RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7296, 8 January 1902, Page 1

RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION.

♦- THE MINISTER OF PUBiLIC WORKS INTERVIEWED. Last evening a reporter of the " Star " met the Hon W. Hall-Jones (Minister of Public Works.) on the express train from the south, and that gentleman, kindly granted him a short interview, during- whidh he explained (matters ie connection with the sections of railway which are under canstruction. In reply to questions as to the reported wholesale dismissal of men from the North Island Railway works, tn© Minister explained the present position. He said" that the vote from Parliament had- been £160,000, which sum was intended! to last up to March 31 rax*. As (head of the Department, he took what he considered to be the most common sense course, that of regulating his expenditure according to the money at his disposal. The vote of £160,000 was made in October to carry on one, whole £20,000 was granted for another work, and £100,000 to carry on a still further work. To carry on these works it was necessary to cub his coat according to the cloth, and had he overspent the amount allotted for. tfhese works, he would probably have been impeached for so doing. With regard to the statements made that men had been -discharged and works stopped in the summer, which could he more cheaply ahd expeditiously carried out duHng that season than in the winter months, Mr HallJones said it had* always been the practice of the Public Works amid! Lands Departmeouts to make an^. reductions that were found necessary during the summer months rather than in winter. During the summer months the men- had a much better opportunity of obtaining work in. other branches from private employers. Most of the men discharged oo the Northern Railway works were single, and, as far as he could gathei., most of them found 1 other employment almost immediately. As to th© question whether the work could be ais advantageously carried) out in winter as in summer, the Minister said that so far as the northern: portion of the Main Trunk Railway was concerned the work could be as expeditiously canned out dih the winter as in the. summer. The work had to be prosecuted! with a view to mindmisinig the cost of : labour andi by the* quickest possible methods commensurate with the amount aillocated for expenditure. The energies of the men employed were being concentrated at both ends of the line, as well as in completing the portions whioh were nearest their termination', and which could be <made reproductive at an early date by being opened for traffic. The laymg of tlhe Tails should follow as closely as possible on the completion of the formation of the permanent way, and by adopting this plan a good deal of monw was saved in haulage alone. When tlie Department had only a certain amount to spend, it hadi to be utilised dn such ai manner as to get the greatest benefit from it in the shortest possible time, and to do this ib was necessary to open each Section for traffic as soon as it could he completed. The Minister sadd it was his intention to have the section from Manganoho to Manga weka completed' by March 31, and from there to Tadhapi •within twelve months from that date. He was quite satisfied; that the Main. Trunk lihe Jbe? tween. Wellington and, Autkkpd wonldiSbe open by 1904, provided the • neoes&*y £300,000 per annum was granted by Parliament. In reply to questions as to the Wai-para-Chevuot Section/ of the ChristchuwhBlenheimi Railway, Mr Hall-Jones said- that work on that line was proceeding very satisfactorily, and he (hopecl to be able to open the first sectioni; ;of tlhe line pn* Maiclh 20, so that: -visiton? :to*the Cheviot Show, which was to be held on th© following day, would be able to travel by iradl for 14£ miles to bhe Scargill Station. In some of the heavy outtinigs on this seotion the engineer-in-cfharge was working night andi day, three » shifts of: mem being employed at either end, the night work being carried out by means of powerful acetylene lamps. Speaking of the bridge over tie Huwmui, Mr Hall-Jones said it was the intentdom of the Publio Works Department to do the concrete work itself, and to oall for tenders for the ironwork, ai it was found- that those who contracted for this portion did mot care to undertake the construction of the abutments. . : . As to the OkEdkundi Railway, the (Minister said that a good deal of heavy work had been done on the section; beyond Patterson's Ci«ek, and several laxge tunnels had been cut out of the solid rock. The bridge over Patterson's Greek w<as-_now being constructed by Messrs Scott Brothers, of this city. The tunnel between that place andi Staircase Gully was well under way, and in a short time tenders would be called for the erection of the Staircaise Gully Bridge. When this was completed, the coaches would; mo longer have the heavy climb over Porter's Pass, as passengers would be conveyed across the Staircase Gully by arfiil and pick up the coaches then. TMs would meam a one-day's service 'between Christchurch and Greymouth.- Of course, th© heaviest work on this line would be the negotiation of the dividing range at Arthur's Pass, and 1 Mr Bogue, am American engineer of great experience in mountain) railways, was a% present visiting the locality, wiitb a view of advising the Government as to the best means of overcoming this obstancle.