WELLINGTON-MANAWATU RAILWAY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 677, 20 February 1885, Page 3 (Supplement)

WELLINGTON-MANAWATU RAILWAY.

MR SAUNDERS’ CONTRACT.

(BY OUR SPECIAL REPORTER.) The first contract, or No. 1 section of the Wellington and Manawatu Railway, is now within a few days of completion, and therefore a short description of the work m?.y prove interesting, not only to the shareholder’s of the company, but also to the public generally, all of whom will, directly' or indirectly, derive some benefit from the railway when it is completed. It is scarcely correct to designate the line to Johnsonville as No. 1 section, and it is merely for convenience sake that it is so referred to, as Mr Saunders’ contract, starting from Pipitea Point, was but one mile ten chains in length, whereas the total length of the line from Pipiteato J ohnsonvilleis exactly five miles sixty-four chains long. No. 1 section was let to Mr Saunders about two and a-halt years ago, the amount of the contract being L4G,000. The price at the first blush may appear to be large, considering the short distance of the line to be formed, but as it was the stiffest piece of work on the whole line (with the exception, perhaps, of Air S. Brown’s section, between Pukerua and Paikalcariki), the price need not be wondered at. The work in some respects was the most important on the projected railway, including as it did the reclamation, at Pipitea, of an area of about 23 acres, the greater portion of which is now a valuable asset of the company. A portion of this reclaimed land is of course utilised as a station-yard, but the remainder will be surveyed and laid off in building sections, which will no doubt realise good prices. The reclamation is firm and solid, being formed of the debris from hard rocks, and no difficulty will be experienced in obtaining foundations either for stone or brick buildings. The earth necessary for the reclamation was obtained partly from the sidings abutting on the Hutt-road so far as the Kaiwarra tollgate, and partly from the very steep cuttings from the line after it crosses the road and dips into the Kaiwarra Gorge. Between the latter and the Featherston-. terrace junction a large space, suitable for building sites, has, by the removal of the hill, been made available for building sites, and thus whilst a lot of barren upland has been removed and thrown into the sea, the owner thereof has doubly profited by the company’s enterprise—as not only was so much per yard paid by the company for the removal of the earth, but in addition the owner has now some land which will, some day or other, prove very valuable. Immediately the line diverges from the Government Railway, the ascent begins, and is continuous till it arrives at Mount Misery (the summit between Wellington and Johnsonville), a distance of nearly five miles from town, where it attains an elevation of 500 ft above the sea level. At Kaiwarra the steepest grade in the section occurs, it being 1 in 40ft, and at this point the contractor’s difficulty commenced. The ground consisted of hard rock, and the cuttings are exceedingly high, several being 60 or 70ft high. This stuff, however, proved ver yr valuable for filling in the reclamation at Pipitea Point, whither it was brought down in waggons. After a mile or so the gradient is less steep, and glimpses are afforded of the country, which for agricultural purposes does not possess any particular merit. Stunted bush and barren soil are its chief characteristics. At the end of No. 4 tunnel about thirty men are sending down stuff to fill the trucks below. Ten of these trucks are loaded by means of wooden shoots at each trip of the engine, and as- soon as this operation is completed away they go to Grofton, a platform station, where the' stuff is discharged for ballasting the permanent way. This operation takes but a few minutes, as upwards of fifty navvies jump into the waggons and shovel the ballast on to the line. After passing through a few short tunnels, Khandalla, the second station (also a platform one) is reached. This, like the Crofton station, overlooks nothing save a few scattered farmhouses, but is surrounded by well-timbered hills. The distance between Crofton and Khandalla is about a mile and three-quarters, the latter station being about the same distance from Johnsonville, where there is a neat little roadside station. There is little or nothing, however, to be seen here, though I observe that the village of Johnsonville, within the past year or so, appears to have grown to fully double its former dimensions. A few houses are still going up, and. doubtless Johnsonville will improve still more when the line is opened. This remark will also apply to the land adjoining the Khandalla and Crofton Railway Stations, the owners of which are already cutting up their properties into building allotments. Quite recently at Crofton, a moderately-sized farmhouse and 14 acres of land—the latter certainly jiresenting a promising appearance —has changed hands at LI4OO, or at the rate of LIOO per acre. The line as far as Johnsonville, is one of the most comfortable to ride on in the colony, and speaks well for the company’s engineer, Mr Higginson ; Mr Saunders, the contractor ; and Mr Joseph Jay, Air Saunder’s working manager. It may be recollected that five or six years ago the then Government, with the view of affording some alleviation to the distress which then prevailed amongst nearly all classes of operatives, employed a large number of men on the line. By these unemployed a portion of the earthwork formation was constructed. The Government did not, however, continue the construction, which lay idle for a long period, and in consequence fell into something resembling a wreck, more particularly the banks between the cuttings. The work executed by the unemployed cost about 1(35,000, and was handed over by the Government to the Wellington and Alanawatu Railway Company. The formation was then completed by small contracts. There are seven tunnels between Wellington and Johnsonville, the longest of which is 10 chains, and the shortest 6 chains., in length. The height of the tunnels is 14ft from the rails to the crown, and they are 12ft wide. Three of these tunnels were pierced through and lined by Air Saunders. The contract for the laying of the plates between Wellington and Johnsonville was also let to Mr Saunders, the price being R3OOO. The section of the line under notice has been expeditiously constructed, and the work faithfully carried out. The line, as far as Johnsonville, will probably be taken over by the company next week, but it is unlikely that it will be opened for a few months yet.