PROGRESS OF THE MAIN TRUNK LINE.

Feilding Star, Volume I, Issue 299, 24 June 1907, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE MAIN TRUNK LINE.

EIGHTEEN MONTHS' MORE WORK. THE PROBABLE SERVICE OUTLINED. A TWENTY HOURS' JUORNEY. (Post Reporter.) Taumaranui, June 21. The central question with regard to the construction of the Main Trunk line is, of course, whether it can be completed before the end of 1908, in accordance with the Minister's promise. The general impression is that if any part of the undertakng is likely to be behind that date it is the big works on the remaining portion of the southern section between Ohakune Railway Station and Horopiti. Having inspected these works the writer is of opinion that none of them is a sufficient barrier to prevent the rails meeting somewhere in the vicinity of Hapuawhenua viaduct before the end of 1908. Whether the line will be completed in the full sense of the word is another question. But, variable though the weather factor is, there would appear to be no insurmountable obstacle on the southern section to an engine and bfdin running through before the end of Christmas twelve months.. Tapawhenua, the key of the gap between the railheads at Rawiunui and Itasgatuna. is now about twenty-eight miles ivtm the southern railhead, Rangatauna is about thirty-nine miles north of Taihape, and it is the stretch between Rangataua and Horopito, a distance of about eight miles that is looked upon as presenting the greatest difficulties. From Rangatua there is a distance of three miles practically ready for the rails; then follow, in the order named : Mangawhero bridge, 65,000 yds of filling; Hapuawhenua viaduct (which is about six miles from llangawhero bridge, is ready for the girders, and in regard to the question of time is iherefore a small matter. The filling is expected to be completed in ten months; the tunnel is well in hand; Taonui viaduct is expected to be completed in five or six months, and in the same time Haeremarra should be completed in all but the superstructure, which, once the rails are down, can be completed probably m a fortnight, so none of these works would appear to be dangerous to the time limit, unless it be Hapuawhenua This long and lofty viaduct promises to be the key of the situation. THE LONGEST VIADUCT ON THE LINE. The engineer (Mr Furket) in charge of the southern section agrees that Hapuawheuna is the longest work in front of him. He thinks he can do it in twelve months, with Toanui previously completed on the north. He thinks that any construction remaining upon his section 01 the north side of Hapuawhenua can be finished in five or six weeks, giving through rail communication 111 August 1908. This would leave four months within which to push on the ballasting of the newly-laid line. . , , ' This anticipation with regard to Hapuawhenua would, of course, mean connecting the rails well within the time limit, and it is therefore interesting to see what this key work involves, and now it is benig tackled. Hapuawhenua will be the longest viaduct on the Hue being 1010 ft over all, of which 950 ft will be steel, and the conoexte approaches will each be 30ft long: The vertical height at the deepest point is 150 ft, being much les than the 147 ft of the Makatote viaduct, or of the Makihine. Comparatively short spans, seventeen of 36f c i-Usln, and five of 64ft, make the work less formidable. There will be a total of 700 tons of steel and 2000 yds of concrete. All that has been done on the site towards erecting this mighty mass is to "tiild a .heavy timber staging over the stream, so as to provide something level to work upon ; also the excavations for the piers have been begun, but a more important part of the work v though not on the site itself is well in hand, and that is the providing of a tramway across. A SERVICE TRAMWAY. This tramway, put in rapidly at sharp grades and curves, leaves the railway line proper at Maukawhero, to whjch point the rails will be laid within a few weeks. For a mile and a half the tramway, which is of full 3ft 6in guage, winds along the thickly timbered hillside below the formation of the line proper, and finally leads to the site of the viaduct foundations at the bottom of the gorge. By this means the whole of the cement for the foundation, the girders, and ironwork and other material will be railed right through and delivered on the site without the. costly and archaiac carting. This scoria is more accessible and better for the purpose than the shell rock outcrops on the higher slopes, and scoria will therefore be the base of the concrete for the foundations of the long viaduct. The formation work of this tramway, which will be able to take the ordinary Government rolling stock, is nearly completed, and platelaying has been started. When it is finished, the machinery (which is all ready at the workships) and material will be rushed over it and the struggle between time and human skill for the niastery at Hapuawhenua will be fairly begun. On of the chief factors in the struggle is the personal one, as summed up in the reputation of the engineer (Mr Furket) for moving things along. TWENTY HOURS TO AUCKLAND. Now that the end is is within view, it may not be untimely to speculate on what a main trunk railway means, and what sort of a through service it is going to give us. In the first place, there will certainly be a through train taking not more than twenty hours between Wellington and Auckland, necessitating of course the use of sleeping cars. Then there will be a daylight service, cutting the journey into three one-day stages, which will be the ideal means of transit for tourists, people of leisure, and honey-moon couples. The traiu-steamer trip to Auckland now takes not less than twenty-four hours, so the new through train will economise time considerably, and will cut things still finer when, as is anticipated, it will work itself down to an eighteen hour run. For the present it is planned, according to creditable report, on the following lines: — A train leaving Wellington half an hour after noon is expected to reach Auckland at 8.30 a.m. next day. At this rate it will pass through Palmerston North a little after four o'clock in the afternoon. At about eight o'clock it would be in Taihape, and a midnight pasage round Ruapehu and through the wild invisible scenery of the King Country would find the traveller at Frankton Junction, in the Waikato, a little after 5 a.m. Having once accomplished that feat, the traveller could easily be in Auckland by 8.30 a.m. FAST TRAIN AND FERRY SERVICE. Taking it the opposite way, the express leaves Auckland at 8.30 o'clock at night, and would provide better scenic opportunity in the Waimarino part of the King Country, being at Taumarunui* about 4 a.m., and reaching Taihape at 9, and Palmerston about half an hour past noon. Four in the afternoon should see the tripper in the Empire City. Fares, first-class, should not run above 40s single and 80s return, and there is a possibility of a special excursion return fare of 71s-. On the second the ordinary fares should be 21s single and 42s return, with perhaps a special excursion return at 35s 6d. An express train leaving Wellington for the North about noon would serve passengers who had left Invercargill the morning before, and who, connecting with the steamer in Christchurch at night, would be in Wellington next morning. The improvement of the steamers in the Union Company's ferry service, and the completion of the Main Trunk line, will open up considerable possibilities in rapid transit. THE PRINCIPAL STATIONS. It seems to lie fairly clear which are to be the* important stations from a railway working point of view. Between Taumarunui on the north and Taihape on the south the

line runs up to high altitudes. The highest points in this stretch are Waimarino summit, which is south of Taumarunui, and Waiouru, \yhich is north of Taihape. Both Waimarino and Waiouru go something over 2600 feet, and between them the line does not fall below 1800 ft. For the big pull each way two stations must be selected as the headquarters of the special engines and rolling-stock, and everything points to Taumarunui and Taihape being those stations, and also being the stop-over stations for the slower daylight trains. Of course, it takes more than the working policy of the railway to give a place permanence, and the ultimate gross value and extent of back country will be the real arbiter. What is certain is that the timber industry assures the present prosperity of Taihape and Ohakune for some time to come. At Ohakune they are building in something the same solid manner as they have built at Taihape, but the land about the Turangarere and Waiouru stations remains naked prairie.