PROPOSED MOUNT SOMERS TRAMWAY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1422, 2 December 1886, Page 3

PROPOSED MOUNT SOMERS TRAMWAY.

As we understand that a petition is to be presented to the County Council at to-morrow’s meeting, asking that body to take steps for the construction of a tramway between the Mount Somers Railway Station and the Mou’ t Somets Coalpit® some particulars with regard to the proposed work and the prospects of its proving lemunerative may not be out of place. The tramway, as projected, would be a aft guage line, identical in construction with the Festiniog line, North Wales. That line (the Welsh) is 15 miles long, and was built for the carriage of the produce of the coal mines and slate quarries, and it is estimated that the cost ot constructing a similar line at Mount Somers from the railway station to the coalpit would be about £3OOO. That sum, of course, does not include the providing of rolling-stock which, however, would not be a very heavv item. That there will be abundance of freight for the proposed line there appears to be no room fur doubt. The local coal is certain to come into extensive con-

sumption with the cheapening o freight, and exists in such enormou: quantities that there is no fear of exhausting the supply. At the time the coal working shows a cleai face of coal some soft thick, and how much thicker even than that the deposit may be is not yet known. As to quality, it is claimed that it is superior to that found at Malvern Hills, while it is much more easily obtained ; indeed, the Mount Somers is said to be the easiest worked as well as the largest seam on this side the ranges. With a tramway, the output of coal would, it is believed, reach fully 5000 tons per annum. But the coal, though the chief, would not by ary means be the only item of freight. The tramway would pass by a very fine quarry of building stone, for which it is stated that there will be a ready market in Melbourne, once facilities are provided for getting it to a port of shipment, while the construction of the line would enable lime-burning to be entered upon on an extensive scale, as there is in the locality, and within a mile of the proposed tramway, an unlimited supply of lime stone, showing by analysis no less than 96 per cent, of pure lime, and as the tramway would bring the coal to the limekilns, the facilities for manufacturing a first-class article could not be surpassed. These two items — building stone and lime —will, it is calculated, yield fully 2000 tons additional freight per annum, so that it is calculated that for the three products mentioned there would be a freight-bill for the year totalling up some 7000 tons As a tramway is one of the public works enumerated under the Government Loans to Local Hedies Act of last session, under whi b advances may be made to any local autboiity, we presume the object of the memorialists is to induce the County Council to take the work in band, and to apply to the Government tor the necessary funds under the Act cited. Security may be given by the Council over the work itself, and over any revenues derivable from the tramway, but there must be a special rate levied for an amount sufficient to represent at least one-half of the interest upon the loan. This would mean a rate, as we take it, sufficient to produce the half of £l5O («bich is the interest on the £3OOO at 5 per cent ), that is to ■ay, that the rate struck would have to be sufficient to yield -£75 per annum. Before the Council can borrow under the Act, is is necessary first to adopt the Local Bodies Loans Act, and next to take the votes of the ratepayers within the district proposed to be rated ; SO that virtually it will lest with the people of the district themselves to say whether the work shall be undertaken. On the face of it, we should imagine that the ratepayers will have no difficulty in deciding favorably, as the undertaking is one which promises to

be most useful and profitable. .It would also be the means of affording employment to a good many men, and on this account is the more desirable. So far as we can gather, the rate, though struck, need never be collected, for, taking the traffic at 6000 tons, which is regarded as a perfectly safe limit, and there would be a revenue of a year at a freight charge of only 2s per ton, which should be ample to defray working expenses and provide interest and sinking fund ; while, we believe, that, if necessary, the freight on coal might be made considerably higher than this, as even 4s would be much cheaper than the present cost of cartage. Altogether, then, we think the memorialists will be able to make out a good case for the consideration of the Council, and we hope that that body will see its way to give their re quest a favorable hearing. Meanwhile, it may perhaps be worth while to suggest that qui'e possibly the cost of the work itself might be considerably reduced if the Government could see their way to supply some of the disused rails which have been taken up from the main railways, and of which we believe there are large quantities in stock, at a cheap rate, as these would answer the purpose of the tramway for many years to come; indeed, the charge for them might be almost a nominal one, in view of the benefit which the Railway Department would receive by the increased freight brought in to the - main line by the tramway. We do not know how far the Government might be disposed to pneet the County authorities in this direction, but it might be quite worth while to enquire.