NORTH AUCKLAND RAILWAY

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14292, 11 February 1910, Page 6

NORTH AUCKLAND RAILWAY

PROGRESS OF WORK.

The Auckland Railway League's. commissioner reports to the league as follows: — The Wolsford-Te Hana section is now practically completed, and there remains little to be done before it is ready to hand over to the Railway Department. The filling near Wetsford that has given so much trouble, subsided a little after the rain we" had a short time ago, but that was only to be expected as. the bank is still somewhat green; however, it. is expected to give very little troublo .in the future. Hie steel girders are all on the Te Hana bridge, and will be ready for laving; the sleepers and rails in the course of a few days. A stark has been made to clear up tho formation on the north side of the To "Hana, and for some distance is ready for the laying of the line. When this is done, they will be able to get forward the rest of the material for the Mainene bridge. When tho bridge is completed they will have" a clear run to the tunnel, and get their material through for finishing up the work. There is one filling still to finish just on tho north side of tho Mainene tunnel, but it will not take long if fully manned. There is no appearance of a start being made on the Topuni bridge, with the exception of a pile that was. driven some six months ago. : It is a matter of regret that tho Department cannot seo their way to commence this important work at oncd, foV it is by fur the longest bridge on the lino between Newmarket and tho railhead, and a considerable saving could be made if they can be induced to concentrate the -work as much as possible. on the Te Hana-Topuni section. When finished it will not only enable the Public Works Department to get forward their material for the construction of the line further north, but also enable • them to carry passengers and mails moro . expeditiously than at present. The result will bo that many settlers who now have to depend on the coastal boat as a means of getting to Auckland, will be able to take advantage of the rail, and so add considerably to the revenue of the line. , Several cuttings have been started between Topuni and Ross' Hill, and the service road has been made, and is now available for traffic. On the Kaiwaka side of the hill there are also several cuttings started, and a service road has been commenced. There are now about 450 men employed on the work, and from 100 to 150 of these are working on the Kaiwaka side of the lull. It is difficult to see what, advantage there is in putting men on the work beyond Ross' Hill, when they could be more profitably and fully employed on the work between To Hana and the point of divergence from the original route selected.