EAST COAST RAILWAY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume L, Issue 16378, 11 March 1924, Page 6

EAST COAST RAILWAY.

THE WAI FI I -Iv AT 1K AT I SECTION, j GOOD PROGRESS MADE. ; TO AT HE NEE E IN NINE MONTHS, j During the past twelve months satis-j lactory progress lias been made l with the construction works on the WailnAtfienree and Katikati sections of the East Coast main trunk railway line (states the: Wailii Telegraph), and there is now tangible evidence of Die comparatively early completion of the Athenree section, commencing at the Waihi railway station and ending just beyond the Athenree' "station, a distance of about eight and a-half miles, the line on this ■ section, it is estimated, will be ready for ballasting in six or seven months, and should be ready by Christmas fur j public works service, and possibly available lor a limited passenger trailie. Practically what remains to be done | is the riveting of girders, and the placing in position of the girders on six bridges. Once the girders are in position piatelaying and ballasting, and the erection of station buildings at Waimafa and Athenree will follow. At the pie- j sent, moment the raiis, commencing at j the Waihi station, have been laid for three-quarters of a mile, and about half j« this distance is ballasted. Jhe bridge j over the Ohinemuri liver which is divid- I ed into four spaiis of 221 t each, one of j | 7011. and ohe of 6011 —making a total I j length of atfoiit 180 ft—should be ready j for use at the end of this week, as there only remains two girders of 2iirt each to lie put into place. Tne which was landed in Wailii from Katikati about five weeks ago, is a motor car engine, converted into a locomotive by the Public Works Department, and is I being utilised fo>’ carrying ballast and plate Laying outwards Rom tlie Waihi end as the rails are advanced. Since the “puffer,” by which name the ioi emotive is designated, has been put into commission here it has done excellent work, and the maximum load if has drawn up a one in sixty grade represented the equivalent of a. 170 ton train. Tho Katikati section, lying beyond the Athenree station and ending within two miles of the Katikati post office, is not so far forward as the WaihiAthonree stretch, but nevertheless good progress has been made of. late. the 1 length of this piece of the line is six ’ miles, and with the miles from Waihi to Athenree the total stretch under the control of the engineer at the Waihi end is 14-1, miles. ■ r , From the 14£ mile peg on to lauuinga the construction of the line will proOuhly be undertaken by private firms, tenders having some time hack been, invited in New Zealand, Australia, and Great Britain for the remaining sections between those points. The tenders re- j present in tlie aggregate a huge sum of money, and subject to the acceptance of all or any of them, the firms concerned will be expected not only to carry j p through the lines, but, to supply the vails i and oil material necessary to hand the j , services over to the Government in a completed state within a specified time. Some very largo concerns have inspected the plans and specifications and sent experts over the route with the object ot determining the engineering difficulties. These included a representative of the well-known English the Vickers-Armstrong Company. Should they happen to submit a tender and have it accepted, then the work of coni' struction will practically be revoiutioni- jsed and greatly facilitated, as powerful it steam navvies and other excavating and spoil removing contrivances costing very d many thousands of pounds, would he ’• used. o In the early months of last year tiie o maximum number of men employed was if 200, but during the past six months the number has been gradually reduced, as Hie works have been completed, to ICO. This is likely t<> be the minimum number employed until tho section line is completed.