FLOOD DAMAGE BEING REPAIRED.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17999, 9 November 1926, Page 13

FLOOD DAMAGE BEING REPAIRED.

TRAIN SERVICES APPROACHING NORMAL. The train services in Canterbury and on the West Coast which were disorganised as a result of the floods last week are now gradually getting back to normal, and the traffic staff, which has had an anxious time and was required to remain very- long hours on duty, is able to take things a little easier to-dav. The maintenance staff', however, "is still working at high pressure repairing the damaged tracks and bridges. Yesterday it was deemed inadvisable to run the West Coast express over the portion of the line at OmOto, near Greymouth, where a subsidence has occurred. but it was hoped to get the trains over to-day*. Several waggons containing foodstuff's and mails were pushed over the break y-esterday, but it was decided not to take the risk of trying to get the passenger cars over in case a further subsidence occurred. The trouble is confined to about twelve feet of the line where it is only twenty or thirty feet from the river. Similar trouble has been experienced there on a number of previous occasions, but it is not possible to shift the line further back from the river owing to the road being alongside. Temporary- repairs have been effected

at Cora Lynn, enabling the express trains and one goods train a day- to be run over the line where the wash-out occurred. The repair work is going on con tinuously. The break on the Reefton line, between Stillwater and Morris's siding, has now been repaired, but between Morris’s siding and Inangahua the line is stiii blocked by several big washouts and it will be a few days before it will be restored. Meanwhile the service cars are endeavouring to maintain a service between Nelson, Westport and Reetton. but difficulty is being experienced owing to the flood waters having caused several washouts on the roads, and to the fact that the Larry’s Creek bridge is down. The. work of restoring the Blackball bridge is being carried on twenty-four hours eac h day,. the men working in eight-hour shifts. It is intended to start the pile-driving operations in a day or two. It is proposed to run a cage over the river for the purpose of conveying parcels of foodstuff’s to Blackball, and passengers will be conveved across the river by- the Greymouth County Council's boat. At Chaney’s, on the north line, temporary- repairs have been effected, enabling the train services to be run right through to Waiau. On the Cheviot branch the trains - : are unable to cross the Waiau-ua bridge, but they are run to each side, passengers crossing the bridge at their own risk.