WORK ON EAST COAST LINE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19029, 1 June 1936, Page 13

WORK ON EAST COAST LINE

INCREASE OF STAFF MANY RAILS RUST I'M) CAMP AT WAIPUNOA The number of men employed on the Napier-Waipunga section of the Fast Coast railway is to be increased towards! the end of this week from 88 to ICO, reports the Hawke's Hay Herald. A camp of 20 tents, complete with a cookhouse and other facilities, is now being established at the Waipunga railway station.. and 30 men will occupy it. At the present time workmen are scattered along the line from Napier northwards for a distance of 16 miles, and steady progress is being made in, clearing the track, filling in landslides and removing spoil from slips. Two big jobs are to be done neat Waipunga, one being the clearing of a large landslide about a mile on the Napier side of tho Waipunga railway station, and the other -in respect- of a falling away of the land on the northern side of the same railway station, beyond the No. 1 tunnel. -Attention to these two jobs will occupy the time of gangs for three or four months, and a second steam locomotive is to be brought on to the scene.

Tho landslide on the Napier side ol Waipunga is where the Public Work* Department built a spillway before tlu earthquake to divert water which flowed down a valley across the. track. A huge concrete culvert, and concrete spillway was built, which conducted the water under the railway embankment. The 1531 earthquake, however, smashed this spillway, with the result that tlu water has been washing down the newly built up embankment to a depth of about ICOft., and has undone all the build ing-up work of prc-earthquako days. Ti is" estimated that at least, 2000yds. o! spoil will be required, to •fill this gap. RAILS TO 'BE BELAID The line from Napier to Eskdale does not require much work, and the gangs of men scattered along this section have repaired it sufficiently for ;■ train to make good speed to Eskdale The rails, however, are rusted throng! exposure to the salty atmosphere ami will all have to be pulled up and relaid before heavier trains ply their pas senger and freight trade, between Napier and Oisborne.

From Eskdale to Waipunga, however a lot of work has been done and is yet to bo done. This for the most part involves filling in where the railway em bankment has sunk, in some places L a depth of live or six feet. Cuttings art also to be splayed back, where slip.have occurred, and the viaduct at Wallace's dossing requires repairs. Beyond Waipunga the railway line: are in many cases covered by slips and overgrown with weeds and grass. The section from Waipunga to Waikoati. which includes three tunnels, is to receive attention in a little over a week's time.

Although the tunnels themselves ar< hi good condition, the approaches at cither end are blocked by slips. The No. 1 tunnel is about- two miles from Waipunga and 17 miles from Napier, and is the largest-of the three in this locality. It is in a worse condition as fax as the approaches are concerned than eitlic. of tho other two."

The 20 men who'are to lie accommo dated at Waipunga shortly, will be well found. Each of the-20 tents has a wooden framework, with built-in walls up to a height of about 4ft. Each tent has i sheet-iron fireplace. There will be a cookhouse and a dining room. Fresh water has been laid on, being conducted by pipes from a dam high .up in tin hills some distance off. The men will occupy each tent. The stretch of the line between the Waikoati tunnels and Putorino does not require particularly much attention, .for there are no serious slips or landslides there. Further on, however, there is. a lot to be done before, the railway will be sale for heavy traffic.