RIVERTON OREPUKI RAILWAY.

Western Star, Issue 455, 22 June 1881, Page 2

RIVERTON OREPUKI RAILWAY.

At last we have to chronicle the completion of the first section of the Riverton-Orepuki Railway, comprising a length of six miles from the Riverton railway station. This was one of the Otago light lines inaugurated by Mr Macandrew, and our readers no doubt remember the mismanagement and squabbles which resMted in compensation to the coutr'actoT, and the half-finished railway works remaining ri moniurirnt of misery and eyesore for many mofithd. At the abolition of the Provinces, being a Provincial liability, the railway was taken ifi hand by the Government, and the Riyerton contract of six miles let to Mr David Robertson, of Dunedin, for about the sum of £21,700. The work has taken.-two years and three, months' to complete,.asnd re Sects great credit on the contractor afid those who supervised it. Starting from the railway station, in Riverton, the line passes along the estuary frontage, behind the Commercial Hotel, 'f the police camp, and Custom-hsuse, and crosses Palmerston street, where rather a high crossing had to be made, supported by some serviceable atone pitching ; thence on to the bridge by a five-chain curve, which is the sharpest allowed. The bridge is nearly 13 chains long, and has bad a thorough overhaul,’ the’original having virtually. chucked it rtqgetbsr. Horizontal braces have been inserted, dummy boll s removed and replaced with those of .proper length,, walings and struts fitted and strengthened, raking piles driven, and all decayed timber replaced with new. The bridge has been officially tested, as also by the numerous heavy ballast trains which have .been run oVrr it, and now it is in a .position, to carry trains for a number of years. . ,

At the .further. end of the bridge a fine masoriry ■wall with a concrete coping has been erected on a five-chain curve, and has a very workmanlike appearance. A grade of lin 50 starts at the; bridge, and continues through a rather deep cutting till Locke’s Hotel is reached, after which it is level for some distance. At various points where the foot of banks project into the water, stone pitching has been built as a protection. Passing with an easy curve close to Mr Patrick Hayes’ residence, the line descends at a grade of 1 in 50 till More’s mill is reached at H miles from town. From-More’s tbe line is straight for nearly two miles, passing through Messrs More’s property and the Pourakino township ; close to the three-mile peg a platform is being erected to accommodate people reaching the line by the new county road from the Pourakino.

The earthwork from miles to 3 miles is rather heavy, there being both large banks and cuttings, also a rising grade all the way, part of it being 1 in 50. The lino enters a rock cutting at 3 miles 10'chains, at which point it deviates from the original line as carried out by the Provincial Government; turning to the left it crosses a high rocky bans, and enters the big cutting on the level at 3£ miles. This cutting is the deepest and longest on the lino, and contained 35,1)00 cubic yards of rock and clay; it is 30 chains long, and 31ft deep at the deepest part. It took a long time to excavate, both on account of the rock and its having nearly all to be taken out from one end in order to fill up the bank beyond. The cutting is in

a saddle, and is the highest point reach by the line. During the excavation slips wi encountered, one of which, we are sorry i say, killsd one poor fellow and injure another, besides damaging the railway plan’ Half-way through the cutting there is a d'scent of 1 in 50 as far as the 4J- mile peg; the Jig trunk reaches from 3 miles 70 chains to 4 miles 30 chains, aiid is bf the most permanent character; at one point an eight feet £fchod masonry culvert has bee'h biiilt, lt,is7ofeet long and the workmanship is excellent, Mr Peter Foster was the bead mason k.d deserves great praise. At 4* hides the ballast siding leaves the line and reaches the Coho Bay beach whence the gravel , has been obtained to ballast the line ; talking of ballast, those.who ought to know say that in. their opinion this is the best ballasted line in South'!and From 4* miles to the six mile peg, which is the termination of the line, the earth’ work consists of a low bank. Messrs McKillop and Traill have erected a sawmill at the 5-mile peg, and have applied for a siding"there is also a siding at the end of the line, and a platform is in course of erection Tha termination is about a mile from the’ point where the Round Hill track leases the Beachand about two miles from the Colao Bay kaik From More’s mill to the end the lihe entirely through heavy bush, which has added materially to the cost of construction. Mr Graham was the manager for the contractor, and we congratulate him on fetia completion of the work, and he has our belt wishes for his future prosperity. Mr James Knox'was the Government Inspector, Mr W. M. Vo well and latterly Mr D. W. Witherby were the Assistant Engineers in charge, and Mr W: W: Dartnall the District Engineer.