BY RAIL TO HAMPDEN.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 109, 26 August 1876, Page 2

BY RAIL TO HAMPDEN.

' (By our Special Reporter.] 0 ' Some clever fellow—it doesn't matter much what his name was—said it was better to be bora lucky than rich. Taken from [this standpoint, "' I'our Own" must have entered this terrestrial sphere with a lucky star shining over his head. Hearing that a train was going out to Hampden on Fridr.y morning, he very carefully made it his business to see that grand specimen of :•. Britisher—Mr. John Dunbar—and solicit a ride. Mr. Dunbar would only be too pleased to accede to the request if Mr. Lowe, the engineer, was agreeable. Suffice it to say that Mr. Lowe was agreeable, and. as a consequence, " Your Own" might have been seen sitting in a very comfortable first-class carnage, bound for Moeraki Junction, the 23th day of August, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six. The exactness as to date is very necessary, because the opening of this portion of the northern main line is an event which should be noted with particular accuracy. The train left Oamaru exactly at 10.30, and after passing the Thames-street crossing, Alexander Sutherland, the driver, began to settle down to it, and with lOOlbs. on her, and not a blow at a single joint, the old engine went snorting along at a grand pace. The weather was lovely, and nothing could be more enjoyable. A fine

flavored Havana and a glass of good dry sherry just after passing Awamoa, and "Your Own" felt that he would not care to call the Queen his aunt. Onward we go, with a fine short stroke, the pace averaging twenty-five miles an hour, and not an oscillatory move in either engine or carriage. No tumbling about from side to side, first one flange jamming against the rails and then the other, but a good steady pace. Totara was soon reached, and the incline ascended without any sensible diminution in the speed. Here we began to notice that since leaving Oamaru the line is a series of inclines and declines all through, with very little real straight running. • On enquiry from Mr. Lowe, we were courteously informed that it will take nearly>double the engine-power to work the line from Dunedin to Oamaru, as it will to carry on the traffic between the latter place and Christchurch. Tliis is easily accounted for, as the line from Oamaru to Dunedin is a succession of grades, mostly of 1 in 50, and in one or two places 1 in 30. The grade on the line running through the Totara property is very steep, but it was negotiated, both going and returning, without any trouble. Teschmaker's quany is soon reached, and here a short stoppage is made just to inspect the banks and other work. Just after leaving here we pass through the deepest cutting, on the line as at present opened. From the top of the bank to the metals is forty-five feet, and the sides are as nearly perpendicular as possible. There is a longer cutting near Moeraki, but it has not such a depth. Just through the cutting Reidston looms in sight, and in a few minutes we are pulled up on the bridge, having made the run from town, including three stoppages, in thirty-five minutes. Mr. Lowe and Mr. Dunbar leave the train here, and make a careful inspection of tins bridge, which is known on the line as the Millstream 'Viaduct. Every precaution appears to have been taken to prevent the bridge being damaged or carried away by floods. At the south end, on the west side, a large stone groin has been constructed to turn the stream under the bridge, and prevent it rushing along the side of the railway embankment. With this arrangement the stream, at times of flood, would be travelling under the viaduct at a great pace, while the water alongside the line would be as smooth as a pond. The embankment is well lined with stone, and one would imagine, is capable of standing any fresh in the creek. The Engineer having pronounced everything satisfactory, another start is made —the Kakanui Bridge crossed and Maheno reached. The bridge over the Kakanui is a good substantial structure, though looked at from the main road it does not convey that impression. The spans are 00ft. each. Maheno can boast of a comfortable fifth-class station, a commodious goods shed, and a station-master's house. A brief inspection was made here, and then we left at 11.30. bound for Herbert, or as our readers would call the township, Otepopo. The road from Maheno to Herbert is in splendid order, the metals are well and truly '"' squinted," and the ballasting first-class. Alec, the driver, knew this, for he sent us along this bit at a fine pace, the distance being done in nine minutes. Here Mr. Rowlands, the sub-contractor, is busily engaged erecting a goods shed, station-master's house, and a fifth-class station. Messrs. Dunbar and Lowe were occupied some time, and were joined by Mr. Dent, the inspector of the line. At 12 o'clock we were under way again, and going along at a good pace for the tunnel, which, by the way, is one of the best bits of Colonial railway work I have ever seen. The tunnel, which runs through a lull of soft sandstone, is 280 yards long, and 13 lined with brick and stone throughout, the crown being of the former material, while the sides are built xip with a good linn stone. This tunnel must have put the engineer's abilities to the test pretty considerably, for at lift}- yards from the end there is a sharp curve. The " lining out" must have been very accurately done, as the tunnel was worked at both ends, and the "meet" was exact. On emerging from the darkness, the train runs through a wild, hungry-looking gully on both sides, barren-looking rocks and bleak inhospitable country. Just outside the tunnel is a great heap of dark-colored soft sandstone, which we are informed is the stuff taken out during boring. Passing through this desolate gully, and by a number of high cliffs, the Otepopo Bridge is reached, where a halt is made for water for the engine. This bridge is known, in technical parlance, as a truss bridge, and is supported by three substantial-looking blue stone piers. The spans are forty feet each, and the general appearance and finish of this structure is the best of any on the line. Alec informs us that the engine has finished her drink, so with a signal from Mr-. Dunbar we are on the road again, but scarcely a minute seems to have elapsed before we pull up at the Waianukua, or the Rookery Creek, Another fine bridge spans this stream, which is named the Rookery, after the number of shags which used to congregate there in times gone by. At this pare of the journey Mr. Dunbar might "be seen very busy at a hamper under the seat, and making general inquiries for a corkscrew. Mr. Lowe, who by this time must have been terribly bored by the thousand and one questions I poured into his ears, commences to operate on a box. In a short time the carriage has all the appearance of a well furnished restaurant. The metamorphosis is as rapid as it is agreeable, for by tins time the visitors are beginning to feel peckish. "Success to the line" being drunk, and the driver and stoker declaring that they feel much better, off we go again, this time for Hampden; but nearing the Kaka Bridge—the only obstacle on the trip —a halt is made, and Messrs. Lowe, Maltby, Dent, and Dunbar, alight, and finding their way down a steep bank, gain the bed of the creek in order to note the

deflection of the bridge aa the train passes over it. The deflection is really very slight, though I must in justice state that the bridge has a very gingerly appearance about it. The banks on' both sides of the creek have sunk bodily, owing to the weight of earth thrown on them when bringing the line up to its proper level, and this is the chief cause of the " kink " in the bridge. At the present time stout supports are being added, and large staybeams thrown across from one set of uprights to the other, and the whole job, when completed, should be as firm as good timber and iron bolts and stays can make it. Mr. Lowe spent sometime examining the structure and inspecting the additions which the contractors are making. When the engine re-crossect' the bridge, the carriage was coupled up, and all jumping in, another move was made for Hampden, which was duly reached, after a fine spin of seven minutes, at 2.19 p.m. The train arrived at the Moeraki Junction, three miles beyond Hampden, at 2.30, and the visitors immediately proceeded to walk along the Junction line. After a stay of an hour and twenty minutes, the return journey was commenced at 3.30, and a good pace maintained right through to Maheno. As showing the advantages of the iron horse over the coach, and the desirability of opening the line at once for traffic, it might be interesting to state that the coach left Hampden at 3.30 with a first-class four-horse team, and our old friend Bill Goddard as whip. "While T was waiting for the train to pick me up at Hampden station, William had the assurance to inform me that when he got into Oamaru he woidd tell our friends when we left Moeraki. Just before turning the bend, however, for the Rookery cutting we espied William doing his level best to make Otepopo before us, but it was quite evident that on this occasion the namesake of the great pianist would would have to play second fiddle. Maheno was reached at 4.50, and the train arrived in town at 5.13, being 23 minutes from Kakanui. All through the running was excellent, and the road was in firstclass condition, and qiiite ready for ordinaiy traffic. I cannot close this report without expressing my thanks to Messrs. Lowe and-Dunbar for their extreme courtesy in answering the numerous questions I troubled them with, the ready manner in which they afforded me all the infOi-mation I required, and last, but not least, the great pains that were taken to look after "Your Own's" creature comforts. I have been on the first train to Clutha, at the opening of the Auckland and Mercer fine, and in other parts of New Zealand on the occasion of trial trips, but I must confess that never was an opening "run out" more successful and enjoyable than that by The First Trainto Hampden.