RAILWAY WORKS

Grey River Argus, 30 April 1938, Page 2

RAILWAY WORKS

DEVELOPMENTS IN CANTERBURY AND WESTLAND. Several necessary railway engineering works have recently been completed or are in hand in the Canter-bury-Westland railway district. The strengthening of bridges between Rolleston and Arthur’s Pass has been sufficiently advanced to allow of the new “G” class engines to run on this route. Further strengthening to permit of the running of “K” class is now being proceeded with. The contractor for the piers for the new Rakaia bridge has driven piles for 64 piers and has completed 47 piers and two abutments. On the Midland and Ross lines, footways have been completed on bridges adjacent to sidings to ensure safer shunting operations. Other works in connection with railway sidings comprise an extension of the crossing loops at Arahura and South Beach and an extended shunting leg at the east end of the station yard at Greymouth.

Operating structures recently completed consist of a garage and residence for the Department’s road motor services at Harihari, an outside loading shelter at Woolston, and an extra engine-wheel drop-pit in the repair shop at Elmer Lane, where a four-ton travelling hoist is also in course of erection.

In the matter of railway staff housing, two new houses are being erected at Rolleston and one at Ross and houses have been purchased at Sefton and Hokitika (one each). Twelve single-man huts have been constructed in order to release portable huts (formerly occupied by surfacemen) for the use of construction gangs. Hot-water services have been installed in five houses in the Westport Section, 16 houses in Westland section, and 33 houses in the Canterbury section.

The work of easing grades between Stillwater and Jackson bn the Midland line to a minimum of 1 in 80 is completed, except for the grade in Jackson Station yard and the laying of the track on the Kaimata-Aratika easement.

Good progress is being made by the Main Highways Board with the construction of overbridges and deviations for the purpose of eliminating dangerous level crossings. The greater part of this work is on the West Coast. To date, four crossings and one combined bridge have been eliminated—the combined bridge being the New River bridge, near Camerons, nine miles south of Grevmouth.