HUTT VALLEY INDEPENDENT. AND Upper Hutt Advertiser. SATURDAY, SEPT. 23, 1911. RAILWAY SERVICES.

Hutt Valley Independent, Volume I, Issue 37, 23 September 1911, Page 1

HUTT VALLEY INDEPENDENT. AND Upper Hutt Advertiser.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 23, 1911. RAILWAY SERVICES.

Published every, Saturday and circulating throughout Hiding and Upper Hutt' .Town District. -"■•' ■■• ' ' PAGEI.-Sun and Moon Official Directory, 'Leader 1 , District News. PAGE 2-Railway Time-Table, District News. Special Reports, etc. PAGE 3,-I'ostal Guide, ■■ Special Reports, etc. PAGE 4.-Chnrch Services, Schools, Clubs, Lodciss, 'Societies, Rainfall, Sporting, Stock Sales, Lodge Heports, Correspondence, TO COR,RESPONDENTS.~It is the desire of the Proprietary that waders should malic free use of the columns of the' "Independent" to gtve ; expression to thoir opinions «n mntters 'Concerning, in any. Wav the welfare of the district. The name, of the writer must Accompany, each .letter to the Editor, not necessarily for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith,, , , All literary matter must be written on one side of the-paper only, and should be addressed to the Editor. Box 1, Upper Hutt. All Business communications aiioufd be addressed to the Secretary, Box 1, Upper Hutt. Casual Advertisements—3s. per inch. WANTED or'SITUATION Ad-" vertisements. not exceeding 10 words,' Is. per insertion. • Rates _ for Standing Advertisements will be quoted on application to the Secretary. Annual Subscription— 4s. per annum, delivered within the Upper Hutt Town District; or 6s. per annum, posted to any address within the. Dominion. ■•■':'

-NORTH-WESTERN - VIA AKATARAWA AND WAIKANAE. It was our intention.'to publish in this issue, an account of the proceedings of the public meeting held last week to bring under public notice the suitability of a. route to the Northern and Western portions of the Dominion from Wellington, via the valleys of the Akatarawa and Waikanae rivers. We find, however, that large national, benefits attach to the Akaiarawa route, and as Mr. T. M. Wilford has kindly supplied us with all information at his disposal,, it is our intention to place the whole on record in our next issue, together with other information in our possession, and to supply marked copies of the INDEPENDENT to all legislators and all the newspapers of the Dominion. Meanwhile we make a few remarks upon the Akatarawa route in comparison with other routes. The disadvantages are nil, but the advantages are numerous, The comparison with the existing "political job" route is very much in favour of the Akatarawa deviation. The positions in regard to the three routes are briefly summarised hereunder—

PRESENT-LINE-VIA JOHNSONVILLE AND PAEKAKARIKI TO WAIKANAE, The present line has very heavy gradients which require special engines and also assisting engines to work the 'banks.' The curves are sharp, part of the track on narrow sidelines, and the tunnels'crumbling owing to thVcreeping' of the hill at Pukecombination which • renders a high speed, dangerous, Then there is the hillside just beyond'faekakariki with its hanging, death-dealing, boulders poised ready to wreck'a.car or derail a train without warning. The line cannot possibly cope with the Hawke's Bay> Aucb land, Taranaki .and West Coast traffic, and to duplicate the line would be more .costly than to build a new double track from Upper Hutt to Waikanae. If it were duplicated there would still be the heavy haulage and wear and tear; the dangerous curves, tunnels in shattered country, and boulder-infested hillsides •; and' a permanent low speed of trains. The line from Tawa Flat to beyond Paekakariki, some 16 miles out of 37, isopen to attack by hostile vessels, while Porirua Harbour allows of hostile war-' ships entering and taking possession of the line of communi- ' cation between the military base at Palmerston and the seat of government. VIA CpENT-WALL, PAHAUTANUI, AND PAEKAKARIKI. This route is five, miles longer than that via Akatarawa and is open to attack from Porirua Harbour, and also where it follows the existing line from Paekakariki. It does not appear to open up any new country, and would therefore not obtain any • increase in traffic, as the existing lines already handle what is available. It also continues alongs ido 'the 'dangerous boulder .slopes. : Asa line of communication for defence purposes it is slightly fretter'than the present line. . THE ROUTE-AKATARAWA. The route .is inland all the way. The grades are easy and wide curves are obtainable thus admitting of high speeds and heavy trains. No special or "banking" engines are needed and no dangerous country is encountered, The line follows the left-hand going up the Aka-* tarawa—tho opposite side to the road-line, and it permits of a double track being put in. New country is opened up capable of. supplying a large timber'freight ior thirty or forty years, and a firewood traffic for much longer. The settlers for a considerable distance have stated they wiil give the land needed fcr the line. The route is free from attack by warship and could be used to quickly concentrate Wairarapa troops on the west or to rush the Northern forces to Wellington, quickly and safely. , There are no engineering difficulties* and the cost of construction moderate. Probably the highest point would be less than the elevation of Kaitoke and with a more gradual approach on each- side. The route is five miles shorter than the one via Pahautanui, and for about three miles it traverses one of the proposed routes of the proposed Upper Hutt Woodside Rimutaka Deviation.