THE RAILWAY WHARF.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12932, 31 July 1905, Page 4

THE RAILWAY WHARF.

A' portion of about 200 ft of the new ferns •; concrete Railway Wharf will be available for berthing small vessels to-day. Rails ,/- are already laid along this section, , and ,' tlw depth of water will be Bft to 9ft at low water, and 18ft at high water,.; onf ; mud. On Saturday Mr. Biss, district rail- V way engineer, was present at the testing , of the curves of the new line, which,, has been diverted from about opposite Craig's . store, and now runs alongside the western - half of the completed portion of the new / wharf. Mr. R. F. Moore, chief engineer' of the Ferro-Concrete Company, was pre- ' _, sent. The weight of the engine was 30 '' tons, and it hauled a truck loaded with '' >steel rails. The engine was the first heavy 3 running load that has yet been taken on to the new wharf, and yet, notwithstand- / ing that the concrete there was only about ;• a month old, there was not the slightest vibration. Mr. ;" Biss, while explaining ; • that the test for vibration was quite unofficial, expressed himself as fully satisfied with the results. The taking up of the r old Railway Wharf will he begun in the ■ course- of a few days, and the. other half r of the ferro-concrete construction will be : started in its place. In regard to weight • tests, although the concrete bed should, have_ three months to set, yet already certain portions of the work have been subjected to severe weight tests. Carts carrying two tons have been taken over . the work, and there are still large heaps ' of shingle placed about the finished floor .7 space, which have a dead weight of 5201b / to the square foot, where a weight of 4401b - per square foot only has been stipulated /; for. The work is progressing very satis- , factorily, and the first section of the ne? wharf will be completed by November.'