OXFORD TO TEMUKA RAIL WAY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LI, Issue 5610, 17 February 1879, Page 6

OXFORD TO TEMUKA RAIL WAY.

We are indebted to the courtesy of the Minister of Public Works for the following report • Works Office, Dunedin, Jan, 31,1879. Sir.—l have the honor to inform you that I have just made a general inspection ot nearly the whole of the propoaed obe followed by this line, and I beg to submit the '“SSpte.™.! divide the lino into sections thus — No, 1, Oxford to Malvern Branch, about . - 11 Ho. 2, Malvern Branch to Whitecliffs , b ” Ho. -3, Whitecliffs Branch to _ Eakaia river ... ••• ••• 15 « Ho. 4, Eakaia river to Ashburton river ... 20 ” No. 5, Ashburton river to Bangitata river ••• J® ” No. 6,;Rangitata river to Temuka 15 „ Total length, about ... 85 miles. SKCIIOH No. 1 —Oxford to Malvern Branch, 11 milbs. This section is remarkably easy; the only worksJß-orth mentioning are a small bridge over tba Eyre stream, and the approaches to the Waimakariri bridge, where a little cutting ■ through the shingle terraces is required. . All the rest of the line is surfaceforming. As you are aware the Waimakariri bridge flras specially designed for railway traffic, SO there will be little work connected with it. The ©xford-Malvern section passes in the middle through a narrow belt of somewhat poor land, originally covered with manuka scrub, but the rest of the country is good, and closely settled. In addition to the ordinary local .traffic the line will be in bringing the Oxford forests into communication with t the treeless country between the Waimakariri and Eakaia rivers, and for the conveyance of the Malvern Hills coal to the Northern districts.

Section Ho. 2.—Malvern Branch to White cliffs Branch, 6 Miles. There is..little or no work beyond surface forming oa this section, and it passes through a rich agricultural country, but.the district is fairly accommodated already by ,the two branch lines, so I think this link may be deferred till other portions of the interior line are constructed.

Section Ko. 3. —White cliffs Branch to Rinata Ritbr, 15 Miles. The whole,,of this section passes through rich agricultural land, the greater portion of which is under cultivation, consequently I hare no doubt the line will pay at once. With the exception.,of bridging the Selwyn and Hororata, the.works from the commencement of the Rakaia, river bed are very light—the ballast might Almost be laid on the surface of the ground far,.,the greater part of the distance. The two. rivers Just named are also comparatively-small at the proposed crossings. As youwill see .from my general reports on surveys, three Alternative lines have been suggested between the WbiteCliffs Branch and theßakaia; they i leave at different points, but converge before reaching the Ferry, which is taken .aaitho ultimate destination of the branch. Tha-best line will be found to be one leaving the iJThitecliffs Railway about Home Bush station and running via Hororata township.&ad the lower side of the Woolshed Hill <to ,a crossing of the Rakaia near the “Old Curiosity Shop.” This is the most direct and .easy line, and it goes through the middle of the.beet country. You will recoUectt.that the Provincial Government of Canterbury had arranged for the construction of a bridge at the Ferry, and that is now ordered, .from Home. The original intention was«to use this bridge for both road and railways, but I do not think the scheme is desirable, for the following reasons. It will add ..about five miles to the length of the line .without opening up a corresponding extent of good country. Although the railway .would .go so much further inland, the extra. length would not form an instalment of a line to tjie Lake Coleridge district, it being impossible tc.cise against the foil of the country from the. river bed to the terrace, a height of about,4QQ£t. In order to get over this difficulty .another idea has been mooted: it is to go still further .up the river about three miles, and,cress on the level of the terrace at a gorge. I, have examined this place, and find that the span,-is about 10 chains, so the proposal.can.scarcely be entertained. The works in the approaches .to the Ferry crossing are of a most formidable-aharac ter; they include a high viaduct, oyer. a. gully, and a tunnel 50 chains long through aTef race of moving shingle, every yard .of which will require heavy lining. The crossing of the Rakaia .on. the direct line recommended by me is .very gp.qd, and the approaches easy. One question for you to consider, is whether the erection of the bridge at the Feiyy-gite should be gone on with. It might be advisable to ereet a combined road and railway bridge at-tbe lower site instead. The ’bridge .ordered will not .-suit at the lower sitertet could be utilised,on some of the other lineanowautho-. rifled. ~~ I

Section So. 4—Rakaia River so Ash-I

jbueton Eitkb, 20 Mix®. j The main Ashburton river and three tribu.-, tones occur <on this section, but otherwise there are no works worth mentioning, (he .ground being perfectly flat. The country traversed is' well calculated to support a railways the, land is good, there is an extensive forest on ithe .adjoining ranges, and coal and building atone exist in considerable quantities. The building stone is one of the same' class as the Oarearu stone, hut it is apparently much superior jpi quality. The Ashburton end Forks Bailway Company are urging the construction of that portion of this section southwards from the terminus of their line at Methven to Taylor’s Creek, a distance of about ten miles, and the County Eoad Board offer to contribute to the cost of the bridges, provided they are made available for road trathe. This proposal is worth favourable consideration when deciding as to what portion of the interior line should be gone on with first. Of course this piece would practically be an extension of the Company’s line, and would require to be worked by them, till some of the other portions are made.

Section No. s— Ashbuktox m Eangiiata, 18 Miles,

Except two small bridges over the branches of the Hinds, there are absolutely no formation works on this section; the ballast may be laid on the surface of the ground. The country traversed is very good, but it is not yet much settled, consequently the traffic on the railway will not be very great at first. In connection with this section, the Ashburton County Council have asked the Government to contribute towards the lengthening of the Bangiteta road bridge, with the view of making it available for both road and railway. The district would probably be better accommodated by haring the crossing three or four miles up tne river, and I hare no doubt the residents will be urging this point. Until a detailed survey is made, I can scarcely give a decided opinion on the subject, but 1 think the road bridge crossing wfil be found sufficiently convenient for all the good country, in whioluGase it would be advisable- to strengthen the hew portion of the bridge. The cost of’ the extra work required should not exceed £2OOO,

Sbctiok No. 6— Eauoitata Exveb to Tbmuka, 15 Miles, With the exception of bridges over the Orari and Opihi there are no works worth mentioning on this seotion—the ground is even throughout. The country traversed is also particularly good, and densely settled, SSSA'*’*** ' mu ****** Although I know the country verv well I am not yet qmte prepared to make a recoin* mendafcon as to the point where this section should join the main line, nor as to the exact course it should take for the first five or six miles; but 1 intend to examine it further in the course of a few days, when 1 shall make a definite recommendation on the subject. Gbnbbal, As already stated, 1 have made a tolerably

minute inspection of the' route proposed for the “ Canterbury Interior Kail way,’ and the country traversed and opened by it, and lam more than ever impressed with the conviction that it is the right Ijpe in every respect. The Canterbury plains west of the mam line may be taken as an oblong strip 80 miles long and 20 miles wide. The first five or six miles is of course accommodated by the present railway; then comes a strip of comparatively poor stony country, and after that, along the foot of the ranges, a belt of good land, almost as good as the belt which skirts the sea. The object in making the interior line is to accommodate this land, as well as to utilise the forests and develope the mineral resources of the front ranges; and this object cannot be as well attained by any system of branch railways from the main line. One or two branches would be required between every two of the rivers to tap the back country alone, and these branches would not afford any communication whatever between the various localities along the foot of the ranges. The works on the line are remarkably easy, with the exception of a little earthwork at the approaches to the large rivers, there is absolutely no grading beyond surface formation. All the river crossings are much easier and more permanent than on the main line, and some of the large rivers are already bridged. The curves and gradients will be easy—much the same as on the present Canterbury railways. Recommendations.

It is difficult to make an unqualified recommendation as to which one out of four of the sections should be first undertaken, as each of them has peculiar claims which can scarcely be compared with others. The choice lies between the following: — a. Oxford to Malvern, the whole section II miles. : I, White Cliffs Branch to Eakaia Kiver, a sub-section of about 10 miles. c. Eakaia Eiver to Ashburton Eiver, a subsection of about 10 miles, extending from Methven towards Mount Somers. d. Bangitata Eiver to Temuka, a subsection or about 10 miles, commencing at the junction with the main line. I have no doubt that sub-sections i and d would pay best at first, but the other two would tend more to encourage fresh settlement and develope new industries. —I have the honour to be, sir, your obedient servant, W. N. Blair, Engineer-in-Gharge, M.I. The Hon. the Minister for Public Works, Dunedin.