SALVAGING OF ENGINE IN GORGE

Chronicle (Levin), 2 December 1946, Page 2

SALVAGING OF ENGINE IN GORGE

. BOILER HAULED UP CLIFF Unlv the teiuler and engiue wlieel* and bugey are now left in Ihe Manavvatu River as ovidencc of tlie tragie railway aeeideut iu the Mauawaiu Gorge in the early liours of the moruing of August 2U, wheu the KA eugine aua three ieadiug trucks of a goods traiu rau foul of a slij) aud plunged 00 feet i 11 to the river below. Yosterday the 30-tou £.3000 boiler ot tlie ill-fatcd eugine, was hauied up ihe ciitl faee to tlie tracks by two 4U-ton railway craues, specially imported toi work counectcd with loconiotives of tlie KA type. Liftiug operations begau a. 1.30 a.m. aud wero couipleted by / p.in. Salvage work hus been iu progres,-. for the past three nionths. The three trucks wero liited to the rails iive days after tlie aeeideut aud work was begun with oxy-aeetylcue torelies to reniove all possibie littings from Ihe body oi tlie eugine. A wooden jetty was buiJt at the water 's odge ovcr tlic ioeouiotive, enabling the salvage enginoers to raisr it about six feet above the water leveh As soou as tlie exterior littiugs amJ plales had been removed, Uie boiler isas detaehed J'roin tlie bogcy. Ycslcrday thcjibs of the craues were awuug out over the eliff i'aee to faeilitat" a straight lift. Both craues were ;'eeurely anehured to tlie banlc with steel ropes and pegs and large wooden blocks suppoiled lliem on the river side. !'ort\ ton pulley bloeks were used to gu-e a stead,\ and slow pull. Two long poles were placed on the banks to act as a slipway and the boiler was pulled endwaya up these. The boiler was lifted on to a truek on wliieh it will be transported to Wellington. It is expeeted that the tender and boge\' will be removed from the water withii. the next fortnight. • The chief eiigineer of the Railway depart ment . Tt[r. G. A. K. Wimnieis. w;om attendance to supervise the salvage operations. Jle told rej»orters that the work was rnerelv routine. The ecpiip ment had been specially made ior. the ,toh and with an experienced erew • handle it tlie l>i 1 1 ty of uiistakes or trouble had been earefullv eliminated.