THE CLUTHA RAILWAY

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 5, 6 August 1874, Page 3

THE CLUTHA RAILWAY

• ♦ Considerable epeculatiou is indulged in j as to the effects the opening of the railway j will produce upon the various towns and villages through which, or in the vicinity | of which, it will pass. Upon this point much difference of opinion prevails, and this difference is no doubt partly to be accounted for in many caees upon the principle of the wfeh being father to the thought. In the case of such towns where the hotels and other places of business are largely supported by the travelling public, the opening of the railway must necessarily affect them injuriously, unless by the establishment of local industries, and otherwise a permanent population is secured to counterbalance the effect of the withdrawal of the floating traffic. For assuredly the greatproportion of the waggoners, coaches, &c, will be withdrawn, and the travelling pubh %-T 11 P roceed dire <st to their destination with only the usual very brief stoppages of tbe train along the route. It is but to be expected, therefore; that towns which now present a bustling appearance only for an hour or two during the arrival and departure of coaches, may not feel the change to be for their immediate advantage. In the case, however, of those towns situated at the termini of railways, the effect will bequite the opposite, and in their case a very great impetus will be given to their prosperity. Such a position in all probability will the township of Baiclutha occupy for Borne years to come. Even after the rail, way shall have been completed through to Invercargill, this township will continue to torm the terminus for the inhabitants of a very large and densely populated district, so that so far as the business of the town is concerned, the effects of the extension of the line may be very little felt. But not only will the township benefit from the opening of the railway, the surrounding settlers will also derive immense advantages from having the means of a safe and speedy transit of their produce to market. At present, although the district has aptly been designated the Garden of JOtago, and although its soil is far more productive than any. other district of the Province, the markets open to the agriculturists of other districts have hitherto been practically closed against those of the Clutha, Dependent as they have been upon the uncertamty of the river and coastal service, the caprice of steamboat owners, &c, it mattered little how prolific the soil, or abundant the harvest ; no certainty existed that the produce would ever reach the market, and not unfrequently the experience has been that instead of this it was doomed to rot or be destroyed by vermin at the river bank while waiting for weeks or months for the steamer to remove it. All this the railway will remedy. The settlers of the Clutha will be able to compete in the mar- i ket on most favorable terms with those of other districts. The additional charge for carnage will be far more than counterbalanced by the productiveness of the soil as compared with the over- cropped and exhausted farms situated some miles nearer the metropolis. We therefore confidently believe that a season of prosperity is in store for the inhabitants of this district, and that the same will shortly be realised. Such were our thoughts on Monday last when we, accompanied by Mr Mathews, the General- Government inspector, and several otler gentlemen, enjoyed a trip over several miles of the south end of the Dunedin and Clutha line, upon the first railway locomotive that has been transported to the district. To mark such epochs in the progress of the line will, we doubt not, prove interesting to a large portion of our readers. As most are aware, a contract was sometime ago entered into by Messr?. Brogden and Son, for the laying of the rails and ballasting of the first ten roilf s from this end of the line. A bonus of Ll 00 a week was agreed to. be given for every week the work was completed within the contract time ,• a fine of an equal sum being agreed upon to be paid by the contractors for every week beyond that time. The work is being carried put under an able and experienced manager, Mr Thomas Powell, and although hindrances have been experienced through slight land Blips, the repea f ed sinkine- of tbe embankment in crossing swamps, &c, satisfactory progress seems to have been made. With weather in any wav favorable, it ia anticipated the work will be completed in about eight months from this date, or two months within the contract time. The rails have already been hid about half the distance (five miles) from the river. The ballasting has been finished for about one and a-halfmiles, and another balf mile is partially ballasted. The ballast used in the bottom of the cutting is metal, covered with a coating of gravel, and upon the embankments gravel alone. The gravel is procured from a pit on Mr Anderson's property between the river and Kaitangata junction, and is of excellent quality, aud admirably suited for the purpose. In order to facilitate the carriage of ballast, sleepers, rails. &c, an engine bas now been procured, and being the first that has ever reached this district, a short description of her may not be out Of place here. The engine, then, is one of Nelson's patent, on tbe four-wheeled coupled principle, and was imported by the General Government about eight months ago. She was recently fitted up by Mr. Butt, Government Engineer at Grey town, she having been intended for use on' the line in that district. It was afterwards determined to bring her here ; she was again taken down, conveyed to Kaitangata junction, end there refitted by Mr. Butt, who got up steam for a preliminary trial on Thursday last. She is a saddle-tank engine, with all, the latest improvements, has a pair of cylinders each | 9£in. diameter with 18in. stroke, and carries ! 140lbs. of steam. She is fitted with a new patent injector for feeding the boiler when standing. This is simply wrought by a cock connected with the saddle-tank, and by opening another cock connected with the boiler steam is blown into the injector: thus, a vacuum is created, which sends the water into the boiler. By this means all working of pumps is done away with, and thus is obviated the expense and detention attendant upon the repair of these. She has also a feed pump, which can be used when running down inclines, which allows water to be put into the boiler without reducing the pressure of: steam. She also carries tool chest, jacks, and every appliance necessary, upon the footplate, all carefully stowed away so that they cainot be

knocked off. She has a cow-catcher attached, an alarm whistle, and a large he I to f «gkten cattle off the line, and which the driver can rine at command. She i*also fitted up with aU necessary signal lamps, with which the driver can -shew the different signals by touching a simple 8p^ n u : by the B P rin g the lam P is revolved and the required signal at once exhibited. The engine is so simple in her construction and so well got up that one man only is required to work her. The f-reak, steam, and reversing handles are in so close proximity that one man can f a-sily attend to the whole, although there is ample room on tbe foot-board for two. She bas no tender* as is the case with the engines upon the home lines, but carries lOcwt. of coals m bunkers on each side of tbe boiler. The coals Mr. Butt has hitherto used are those from the Kaitangata pits, and he assured us that they were in every respect suitable for such an engine, as well as for all steam purposes. On Monday last the engine wrought most excellently, very smooth, and quite free from all jars, jolts, or blown joints. She was formally handed over by Mi. Butt, on behalf of tbe General Government, to Messrs. Brogden and Sons on Monday evening. We may add that a neat shed has been erected in which to keep the engine during the night, about half- a-mile beyond the Kaitangata junction, and in the immediate vicinity are the watertanks tor supplying the water. Such are the nature of the works in progress at this end of tbe railway, and such is the locomotive employed— the first of the kind which has been brought to the Clutha district.