RAILWAY WANTS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 841, 13 June 1910, Page 8

RAILWAY WANTS.

AT WAYSIDE STATIONS. MR. MILLAR IN THE MANAAVATU On his way back from the- north, tho Hoai. J.. A. Millar, Minister for Railways, motored on Saturday from Paimarston North to Shannon in order to meet residents of tko district who wished to draw Ms attention to tho need of certain railway improvements at waysido stations on tho Majiawatu lino. Mr. T. Ronayno, General Manager of Railways, was with tho Minister, aoid they woro joined at, Linton by tho member for tho district, Mr. W. H. FMd, and by press rcpresonta.tiv,es. Mr. G. Sedfcrt (who had brought the Ministerial party from Palmorston) and Mr. Akers then conveyed . the augmented party in their motor-cars to Shannon. Linton's Wants. Before leaving Linton, the Minister received a deputation, of which tho chief spokesmen wero Messrs. /Akers, Moody, Gray, Craw, and Beckett. Their case, as put to Mr. Millar, with tho assistance of their member, was that tho accommodation for goods traffic was vory inadequate. They desired a much -larger goods shed, the. lengthening of the goods siding, and some provision for the custody of the smaller packages of goods consigned to the station. To illustrate tho inconvenience of the present arramgements, it was stated that settfers sometimes had to carry sheen singly for a distance to the trucks, and storekeepers wore obliged to carry then goods along tho line. Goods consigned ' to Linton were sometimes lost for want of somebody to take chargo of them, tho consignee- not.being always able to meet the.train. Referring to the need for a larger shed, it was stated that there w«ro now four flaxnidlls working ti\ tho vicinity, and there would b& fivo next year. Complaint was made that when a truck was ordered by a settlor and he brought.his wool to the station, he often found. no room to store tho wool and no truck on the spot. A Favourable Fjeply. Tho Minister _ said the Department conld not provide sheds for storage purposes merely, but he recognised that tho present 'shed was inadequate, and it would be enlarged. The siding also would be lengthened. One difficulty about trucks would bo 'overcome by a new system which was being inaugurated. ' When a settler ordered a truck it would be consigned to him, and would virtually be his property for the time being. Anybody else using it would be fined heavily enough to make such practices not worth wnile.. As there was a surfaceman's cottage near the station, h& would-.'see if it could bo arranged for the surfaceman's family to take care of packages left, at the /station. Another plan that was under consideration was to arrango for goods'to be sent to the wayside stations on stated days of the week.

At Tokomaru. The party then motored to Tokomaru, where the. local- railway needs were placed before the Minister by Councillor Venn '(Hohowhenua County), Messrs. J. W. Whyte, Judd, Rowe, and Guy. They had no difficulty in getting the Minister to admit that the waitingshed on..the platform was "not very good."' .Ho added, however, that similar works wero desired at. various places, and ho would have to seo how far the money would go. It was urged, that the goods shed (which is just twice as large as that at Linton) was inadequate. Tho shed would not hold a day's output of phormium -fibre from tho : local millsn' , The Minister again said ho could not build sheds for storage purposes. The Government had spent. £100,000 on tho Manawatu railway this year. ■ A site where a bridge across the line is desired was shown to the Jfiuister, who, however, stated that '. as the bridge would he a general traffic bridge, as well as a facility for railway passengers, the Department could do no more than subsidise the work £1 for £1. It was estimated to cost £400. A footbridge might be' considered. Trucking Facilities for Shannon. The last halting place was the,township of Shannon, whose railway requirements were explained by Councillors Venn and Stephenson and Mr. Robinson. The need for increased facilities for trucking stock was not, gone into at great length, as tho General Manager stated that plans and estimates ;for the work were already being prepared. In reply to a • request for a bridge over the railway at Buckley's crossing, two miles from tho station, Mr. Millar said the Government would get an estimate of the cost, but apart from that the Railway Department could not assist beyond giving a £1 for £1 subsidy. Mr. Millar promised to lay before the Postmaster-General a request that the erection of the proposed new post office, for which £700 has been voted on the Estimates, should be commenced as soon as possible.

The Main Road. The motor drive from Linton to Shannon having enabled the Minister to realise that the main road through the district follows, a somewhat winding and rather steeply undulating course, Mr. Field, M.P., took the opportunity of pointing out to him the desirability of a new road to run alongside the railway line, and to cross the Manawatu River by the railway bridge at Longburn. Mr. Millar promised to draw the attention of the Minister for Public Works to the matter.

A luncheon to the Minister had been planned, 'but Mr. Millar, who had been away from town all the week, bad intimated that it would be necessary for him to get back to Wellington as soon as possible, and the proposal was therefore relinquished. The party boarded the Main Trunk express at Shannon,, and tho Minister and Mr. Ronaync came on to town,, while Mr. Field alighted at Otaki. ,