievance was voiced iat the City Council last evening in a protest against the Te Aro-Lambton Railway through the city. Councillor Shirtcliffe moved t — That before the final plans for the new railway station and yards are adopted, the Government be urged to again consider the advisability of taking up the Lambton-Te Aro section of railway, and that other local bodies, the Chamber of Commerce, and the member* for the district be asked to co-operate with the council in making the necessary representations. Councilor Shirtcliffe, in speaking to the motion, said he understood the line was causing a good deal of trouble to the engineers who were laying out plane ! of the new station. Jervois-quay was spoilt by the line of railway. Ho believed that the -Government would be only too glad to get a lead from the City Council. Again, the Te Aro sta- 1 tion occupied a very valuable site in the city, and traffic there was carried on at a considerable loss. There had been suggestions that lines should be extended to Miramar and Island Bay. He did not think such schemes were in the remotest degree practicable. Again, it had been proposed to make the line useful for goods traffic. This jwonld add to the present dangers. The cost of extending the line through expensive land would be simply enormous, j Miramar had its water frontage and ] communication by water. There had been too many "wild-cat" schemes in j connection with Wellington. One happily had been scotched, and that was j the dock scheme. He sincerely hoped the council would support him in a, proposal that would add very greatly to the safety of the public and the value of land on the -water frontage. *'A BLESSING TO THE CITIZENS." ] Councillor Fletcher seconded the mo- j Hion. Councillor Shirtcliffe' s argu- 1 rnenta were, to his mind, unanswerable. Jt wa* only twice a day that the rafl'way carried passengers. Much had ■fceen • made of the working men using the line to get to and from. Te Aro 'from the Lambton Station., but the working man could be well carried by the council's trams. The line never paid axle grease. There was no cnance, he thougKfc of a goods shed being erected there. He thought no one present would live to see the line carried to Miramar or Island Bay. As for parcels or goods traffic it could be carried much cheaper by ekctric traffic. It would b% a blessing ' to the citizens .of Wellington and a saving to the Government if the line were taken up. iThere were plenty of "wild cat" echeiftes in Wellington and one of them ■was the reclamation works at Evans Bay. Surely another one — the carrying of a Tailway to Evans Bay — would not be perpetrated ? ffRAMS MORE DANGEROUS THAN TRAINS. Councillor Luke was rather surprised Jit the arguments of Councillor Shirtcliffe that the railway should be taken up for the sake of "the very fine street/." There was no question about the use of the Te Aro Station. There was a desire of a number of business people, to have a goods station at Te Aro for the*, proper handling of traffic in milk, etc. The passenger traffic was considerable jn the morning, evening, and on holidays and race days. Possibly the Harbour Board might hand over a piece of Jand for a goods shed. (Laughter.) As ■for Evans Bay li* thought there was* a very good chance of industries being established there. Every large city 'had railways running to the centre of its population. A. councillor : Ye*, -indergronnd. Councillor Luke : But in America along the streets. Councillor Atkinson i Yes, in America. Councillor Luke contended that tram*ways were far more dangerous to the public than a train running slowly along the front across the approaches v to the wharves. He added that his vision extended to a railway to Miramar. He believed the Government had it also in mind, for if the Minister had been desirous of terminating the system »t Te Aro he would have been explicit in a statement to that effect. This Jiad never been made as yet. Councillor Smith reminded councillors that it had been found that a goods station would never be put at Te Aro. The line should be taken up. It would be a costly work to carry the line through a tunnel to .Miramar. The trains were running because the line was there. He strongly supported the motion. He hoped the Government would take the hint and close a line which was competing against the tramways. The line was now of, not any great use to the public, but it was a grave inconvenience. THE MAYOR BELIEVES IN THE LINE. The Mayor could not agree with the motion. The line served a large portion of the city. Te Aro station would ultimately be found to serve a very large portion of the city. He was surprised at the great use to which the line was put. The inconvenience that had to bo put up with was small compared with the benefits which the greater part of the citizens enjoyed by the railway. Councillor Barber described the motion as retrograde. Perhaps the motive that had actuated Councillor Shirtcliffe was the noise of the train passing by his office. The railway to Te Aro filled a very great want. The people preferred, the train to the tram from that part of the* town. Councillor Fletcher : Get more trams. Councillor Barber : Your trams can't 'carry the holiday traffic now. In conclusion, Councillor Barber pointed out that the railway to Island Bay was an authorised railway, and extension might be justified to ESbirnie. FUTURE OF EVANS BAY, Councillor Fitzgerald pr-edioted Evans Bay becoming the manrafacturmg district of Wellington if the Haibour Board ,was to reclaim 130 acres. If that were «o, than proper railway facilities would be required, and that within a few years from. now. Councillor Thompson advocated the carriage of timber and heavy produce by the Te Aro railway to save the wea-r and tear of much traffic on the streets. Councillor Shirteliffe said he understood the raw station was to be near IWhitmore-atneet, where Cable's Foundry was. lit would be in a more favourable position thaiiD the present station. Be suggested the Government might issue tickets covering certain journeys on the cars. The motion wa>s Tejected by a majority of 7 to 4.

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