SERIOUS WASHOUT

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 25055, 20 November 1944, Page 4

SERIOUS WASHOUT

TARANAKI RAILWAY " LONG DELAY TO TRAFFIC TEMPORARY BRIDGE BUILT (0.C.) WANGANUI, Sunday A serious washout occurred on the main railway line between Stratford and Midhirst early on Saturday morning and, as a result, through traffic between Wanganui and New Plymouth was dislocated for about 20 hours. The trouble was caused by a stream known as Tanner's Creek becoming choked with trees and other* debris while in flood. Tire stream carried away a culvert under the railroad track, swept over an embankment for a length ol about 46ft, and in places left rails and sleepers suspended, the depth of the washout being 14ft.

While the maintenance branch was engaged in erecting a temporary bridge, the line was closed to through trains from 4 a.m. until midnight. In the meantime, passengers, luggage and mails from express and mixed trains were transhipped by road between Stratford and Midhirst, a distance of three and a-half miles. Taxi Driver's Discovery

The trouble followed an electrical storm which passed over the Wanganui and Taranaki districts on Friday night and early on Saturday morning. A taxi driver travelling between Stratford and Midhirst shortly after 4 a.m. discovered the washout, one and a-half miles north of Stratford, and he promptly notified the authorities in Stratford. No trains were scheduled for this section at that timi, but, to complicate, the difficulties, railway, telegraph and telephonic communications between j Hawera and New Plymouth were dis- j rupted for two hours because of lines > being damaged. This added to the problems of train control in Wanganui, but by 6 a.m. communications were partially restored. No time was lost in sending gangs of men to the scene of the washout and in making arrangements to tranship passengers travelling by the principal trains. A relief special, consisting of empty cars, left Wanganui at 7.30 a.m. for Stratford. Express Passengers Transhipped The express which left New Plymouth at 8.22 a.m. for Wellington ran as far as Midhirst, where buses and transport lorries were waiting. Several trips were necessary before the task of transhipping all 300 passengers and the luggage and mails had been completed. They resumed their journey to Wellington at 11.46, two hours and 13 minutes behind schedule, the train reaching Wellington at 7.55 p.m. The steamer express for Lyttelton had been held for the South Island passengers. Because of the washout, some freight trains scheduled to run between Wanganui and New Plymouth were cancelled on Saturday, and others ran part of the distance only. Steady progress was made throughout the day with the work of making the track safe. As the line was not open for the north-bound express from Wellington, scheduled to leave Stratford at 6.48 p.m., transhipping was again necessary. There were 250 passengers on the train, but they were only an hour and a-half late in reaching their destination. Temporary repairs to the track were completed by midnight, and the first through train was a special from Hawera with stock and other show exhibits. BLIND SON'S CLAIM SHARE IN ESTATE MOTHER'S WILL UPSET (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Saturday An application by a blind son for a share in his mother's estate which she had willed to charitable organisations, half to the Nuffield Trust and half to the Institute for the Blind, has been successful. The case was heard in the Supreme Court on September 18, the plaintiff being Frederick George Kennedy. aged 55. son of Edith Millicent Kennedy. The case was adjourned to allow the possibility of there being another claim to be explored. The Court was now satisfied there was not likely to be any other claimant. Mr Justice Johnston has ordered half the capital in the estate to be paid to plaintiff, and that he receive the interest on the balance. On his death the balance is to go to the charities named in equal shares The value of the estate is £4200. CARRIERS FINED NO PERMIT OBTAINED (0.C.) MORRINSVILLE, Saturday "In this case a permit had neither been obtained nor applied for and if an application had been made it would have been refused," declared the traffic inspector. Mr K. l{. Sharpe, in the Morrinsville Magistrate's Court, when prosecuting Claude Kendall, Ltd., cartage contractors, of Hamilton, on a charge of carrying goods for hire or reward in the Morrinsville district without the permission of the Morrinsville Goods Transport Control Committee. "The regulations gazetted in 1942 provide for a heavy penalty," continued the inspector "and the permit must be_ obtained in the district of the load's origin." "He can appeal if he wants to," remarked the magistrate in imposing a fine of £lO, with 10s costs. ACCLIMATISATION WORK WHANGAREI BREAKS AWAY (0.C.) WHANGAREI, Saturday Confirmation of its previous decision to withdraw from the Northland Federation of Acclimatisation Societies was decided upon by the Whangarei society at a meeting last night. The society had previously announced its intention to withdraw, but, at the request of the other societies in Northland, this action had not been implemented. Now action is to be taken, it being considered by the Whangarei society that no good purpose could be served by remaining in the federation.

Action has been taken largely on account of the break between the societies over the Whangnrei proposal that one society should be formed for the control of shooting and fishing in Northland. CITY WATER SUPPLY POSITION IN WELLINGTON (0.C.) WELLINGTON, Saturday "I foresee Wellington being faced with a serious shortage of water for the next four or five years," said the city engineer, Mr Iv. Luke, in an address to the Town-Planning Institute of New Zealand. "The present consumption of water in the city is approximately 8,500,000 gallons a day in the winter months, reaching up to 11,000,000 gallons a day in the summer. The capacity by main delivery to the city is approximately only 10,000,000 gallons a day. There is only six weeks' reserve at Karori to meet any extreme dry spell with a margin for minor emergencies. "The city in conjunction with certain adjoining local authorities, under a farsighted policy has acquired the control of 80,000 acres of busn-clad area in the upper readies of the Hutt, Akatnrawa and Little Whakatikei Rivers. From this source a further 11,000,000 gallons of water can be made available for distribution to Wellington city and certain adjoining authorities. This additional supply should have been available before this date, but due to the outbreak of war, the work has been delayed."