RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12706, 8 March 1912, Page 5

RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION.

WORK. STARTED OX GISBORNE SOUTHWARD. PROG BESS OF LINE TOWARDS MOTU. The announcement that an actual start has been made with construction work on the Gisborne southwards line will be i received with considerable satisfaction throughout the district. 1 ■ A party of about twenty men are now employed on the earthwork, of the line proper at King's Road junction. Up to the present the 'men engaged were preparing for the construction- Of the siding and extension of the station 'yard, 'but the number has now been . strengthened, and work on the long stretch 'southwards has been commenced. '■' •'•'■- Advice • from ' Napier indicates that work on the southern- end is going to be pushed on energetically, and as the early construction of -the railway to Wairoa is just as important to Gisborne as to Napier, it is to be hoped -that the Department's energies will I 'be equally balanced at this end} ' That this isthe'intentiOn of the present Minister of Public Works, the' Hob. R: McKenzie, there "can be nO doubt, and if his influence goes' foi> anything m the'' present situatioii;- we are assured that m the next few 'months [substantial Avill be made.In the meantime the issue of the usual proclamation 'defining the first section of the route adopted through Patutahi will be gazetted. As it isonly a' matter of 2| miles between King's Road and the Waipaoa. river, the character of the structure to span the river Ay HI require to be taken into immediate consideration, but there is no reason Avhy decision as to the bridge £hbuld delay construction further ahea&? ' OPENING OF A ,>*KW' 'SECTION. As regards the^Oisborue northwards line, an inspection"' oYtalffs undertaking shoAvs that coiisiderabre ipr&gress continues to be made.' 'Filrly. 40y 'Then are employed beyond Ot'©ko",tUhe;'ntt»in. camp being at MateiAVa}. Qtakfcjf, a» of years ago a '(busy riilAV»y- construction centre, has dwihdlea almost.- -to. insignificance as the i'lneri' have 'worked - forAvard , and the - stttfrv formerly located there, have 'been ' trans'fejtreVl . to • Gisborne. Messrs «.rteY"Cb.'s engineering shop, at Avhich, the' substantial viaduct was manufactured, is now being remoA-ed m order to tur.n out material for another bridge the Rakauroa station site. The ballasting of the Otoko station yard has been completed, and the station shed should be completed shortly. In the meantime, as far as one can see, there is positively no reason Avhy the Otoko section should not be taken over. The operation of the section by the Public Works Department since August Ist, 19J.0, has proved a great concession to the settlers, avlio, after this period of initiation, are noAv naturally wondering why the section is not taken over by the Working Railways Department and the system of double freights abolished. That sudvwould be the case was actually indicated last December by the General Manager of Railways, Mr Ronayne, on his visit to' Gisborne, when he stated the section A\x>uld be opened as soon as the viaduct was completed, shortly after Christmas. . . TO RAKAUROA BEFORE WINTER.

A survey of recent operations shows that the formation between Otoko and Rakauroa is almost completed, and there is no reason Avhy the Minister's prognostication that the line would be riming \o Rakauroa this av inter should not be fulfilled.

of the bridges on this section are ih a'n^adA*anced stage of erection. The piers- on the Devil's Elbow bridge have 'teerV'cOristructed, and the placing of the :gji*d'*i* m position will go on almost at on6e.'-' 11 -When this is done the platelaying can SH* extended right into Rakauroa at the; sahimit of the Waikohu Valley, 7i 'miles' -beyond Otoko and 37£ miles from Gisborne.

It is also satisfactory to record that the earthwork befAveen Rakauroa and Matawai, a further distance of. 6£ miles, is, with the exception of a few large j cuttings, also nearly completed. A good deal of trouble is heing experienced on several of the large cuttings owing to slips. . Approaching Matawai there is a short tunnel, five or six chains m length. This has been pierced, but the breaking doAvn of the centre section has still to be completed. The excavation has been framed for Concreting, 1 Avhich should be started Bhortly, as the materials are available on the spot. The MataAvai station 'is also assuming shape. Tlte station is excellently located upon a river terrace just beyond tbe Public hall, 44 miles from Gisborne. From this point on a number .of gangs extend along tho line to' opposite Mr Hall's mill, where the route touches tha Motu river.' Motu is ten miles distant from this point. QUESTION OF ROUTE. Tavo survey parties have been out for some months examining the merits of the rival routes beyond Motu, viz.; Pakihi and Papamoa. The selection of the best line to carry the railway down from the high Motu country, Avhich forms the backbone of the East Coast, to the loav alhwial flats of the Bay of Plenty.is a problem that must entail the most careful consideration of the Department's engineering staff. As promised, the merits of both routes are being thoroughly ascertained, and an announcement oil the subject may be expected shortly.