RAILWAYS AGAIN OPEN

Taranaki Daily News, 27 February 1935, Page 6

RAILWAYS AGAIN OPEN

NORMAL SERVICES EAST MAIL GOES STRAIGHT THROUGH. TEMPORARY BRIDGES FINISHED. REMARKABLY QUICK CLEARANCE. Normal services on the StratfordMain Trunk railway were resumed yesterday after it was shown by the passage of the 5.10 p.m. Stratford-Tauma-ranui mixed train on Monday and of the New Plymouth-Auckland express on Monday night that the line was usable. Fifty-seven minutes behind schedule the first Wanganui-New Plymouth express since the disorganisation of the timetables by floods arrived at New Plymouth last night. There were more than 150 passengers on board, the majority making the through journey. The express was on time for the greater part of the journey, but after leaving Stratford considerable time was lost. Acting under strict instructions the train crew maintained a very slow speed. Over certain sections the speed was reduced to six miles an hour, while over the bridges affected by the flood the train literally crawled. ’

All trains to and from New Plymouth will resume their normal timetables, but it is possible that trains arriving at New - r Plymouth during the next few days will be slightly behind schedule. The. department is exercising every precaution, and speeds over the sections of railroad affected will be increased as permanent repairs are effected. “We have very strict instructions and. are taking every precaution; we aim at gradually speeding up the trains until their normal speeds are attained,” explained a railway official last night. ’ The final stages of the journey were , very trying indeed, said a passenger who made the journey from Wellington? At the same time one could not but speak in the highest terms of the precautions exercised by the train, crew when crossing over the damaged parts of the line. The main line, which was blocked between Midhirst and Inglewood by damage to the line at Waipuku, Norfolk * Road and Durham Road,, was cleared yesterday afternoon a day ahead of the previously announced schedule.

• Work at Waipuku was finished on Monday, at Norfolk Road during Monday night and at Durham Road yesterday. Thus all the flood - damage was repaired in just over four days—a remarkable feat considering the work that had to be done. A fair amount of the material and gear necessary for the repairs was at Wanganui, but some of it had to fee brought from various points much -furthen afield. $ What will be done in the way of permanently repairing the damage has not yet been decided. At Norfolk Road only a comparatively small subsidence had. to be dealt with, but at Waipuku and Durham Road, where wash-outs extend- ' ing over about 60 feet occurred, more problems have to be faced. The tern- j porary bridges that have been 'erected are quite capable of restoring the services but were not intended to be permanent structures. Three courses are open. Large culverts and fillings may be resorted to; permanent bridges may be built; or the present temporary structures may be strengthened. There were 23 slips cn the TahoraHeao section of the . Stratford-Main Trunk, previous reports having given the number as 25. The largest slip occurred between Tahora and .Tangarakau . and. threw about 1000 cubic yards of spoil.onto the line. Many of the others were of only 40 to 50 yards, but. several ran to 200 and 250 yards. Here again a. clearance was effected •in surprisingly short time—a little over three days. . The largest slip, peculiarly enough, occurred not on the section of the line last completed—the Tangarakau-Heao area—but between Tahora and Tangarakau.