FIRE AT OMAKAU.

Otago Witness, Issue 2649, 21 December 1904, Page 58

FIRE AT OMAKAU.

ENGINE-SHEDS DESTROYED.

THREE ENGINES CONSIDERABLY DAMAGED.

A serious fire occurred at Omakau, the terminus of the Otago Central railway line, on Sunday night, and resulted in the total destruction of two engine-sheds and considerable damage being done to three railway engines and the turn-table. The fir© was discovered at 9.15 at night, the roof of one shed being then ablaze. There was a gale of wind blowing, and, though the railway hands and those living in the vicinitj did everything possible to minimise th© damage, all efforts were unavailing, there" being no water supply. The buildings were of wood — one having an iron roof, and the other a slate roof, — and, fanned by the fierce wind, the flames soon reduced both sheds to a heap of ruins. There was, of course, no steam oh Hiio engines, and ifc was therefore impossible to get three engines which were in the sheds away, tho result being that they were very much damaged. The turn-table also suffered considerably, all the woodwork being destroyed.

he engine-sfteds and contente, apart from the locomotives, / were valued at about ' .000. They wera not new, Uaving done service elsewhere, and been removed to ■ «makau. The engines were of the U.B. (American) and P. and R. (English) types, and were valued at £5000. It is impossible ab present to estimate the damage done td them, but it must be veiy considerable. They are being dismantled, and the locomotive foreman left town on Monday to inspeot the damage. The railway engineer (Mr Mac Lean) also despatched an officer to the soene to report on the matter general?;^ It is supposed that the outbreak was caused by a spark from an engine having lodged* in a bird's nest in the roof of one of the sheds, and that it had smouldered for some hours, and finally burst into flame." Colour is lent to this surmise by the' fact "that ifc was in the roof that the fire was first discovered. There was no interruption in the passenger traffic, an engine being despatched to Omakau from Dunedin at 1 o'clock orf 'Monday morning to bring down the pass+nger trains. No goods or ballast train* ran from Omakau on Mondny, however, but on Tuesday the service was run aa vsual.

The five artillerymen who were injured at Fort Ballance through th© blowing oufc of^a breech-block are all out of ho3pitah but still under medical treatment. So far they are progressing favourably, and there ia said to be no reason to anticipate any permanent disablement. Their hearing, which was much interfered with, has, with one ox two exceptions, greatly improved 1 .

The National Mutual Life Association calendar comprises a, mast useful map of the world, th© British possessions being ■distinctively marked in red. A copy of it has reached us per Mr E. H. Coltma-n, the local manager. Mr James Edgar, manager of the Victoria. Insurance Company, sends us a. oopy of the Victoria. Calendar. Mr Alex. SligO's useful calendar is also to hand.

William Dingley, a well-known furniture dealer at New Plymouth, committed suicide by hanging on the night of the 12th-

— — Twelve electric motor oars are now employed by the Paris postal authorities ! for the conveyance of letters from branch • offioes to railway stations. Six of these cars have pneumatic tyres, and the rest are fitted with eolid tyres. The cars weigh one and a-half tons, and will carry half a i ton of mail matter at a speed averaging 12- miles per hour. The first trials took place 'on slippery and muddy streets,' during heavy rains, and were very successful. ! R. Walthour made £1200 after. paying expenses during his two months' stay on I the Continent. He took part in 44 races, and lost only four. !'..-£ kiiomo'.r© record at the end o: i December, 1902, stood at 29sec, 7; miles per hour, to the credit jointly of Angieres and H. Fournier, both on Mors cais. Last December it was 26 2-s=ec, 84.68 miles* per , hour, accomplished by Duray on a 100 horsepower Gobron-Brillie. It is now 21 3-ssec, 103.2 miles per hour, the wonderful speed i I of Rigolly on a 100 horse-cower Gobron1 Brilli*.