SOUTHLAND KAILWAYS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 181, 11 June 1864, Page 5

SOUTHLAND KAILWAYS.

Tn* our (Ihiih/ S\'nrs) summary transmitted to Kurope in January last we gave u sketch of the railways i-oiiftriu-liiig in Southland, viz., the. Invereargill and l-'-luil" Harbour Line. The former connecting the principal port ol' the Province with the town of Invercargill, and the latter being, in fact, a continuation 01 the .Ultiir Harbour .Line, running from Inrereargill io Luke W-.iUutipu, the lociility which conlitins tiio most i-Mi-iisivo guld-iicUU cl tlie MidcUo lsluiul. With such om-vay ami )-;ipidity have these works t'fon carried o;i, uiid so ndimnit'ly have thev been (■'jiistnirird, tiint in three months thirty-six miles of riilwav will he open for passengers and goods tratHc, a:id m'c doubt not iliat tlu-rcby an immense impetus will be given to the lomm.-ivial, agricultural and pastoral mterests of (lie J'rovince. "Similar results have almost invariably followi'd the introduction of railways into niiv couirtry, and m can see no reason why Southland "should form an exception to tho rule.

The Bluff Harbour Railway is a line of ordinary iron rails. The Northern extension is heinc constructed as a -wooden railway, but capable of bein;; converted into an iron ru.il line, if found expedient. The construction of these lines has given an impetus to art industry. Mr. Davics haying determined to manufacture the rolling stock in Tnverctirgill, extensive workshops and factories lv.ivo been erected, and it is to describe the operations carried on in these that is on principally the object of this article. Near the Kailway Station in Eslc-street, the carriage manufactory has been erected, consisting of convenient workshops for wheelwrights, eouchnialccrs painters and smiths. At, the time "of our visit four carriages were being built. They are formed of the white pine of New Zealand, with cedar panels. F.aeh enrrinee is divided into four compartments, in each of which ten persons are comfortably seated, so thai a small train of four of these carriages will carry one hundred and sixty passengers. These carriages are constructed on Davies' patent principle, to run on •wooden railways. Thirty railway wagons are also in course of manufacture, likewise constructed on Davies' patent principle. Leaving the carriage factory, and proecedincr a few hundred yards at the back of Dee-street, we conic to ta series of buildings which bear the name of "The Uailwftv Tron "Works." Here a scene of the most Intense bustle and activity presents itself. Hclnys of jirtizanF are here kept employed, so that operations iire carried on almost without cessation. The foundrv ■contains a cupola furnace capable of melting at one casting ten tons weight of iron, it has also all the necessary appliances for moulding and casting. Attached to the foundry is a horizontal strum engine ■of twenty-five horse power, which not onlv drives all ■the machinery in the work, but blows the fires in the 'furnace and tho blacksmith's shop. In the turniii" .-and fitting shops there are three turning-lathes, i> vertical boring machine, two screwing machines for •cutting threads on bolts and in nuts, and a punching and shearing machine, all driven by steam. The two latter are powerful machines, tho one cutting iron plates an inch thick as if they were paper, and the other boring holes an inch in diameter with equal ease. In addition to the works w> have described, Mr. Davies has also a large saw mill at the Makerewa Bush. The saws, both vertical nnd circular, are driven by two steam engines, and the mill is cutting timber at the rate of 70,000 superficial feet per week. "We have referred to tho construction of railway carriages and waggons on Davies' patented principle. It is equally applicable to locomotives, and indeed to all rolling stock for wooden rail-ways. The bearing •or carrying wheels of the engines and carringes are as iroad as the rails, and have" no flanges, but are kept on the line by means of guide wheels. Each wheel of the engine and carriages fexcept tho drivin<* •wheels of the engines) acts independently upon its own axle totally unconnected with its opposite wheel, and by this improvement the great tortional cottons-,-sion and osculation produced by the urranannent of she wheels in ordinary locomotives and curriiin-es is .entirely obviated. The adaptability of this princiiple in the construction of engines and carriages to -wooden rails has been thoroughly established during the formation of the Invercnrgill and Ulufl'main troad. In making this road, it was found economical to lay down a wooden tramway for four miles for the conveyance of metal, and on this a small locomotive <on Davies' patent principle) weighing some eight tons has been running for eight months, currying materials for the railway, and "also for the road runnimparallel with the railway. During the poriod we have named, this engine has travelled upwards of 19,200 miles, drawing at each trip loads varyin<_' from thirty to forty tons, nnd causing so little 'frit'" tiou on the wooden rails that the saw nmrks arc not effaced. These rails were sawn from Xnv Zealand timber, which appears to be well adapted for the forDiation of wooden railways.