THE MIDLAND LINE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17038, 11 May 1923, Page 10

THE MIDLAND LINE.

EXTENSIVE DAMAGE. | Though the fifty yards slip at Ota- J : ruraa i& the largest of the interruptions | to traffic on the Midland railway, it .s j not the moat difficult to deal with. The ! slip her© has cut a, great gaping bay j from what was an abruptly sloping hill- 1 j aide, and has left an almost sheer drop of many hundreds of feet over loosely otrewn boulders, shingle, sand and mud - to the Waimakariri below. But for a - slip of its size, it has occurred in one < of the best possible spots of tho moun- ' tain line from the viewpoint of effect 1 irepairs. A lew yards higher up the hiH there existed. until the repair gangs began to give it more shape, the traces of an old traffic road that was used when tlie line- was first put through. This road is being speedily adapted for the purposes of a deviation, and is already beginning to assume a businesslike aspect. With things thus, in their favour, it will not- bo long be fore . fcbe workmen of tho Railway De partment- have overcome the first ob stacl© to traffic to tlie .West Coast. But beyond the Otarama slip there are many small obstacles—-minor slip-* and wash outs are almost innumerable —-that culminate in impediments of serious proportions as Broken River lapproached. At the end of No. 8 tunnel, some miles beyond Staircase, tho hillside has been torn away. and. fall ing in a loose, sprawling mass, has built 1 a large rampart of debris that entirely , hides the tunnel mouth and fills the end i ot tho tunnel for about twenty yards i blocking it ao effectively that it is pos ! sible for a man to get in and out only ; by crouching on hands and knees under : the other arch of the tunnel. This ob stacle, however, is not really a bad one. j though it is a big one. It is merely a ‘ matter of shovel work. The most serious break in the line from the viewpoint of repair work has occurred just beyond No. 9 tunnel. Here a wash-out about 125 ft in breadth and to a very great depth lias occurred. The hillside rises practically sheer,to a very great height between the mouths of two tunnels, while the spoil that lias been carried away has created rm almost precipitous fall to Broken River. Neither deviation nor fitting can pos : sibiy be carrier! out. and a bridge will have to be constructed on a very difficult foundation to fill the gap. Before this work can be commenced, the remainder of the line will have to he put in a sufficient state of repair to peirmtt the necessary material to he carried to the spot. Mails to Avoca and Craigieburn Vor? : taken through yesterday by Mr G. ' Perry. j The weather at Springfield and adjacent places in the hills was beautifuTl-v ! ftnv all day. Springfield is rapidly dry ing.