CARTAGE OF LOGS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 86, 2 July 1943, Page 3

CARTAGE OF LOGS

MATAHINA PLANTATIONS PAPER MILLS PROPOSALS LETTER TO COUNTY COUNCIL Writing the Whakatane County Council at its meeting last week the Whakatane Paper Mails set out its proposals in connection with the cartage of logs from the new plantations at Matahina and sought the council's, sanction to carry them into effect. * "Your council may not. be aware," ran the letter, "that following the request of the. Timber Controller some months ago, and with a view to conserving petrol and rubber supplies,, arrangements have been made to discontinue operations at Matakana Island and commence taking supplies of wood for the Mill from our Matahina jalantation. We are about ready for the change-ovcr immediately following the mid-year shut-down of the Mill for overhaul between the 27tli instant and the 4th July. Our programme is to com- j plete the cutting of the timber on I your -County Block at Onepu first, and this is estimated to last until the end of August. Thereafter we will be cutting in the Matahina forest, areas ranging up to approximately a 2-mile radius from the Waihou railway crossing. Transport to Waiohou The 1 wood will be carted in from the plantation to the Waihou cross' ing, where it will be loaded into railway trucks and thereafter transported by rail. The cartage portion of the work is to be carried out foi us by Messrs Brabant Bros. Limited. While we are cutting at Onepu Brabants will do the carting, but the loading will be done at a siding at the Te. Teko racccoursc, so that during this period we will be traversing partly the Main Highway and partly the County road from Te Teko to the, racecourse. Because ol' the importance of the work the Com missioner of Supply has taken special steps to sec that a satislactorj type of motor vehicle was made available for this purpose,, and two 4-wheeled Heavy Duty International trucks have been made available by the Used Vehicles Disposal Committee. Four-wheeled trucks were particularly sought in view of the pumice nature of the. roads to be traversed, six-wheeled vehicles being at a disadvantage on ash or sandy country. The tare Aveight. of the vehicles, Ave understand, is approximately <i tons 15ewt., and the}* arc constructed to carry two to two and a half cords each, according to the exigencies of the position at the Mill. Cur regular weekly requirement here is approximately , 263 cords of. wood, equal to 265,001) super feet of timber, and it is of course essential that supplies be maintained at this figure.

Road Royalty Question Each cord, of wood weighs approximately 2.3 tons, so that the iaden weight, ol" these vehicles with two cords of wood aboard would be in the vicinity of 8% tons. We understand that approximately twothirds of the weight is carried by the back axle, so that on this basis the average loading to the back axle ■would be about stons. I<n the course of carting from Matahina ive are li'kely to travel over County roads for distances averaging between a mile and a mile and a half, but. for the purpose of this letter, let us suggest that the distance be taken as not exceeding two miles. Our proposal., therefore, is that the Company undertake the obligation of maintaining this stretch of the roadway in a condition equivalent to that of the. rest of the County maintained roadway from Te Teko to the Company's headquarters, and that in consideration of the Company carrying .out such obligation to the satisfaction of the Council, the Company pay no road royalty in respect of such section. In terms of the ward it is necessary for us to transport our men. from the camp at headquarters to their work in the bush or at. the loading point at the Waihou Crossing, a maximum of 5 miles, and for this purpose a Minerva bus, with a seating capacity of 27,, has been purchased from the Railway Department. Capacity of Trucks We think the council will agree, however, that this would not constitute an extarordinary use of the road, particularly in view of the fact that the obligation is imposed hy law, and that the speeds travel-

•led by the bus arc unlikely to cause any excessive wear on the surface already existing. In view of the shortage of railway department rolling stock, we are taking steps to provide, our own in a type ol' waggon which will take 9ft lengths of wood crosswise tjie railway waggon. Only by this means can we ensure an adequate supply of. wood with the facilities available to us. For the same reason the 9ft bolts of wood are. to be carted in the lorries crosswise the lorry, and it is proposed in 'this connection that warning signs be put up on either end of the road section so being usedwarning other vehicles of the: timber lorries on the road, and the Vidth thereof. These signs Avill be adequately maintained by the Company. The reconditioning of the old bush tram from Edgecumbe up to the 1 Waihou Siding is well under™ way, that section from Edgecumbe to the racecourse siding at Te Teko being completed, antl it is hoped the portion from Te Teko racecourse to Waihou will be completed by the end of August. § An Alternative Route Should the reconstruction work not be 'finished, at that particular point of time, or should we be temporarily held up for the delivery of the balance of our own railway Avagons from Nivcns,, who are doing the work for us, it may be necessary for a lew weeks to lorry the timber right down to the racecourse at Te Teko, a distance of 5 miles, in which event the Avhole 5 mile stretch would be maintained by the Company on similar lines to that proposed in connection with the 2-mile stretch under normal conditions. It is proposed also to transport the wood in 9ft lengths: while operations are carried out at the Gnepu Block, and Ave understand that the. question of axle loading and overhang of vehicle in the stretch from there to Te Teko is a matter for the Main Highways Board rather than for your Council. In A-iew of the early commencement of operations as outlined aboA'e, and the necessity for maintaining adequate supplies of wood, at the Mill, Ave shall look forward to your council's concurrence at an early date."

On the recommendation of. the Works Committee the Council decided that the Whakatane Paper Mills be permitted to use for its cartage, portion of the Te TckoPaper Mills Plantation Homestead Road without the payment of royalty, it being a condition of this \ authority that the. Company adequately maintains, to . the satisfaction of the County Engineer, the length of road so carted over, and repairs to the satisfaction of the Council,, any bridges or culverts damaged on account of such extraordinary traffic also that the Council will not object, subject to notices being erected, and maintained, to 9ft crosswise loads, but it must be understood that the Council is unable to issue any permit which contravenes the regulations, and all responsibility for contravening the regulations will rest with the Company. The Council reserves the right also to review the above arrangement at any time.