A BLOCK ON THE OTAGO CENTRAL RAILWAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2370, 3 August 1899, Page 25

A BLOCK ON THE OTAGO CENTRAL RAILWAY.

INTENSE COLD.

THERMOMETER 27 DEGREES BELOW FREEZING POINT.

(From Ova. Special Commissioneb.) RANFURLY, July 26. Passengers and mails got through from St. Bathans and other parts for Dunedin, but no provision is apparently made to geb them sent on to Hyde, where, the. block in ■thaline occurred, and have them taken'to Dunedin from there. It appears that the down train ran off the line near Hyde yesterday 'in a deep, narrow cutting, where, only a limited number of men can work while the sun shines, which is not, more \ than a couple of hours a day. This makes the clearing of the line very slow, and it is not certain when the line will be open for traffic. Several men had to be carried out of the cutting yesterday, rendered helpless by the frost. The frost registered this morning 27deg below freezing point. It is intensely cold, and no information is obtainable when the line will be open. July 27. The passengers by the Otago Central train to Dunedin on Tuesday are not likely to forget their experience on the journey for some time. As the train from Ranfurly was approaching within a mile and a-half of Hyde the engine was embedded in a snow-drift while trying to force her way through a cutting, and all efforts to extricate it proved of no avail. The train from. Dunedin approached to within about half a mile of the snow-bound train,' being unable to get any nearer on account of another heavy drift, and the work of transferring the passengers and mails was begunj ibut, under the circumstances, it was very Arduous, and, needless to say, occupied, come time When it was accomplished the train returned to Dunedin, reaching the latter place some 4£ hours late. The passengers and mails for Ranfurly were forced' to remain at Hyde. The Railway department inform us tha-t» men were set to work to clear the line as soon xis possible, but so far have not made much headway, as a very strong gale prevailed on Wednesday, and the snow was blown into the cutting almost as fast as the men could shovel it out. In addition to this, it was freezing all day, and consequently the work of the men was rendered very arduous. As an indication of the severity of the weather it may be mentioned that the thermometer registered lldeg of frosfe (i.e., 21deg) at Middlemarch at noon yesterday, and several residents state that it is as severe as anything ever experienced there. The train is still stuck fast in the drift, but the railway authorities hope to restore communication between Hyde and I Itanfurly to-day. The train from Dunedin ran to Hyde on Wednesday, and returned up to time. Our Hindon correspondent writes : — " Snow to the depth of one foot fell over this district on Sunday. On Monday night the hardest frost that has been experienced for years occurred." The chief postmaster at Dunedin wired as follows to the secretary of the Postal department on Wednesday afternoon : — " Otago Central train stuck up beyond Hyde. j.'he railway traffic) managei advises me that they do not expect to reach Ranfurly till to-morrow morning. The roads and railway line are impassable. The thermometer at Middlemarch is reported to be lldeg below freezing point last night." Our Cromwell correspondent telegrapher on Wednesday: "The snow has been followed by the severest frost ever experienced here. The Alpine dredge is stopped by tha frost. There are nc signs of a thaw." A bazaar, the first of its kind, held in Ber> wick on Friday and Saturday, 21st and 22nd inflfc M resulted in over £50/beim* tafraiu