ELECTRIC TRAMWAYS WORKS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12044, 14 August 1902, Page 6

ELECTRIC TRAMWAYS WORKS.

THE PRESENT POSITION.

A TRIP ROUND THE VARIOUS SECTIONS.

A Heeaxd reporter yesterday took a trip round the city and outskirts, along the various routes where the electric tramways are to run, with a view to ascertaining for the information, of the public the amount of progress made in the installation of the new system - and to gain an idea of what works remain to. be completed to enable the new cars to replace the present horse cars. ■ • ■•; QUEEN-STREET.

The Queen-street section .is finished from end to end with the exception of the space forming the approach to the wharf, which is concreted and only awaits the asphalt paving to finish it. \ Out of the main street the various curves at Wellesley-street East and "West, and at Custom-street East and West, have been laid and connected with the tracks leading to onsonby, Newmarket, College Hill, and Parnell respectively. A new branch line is now being laid at the foot of Queen-street round into Quay-street, this being intended to extend as far. as'the Northern S.S. Co.'s office. The lines for this branch have been laid as far as the crossing to the Devonporfc Ferry Company's tee. and as soon as they have been set in metal to the road level the excavation for the remainder of the branch will ; follow. This line should prove very useful to passengers intending to travel by the steamers leaving the Quay-street tees.-• PARNELL AND NEWMARKET.

Leaving Queen-street via Custom-street East, our representative commenced his tour of.< inspection by way of the Parnell route. The track on this section is completed right through to Newmarket, with the exception of the approaches to the railway: bridge on - the city side of the Newmarket firebell. Here, on both sides, the road is -closed. The lines are, however, laid and' the * necessary metal spread, practically all that;is needed to finish the work being the compression of the metal by the steam roller. From Queen-street, as far as the Windsor, Castle Hotel in the Manukau Road, the overhead wires are in position. , (It should be noted that, here as elsewhere, the overhead wires are not fixed permanently, but are tentatively in position and undergoing the stretching process in readiness for final attachment on arrival of the necessary insulators. The process of insulation will occupy very little time). Past the Windsor Castle Hotel the centce poles are in * position as far jas the Institute for the Blind. On this latter portion of the route workmen are now engaged in laying fresh metal alongside the rails where the traffic has worn grooves. Also the laying of the conduit pipes citywards is going on here. ■ At the Newmarket firebell the Parnell track is carried round and functioned with the Khyber Pass lines, whilst it is also continued forward to a junction with the Epsom track. Following the latter out its termination is at the Newmarket school, where there i:5 a connection with the old Epsom track. In this direction no further work is in hand at present. The Newmarket end of the n(?»v tracks is in turn completed round the corner into Khyber Pass, so that at the fireholl junction 'three routes are completely connected with new lines. KHYBER PASS. '

Proceeding up Khyber Pass the double track is complete right into Queen-street. The centre-poles, however, have still to be erected between Newmarket and Seafield View Road, from which, latter point into the city they are in position, the overhead wires being, however, only up from a few chains above Karangahapo Road, to Queen-street, and not in Upper Symonds-street or Khyber Pass MOUNT ROSKILL BRANCH. At the top of Khyber Pass Road the junction of the Mount Roskill . branch with the Symonds-street line is laid in readiness tor the metal-filling, but owing to the delay in obtaining this material this route has only been dealt with as far as the Men Nine Hotel along Eden Terrace. LOWER SYMONDS-STREET.

Down Lower Symonds-street from Karangahapo Road (at which point a connection has still to be made to. complete the downward . track at. that corner) ; the lines and centre-poles, with. overhead wires, have been finished right down past the ; Choral Hall to the triangle in front of the Supreme Court, where there will be. a terminus. Later on a branch line will be run from here tip Waterloo Crescent and down Lower Princes-street and Shortland-street. KARANGAHAPE ROAD. Returning to the corner of Karangaiiape Road, the double track runs ma. completed state (rails, poles, and overhead wire), including the Symonds-street corner bend to within a few yards of Pitt-street,.converging there on to a single track (old), which connects with the main Newton and Ponsonby line. This connection will be made a permanent one, with a double track, at the same time that the bend from Pitt-street into Newton is attended to. PITT-STREET TO THE CITY. From' this corner, down Pitt, Hobson, and: "Wellesley Streets, the line is in a finished state, the overhead wires extending all the way into Wellesley-street, at the bottom of which the junction with Queen-street has just been finished. V "-NEWTON AND PONSONBY. Similarly advanced is the line from the, top of Pitt-street : along Karangahapo Road (where three wires for the private telephone system have 'been fixed as far as the reservoir) into Ponsonby Road, and along to the Three Lamps. The whole of this distance has been wired overhead. At : the reservoir; comer the bend has yet to be laid with new rails, and this work is to be taken in hand: shortly, when the Archhill section will at the same.time be joined to it. -. ;•:,.-■.';;i

> v AROHHILL BRANCH. The Archhill section (a single line so far); has been laid from the Archhill Hotel■• as far as Dumper' corner,' the last few _ chains only awaiting the laying of the rails, all being in readiness for their reception. CORNERS ON PONSONBY SECTION. At the Three Lamps workmen are now engaged in taking up the old rails preparatory to laying the bended track _to connect the Ponsonby Road and Jervois Road lines. When this corner has been finished (in about a week's time) the reservoir comer will be attended to. and after that the curve from Karangahape Road into Pitt-street. The turn from Hobson-street into Wellesky-street and the connection with the Lower Hobson-1 street branch will next receive attention, and this latter work done the route from Queenstreet to the Three Lamps will be ready for the cars. ; It is anticipated that the whole of the corners named . will be finished :in : : a month's time. In the meantime, when work is commenced at the reservoir corner, the horse-cars will temporarily be replaced by. 'buses. JERYOIS ROAD. The Jcrvois Road branch of the work: is completed so far as one new track and the requisite number of centre poles are concerned, and the rails for the second track have been laid, and arc all but ready for metalling from- King-street -to the tram stables. The overhead wires have yet tobe put up here. Opposite to the old tram stables excavation is going on for; the permanent levels, and when completed (in about a. week)' rails will be laid to join those in the new carshed, and afterwards to extend to Heme Bay Road. >: PONSONBY CAR DEPOT AND NEW CARS. The new car shed at Ponsonby (at the end of Jervois Road) haj been finished, and is a very commodious building. In it are stored the 28 new cars, comprising the first shipment,: which are now all put together and standing on the new rails in readiness for the road, or, in other words, waiting only for the current.' - COLLEGE HILL BRANCH. The College Hill route track is completed all the way from the Three Lamps, through Freeman's Bay, up Victoria-street East, down Lower Hobson-street, and into Cus-tom-street to Queen-street. The centre poles and the overhead wires are in position all the way, and the installation of the telephone system has been effected up Victoriastreet East. ■ ' ' : .- - THE POWER-HOUSE..', - It will be seen from, the '.facts given above that the progress made in all directions has brought.the running: of the electric cars to within an appreciable distance. Practically all that remains to be done now is the work of , making the various connections at the corners and the finishing off and insulating of the overhead wire system. This done the completion of the power-house in Hobsonstreet will write finale to the work The steel framework of the power-house is practically finished, and in a day or two the huge 25-ton traveller (moving crane), which is to 'be a permanent fixture, for use in lifting the. engines, will be put in position. After that the installations of the engines and dynamos will be proceeded with. In the boiler-room the economisers for the boilers are in position, with ■the exception of one-half section, and, the brickwork foundations being all in readiness, a start is to be made to-day with the erection of the boilers. The brick wall at the lower end of the building has been commenced, and it will not be long before the roof is placed in position. . All despatch is being used so that the powerhouse may be ready in time to obviate any delay in the starting of the trams.