Te Kapua Notes.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XL, Issue 7497, 16 January 1903, Page 7

Te Kapua Notes.

(Our Own Correspondent). The railway works are now proceeding apace- Active operations are proceeding at the Mangaweka viaduct and the long filling at Utiku. Both last week and this large gangs of men arrived from the" south and ' to see them trooping along the road from Taihape in their Sunday best gave one the impression of a race meeting coming oft. There are now but four cuttings of any consequence between Taihape and Mataroa these are being double-banked with men working night and day shifts. A , large number of men are being sent' up to Taurangarere. The long tunnel at ft^ataroa will be in hand directly. So far a water drive has been put in at the Mataroa end to take off the 's'vsrrp -water existing there. The funnel goes under the large ridge at Mataroa, where the main road rises to a considerable height before descending on the Taihape side. There will probably.be some difficulty with the tunnel on the Mataroa end", as it comes out under a hollow swampy .jasin, taking the drainage off the main high ridge above-mentioned. (I might here mention that .on the top of this ridge on the property of orought all down hill to either side metaP has been located, and a road ■ made into this gentleman's place to secure it, and as the metal will -be brough all down hill to either side of the ridge it will thus be apparent the metal is in an extremely handy, locality.) There is no doubt the next few months will see a considerable amount of work done on the line and the Premier's promise of having the line opened to Taihape fulfilled, by next Christmas. All along the line a particularly busy scene presents itself—bakers, butchers, grocers and others plying a lively trade—in fact there are no idle people in these parts. Taihape is booming tremendously at present and there are signs that Mataroa w ill have its time when it exists in more than name, for at present it consists of one boardinghouse, but where the town is to be, so far only a fine football ground is visible to the uneducated eye. Mataroa, or more commonly known as Pihangaroa clearing, is a very pretty spot, much resorted to by picnickers and rival cricket teams. Bordered on the north side by the Hautapu river and fringed round with native bush it bears a strong resemblance to what the Hokowhitu natural clearing was many years ago, though, of course not on so large a scale. There is a matter worthy of mention in regard to the filling at Mataroa. The Main Te Kapua road instead of being bridged over, will be filled in and diverged higher up the line, whereas if it was allowed to remain as it is and arched over no ' accidents would ever happen, as of course no traffic would then require to cross the line, but as now being carried out the road will be diverted and a level crossing made. A large petition was signed in favour of the former plan, but was unsuccessful. In conclusion, with regard to the railway works, there is no doubt that after anyone has travelled along the route from the Marton junction to as far as the Hautapu river, they cannot but otherwise be impressed with the magnitude of the task—huge fillings, very long and deep cuttings, numerous tunnels and great viaducts The viaduct at the Makohine in itself being a masterpiece of leviathan engineering and worth going a long way to see. There is no doubt this section mentioned takes in the very roughest part of the route, but when completed, and it is in a very forward state, the Main Trunk Line will be laid down all the way very soon after* ' ' ;