A RAILWAY TO THE INTERIOR.

Clutha Leader, Volume III, Issue 156, 6 July 1877, Page 2

A RAILWAY TO THE INTERIOR.

Between Dunedin, Palmerston, and Oamaru, a terrible struggle is at present carried on as to which place shall be the outlet of a railway from the interior. Various County Councils have joined in the struggle, and tho advantage in the meantime seems to be on the side •of Dunedin. Tho Taieri Council recently asked Mr Hay, their engineer, to make a flying survey of the route via Strath Taieri. He has submitted the results of his examination of that route, and also of an alternative route

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by North Taieri or Mullocky gully. fli r - est im aro of constructing a line from Oui.atn ;:u Byd", a di -ranee of thirty miles, is ...00-000; by tiio alternative, which U a mile W*., and which he reuomn.ciKl:. for .id'.-ptioi--, because the work,*; of con-itmetion, with the exception of j* short tunnel, would be of a li'jn nature, Ll 01. OfJii. exclusive oi' rolling acock in both eases. The Mullocky ly^ly lino would leave tho Mosgiel to Outram railway at a point. about two miles from its commencement, and running np Totara Creek or Mill Creek gully a short tunnel would carry either line into Mullocky gully, down which the line would come, joining the Taieri Kiver line near the mouth of the gully, The south bank of the river, up which it is proposed to carry the line of railway, between Outram and the Deep Stream, does not present any unusual obstacles to railway construction, the spurs leading down from the high lands being moderately flat at their termination, and up to this point no heavy' gradients would be necessary. On reaching Deep Stream it would be advisable to cross the Taieri Juver, for the purpose of avoiding the lofty cliffs at the mouth of the Deep Stream, and follow the north bank for some distance*, and re-cross at the first suitable site, j'etween the Deep Stream nod Newthorne, the river is, for a considerable distance, confined between rocky and precipitous cliffs descending sheer down to the bed of the river, thus necessitating- the ascent of the line from the bank of the river to the terraces above. This will entail some work of a more costly nature for about three miles, and with heavier gradients, probably as far as Flat Creek-. From this stream to the Nfcwthorne the line would curve along the top edge of the river cliffs upon comparatively easy country, the chief expense being the construction of bridge.', over a few precipitous but narrow gorges. On reaching a point immediately above the Newthorne the line again crosses the Taieri, and, running up Deep Creek, leaves the river bank entirely for a distance of seven miles, penetrating about three miles in'and, •and passing behind Mount Boss, ovef the Saddle, proceeds, by, fairly easy gradients, to tho Taieri River, running nearly opposite to the town of Blair Taieri, thence in a direct line through the Strath Taieri plains towards Hyde. From the Saddle (mentioned in the last paragraph) there would be no obstacle of any importance to prevent a branch line from being from tho Strath Taieri, connecting Macraes, Moonlight Flat, and surrounding country with the main line. Length of branch line about eighret-.*; miles.

"i he Chief Surveyor is of opinion that the proposed line would open up about OO'O/dOOacß'Sofaviiilabloland-— IIO,OOO •m-es between Uutram and Taieri lake, 180,000 hi rue Taieri plain, and 70,000 aci-es in Ida Valley.

Tht? Oamaru and Naseby Railway Committee have also a report of the line they propose. Messrs Thornton and Rail are the engineers, and they report npon the following routes: —

1. From Duntroon to Naseby, via Livingstone.

:?. From Duntroon to Naseby, via Otekaike iiiver.

3 From Ngapara to Naseby, via Living tone.

•1. From Teaneraki to Naseby, via Livingstone.

In forming their estimate..' Messrs Thornton and BnU took into consideration the following features, vis. : Cost, length, grade, and available, country opened up together with its general resources. The following are the relative lengths and approximate estimates of costs of the line proposed : Duntroon to Naseby, via Livingstone, 40 miles, 1.297,800; Ngapara to Nasobj, via Livingstone, 4.3 J- miles, L 39*5,..00 ; Teaneraki to Naseby, via Livingstone, OH miles, L 355,30 0; Duntroon to Naseby, via Otekaike, 37-.V miles, L 3-20/700.

Distance to run over from Naseby to Oamaru : —

Oamaru to Naseby, via Duntroon and Livingstone, 07 miles ; Oamaru to Naseby, via Ngapara and Livingstone, 001 miles; Oamaru to Naseby, via Teaneraki and Livingstone, 57 miles ; Oamaru to Naseby, via Otekaike, Gl| milea.

Of the four lines mentioned, each would terminate at the same point, and would cross over or under Kyeburn Pass, but there all similarity ceases, as they differ in every other respect. The surveyors point out that the lino from Duntroon via the Otekaiko would be the shortest, but the gradients would bo the steepest. The Ngapara line would bo the most costly, and the Teaneraki line the longest, but the latter would pass through the bestcountry.

We estimate the extent of available country on the plains at 200,000, more or less, part of which is said to be of good quality.