LINE IN MID AIR.
WASHOUTS INTERRUPT SERVICE. MIDLAND RAILWAY BLOCKED* As a result of the washout on the Midland railway line six miles past Springfield, no trains will be able t(p get through to Arthur’s Pass for at least a week. The District Railway Engineer says the break is the worst he lias ever experienced. DIFFICULTIES TO BE OVERCOME. Several hundreds of tons of earth have dropped off the hillside into the gorge of the Waimakariri 1 below, and unsupported. Jn the opinion of thj Railway Department engineers, it will not be possible to replace the foundafi on of the line. The site is t-oo dangerous. Jt will, therefore, be necessary to make a deviation, and that will be a task fraught with great difficulty. The new line will have to be taken far enough away to ensure safety and at the same time care must be exercised in case there is too sharp a turn into the tunnel which lies ahead, near Otarama. NECESSARY DEVIATION. Once deviation is decided on, it will be necessary to pick the ground, as hereabouts there are considerable deposits of black shale. To avoid it, the Department may decide on a bigger deviation, involving the erection of a new tunnel. In the meantime, every endeavour will be made to provide a temporary service. A survey will be carried out. and. when it is completed, gangs of men will be set to work. DISORGANISATION COMPLETE. Other blocks along the Midland line will also have to be cleared before the service is restored. The .mouth of number eight tunnel is impassable, between two other tunnels there is a large wash-out and further on are slips, all helping to make the disorganisation complete. To improve matters, a work train may be sent through from Grey mouth. Repair operations will certainly have to be carried out on a large scale. DANGER OF MORE SLIPS. The rivers everywhere along the line are swollen but this morning there were reports that the flood waters were subsiding at certain points. There is still the danger, how'ever, of more slips.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TS19230509.2.8
Bibliographic details
Star (Christchurch), Issue 17036, 9 May 1923, Page 1
Word Count
348LINE IN MID AIR. Star (Christchurch), Issue 17036, 9 May 1923, Page 1
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