MAIN TRUNK LINE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13778, 17 June 1908, Page 8

MAIN TRUNK LINE.

PRIME MINISTER'S VISIT. "WONDERFUL WORK DONE" TO BE OPENED FOR FLEET WEEK. [BY 'I KLEG KA I- . — I'KCIAL CORK KS?OX WENT. J TaITMaS vsvi, Tuesday. Tin; Prime Minister (Sir Joseph Ward), who travelled up the Main Trunk line today, as far as the Hapewhcniia viaduct, and. proceeded on it again from the Northern head to Taumarunui, described the Hapewhenna viaduct as an admirable piece of work, and one of the longest viaduct*; in the world. Sir Joseph t-aid he was very pleased at the way the work, of Hie line had progressed ,' during the last, 1.2 months. "Wonderful work has been done," he added, "and it is intended to have the connection between the two heads made by August 7, ho as to enable a train to go through. I sent telegrams to all the members of Parliament yesterday, stating that the Government hope to lie able to get through by that date, so that members of both Houses can. come up the linein order to take part in the reception to the American fleet, "The Minister for Public Works and his Department have done all they can to have the line ready by that date, and if they do not- succeed in having a temporary Hack laid down it will be only a very short gap that will remain. We are now ring the .completion of the North Island Trunk railway line. The engineers of the Public Works Department have done excellent- work in battening on the completion. It is a very interesting route, and no doubt we have- a very good track. Portions of the land adjoining the route should be reserved for all time as a national area, in order to preserve the scenic beauties of the route. We also want to see what area of land for selection should he made available by the clearance of bush.*' On,inspecting the gaps between the rail heads, it was apparent that there is .no doubt that the fine is being hurried on. with all possible speed in order that it may be ready by licet week. On the. Makatote viaduct side three shifts of men. are working day and night at the cutting. Instructions have been given to .secure all the teams and waggons possible, so as to start plate-laying on tin? other side of the Manganuioteao viaduct, and it is expected that . plate-laying will be started next Tuesday over the Makatote viaduct. THE MAKATOTE VIADUCT. When the Main Trunk line is finished ■ tourists travelling by the direct route from | Auckland to Wellington will have the op- | portunity of seeing en route several line viaducts along the line. The first one is the- great viaduct across the Makatote Gorge, which lias been i* course of construction for the last two years and a-half, and is now practically completed. Makatote is 39 miles beyond Taumarunui, the present southern terminus of the Main Trunk for regular railway traffic, but is reached daily by a Public Works train, which runs at a fair speed over the re-cently-laid rails between Taumarunui and Makatote. After passing Raurimu some of the finest scenery of the 'whole route is. viewed. At Raurimu the wonderful spiral railway begins, which, ever ascending winds round and round'the mountain a. distance of more than four miles, to a height of 404 ft above Raurimu, which is: a settlement 1900 ft above the sea level. The scenic beauties from any point of the ascent are indescribably, grand. The temporary station of Mafci.tote.is reached shortly before 10 o'clock, after a three hours' journey. Here, the railway to the south ends, and here .straight in front is the mighty viaduct that .will connect the two railheads when they meet. All round are the works that hove been specially erected to carry out this contract .and there also is a little settlement that has .sprung up to meet the requirements- of the workmen employed on it. The viaduct, which bridges the chasm between the north and the south, is 900fb in length over all, and its height from the bottom of--the- mountain stream, that has its bed in the depths of the gully beneath, is 260 ft. The viaduct consists of 10 spans of 36.it, five spans of 100 ft, six concrete piers, and five braoed-steel piers. In the construction of it, 1200 tons of cement. 1000 tons of steelwork, and about 500 tons of plant were used. ' Some idea of the magnitude of the work may be grasped when it is stated that all the materials and plant had to be carted to the edge of the gorge from Oio, 20 miles away, by horse waggons. The plant used for the work is the most;, up to date in the Dominion, and is worth £5000. Nearly all the machinery was either' specially built or imported for the work. The massive steel piers that support the bridge itself have been placed in position by a steam winch and hauling gear. Those piers rest on huge concrete mocks, sunk in the bottom of the ravine. There are 6000 cubic yards of concrete in these immense blocks, which were manufactured in the bed of the creek by a stone-crushing and concretemixing plant, specially installed there, and then lifted into position by the powerful steam winch, which is erected on the north side of the gorge. - ENGINEERING DIFFICULTIES.' One of the many engineering difficulties that the viaduct contractors (Messrs. J. and A. Anderson) had to overcome was the difficulty of getting sound foundations for Mie concrete piers, on which the whole of this great structure vests. In some, cases, when the concrete depth was reached, the bottom was not good, and further sinking was necessary. Sometimes the soil was very wet '.hroughout, and much pumping was necessary. Another difficulty was that of frequent floods in the river, and when these occurred continuous pumping had to be employed to keep the holes from filling with water, particularly in the case of one of the centre foundations, which is in the river bed itself. Wire ropes, 6£iu in circumference, and weighing four tuns, are used to carry the materials from the banks to the portion of the viaduct where they . are required. The principal machinery, i in addition to the steam winch and hauling-i gear, are two straightening machines, one ' large planing machine, 10 radial drills, a band saw, and a circular saw. Most, of this machinery is driven by electric motors. The machinery also includes overhead i cranes, also driven by electric motors, and i pneumatic riveting machines. The electric : motors are driven by a 40 horse-power en- j gine, erected close at hand. The contract ■ price of the work, with extras, is about £53,000. To lay down the Main Trunk line of the North Island means money, and plenty of it, for there are several more viaducts on the route, and cuttings and tunneks in plenty. The Makatote viaduct, which is the highest in New Zealand, will be completed in three weeks' time.