East Coast Railway Blocked After Heavy Rain

Chronicle (Levin), 5 April 1948, Page 4

East Coast Railway Blocked After Heavy Rain

(1ISEOKNE, April 4. A 60-foot section of niils between tlvo tunnels on the Gisborne- Wai roa section of Ihe raihvav was left hangi nv in the air over a 40-feet deep waslied ont lilling which was gougerl ont by th; overhowing of a eulvert in the earlv hours of Haturday morning. The darn age has completely blockerl traffic on the Jine and as the gap will requi rbridging the engineers eStiniate that. . ii will be Thursday if they are fortunMe before the wo.vk is completed and th line fit fof the fesuniption of the sei* vice. ' The seene of the washout is at tlie northern end of the Tikiwhata tunnel in a filling two ehains long linking with a smaller tunnel, Exceptionally heaw fain dliri'lig Friday night ahd Haturday moniing, when nearlv oi inches fell brought doVn heavy boulders and ■ bru-shwood whicli bloclted the erttranc to a deep eulvert and despite elaborat" prolection overflowed against the fi 11 ing, tearing out a chain-long sector of the filling to a depth of 40 feet, Mr. K. Eimmet'fi, distfiet civil en gineer of the Ttailways J)epartment, made an iiispnction of the dtttnage todav and doeided on tlie construction of a 'temporary briclge across the gap whieh Will entail the transport oi' tiinber from several eentres as^far^ as Wellington. Tlie joli is particularly awkward for transport as it is confined in a space of two chains between tlio tunnels. Between .'10 and 40 men were engaged from dftyltght to dark. Mirior slips and washouts oti ballasting be tween Putorino and Waihua liave been repairedt and the service Was, resumed vesterday between Nuhaka and the beach lodp. Pnrtieularly on Pltritu loop fninot Slips and b&ilttStiiig daffiage ' have been repaired. Passengers ' and luggage ara beiftg transpOrtod by buses to NttMka and gOods trkfilc by lorries.