A BIG LAND SLIP.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 855, 29 June 1910, Page 6

A BIG LAND SLIP.

* ON KARORI LINE, TEAM- TRAFFIC BLOCKED. A big fall of earth occurred on the Karori . tramline yesterday near the point known as "tho deviation," somo distance past the tunnel, and whore the road goes down to Creswick. At about 2.15 p.m., as the result of the soaking rains of the previous twelve hours, some 31)00 cubic yards of earth came down tho hillside, smashing tho overhead tramway wires and burying the lines deep under debris. The noise of the fall was heard for a considerable distance. A tradesman's cart had just passed by the epot, and ii car from town arrived two minutes later. Had the car been passing at the time it must havo been smashed J. 0° Kusscil, overhead equipment superintendent of the City Councils tramway department, went out at once.,to 'the spot, and the Karori Borough Council was also informed of the slip. AN ■rangomonts were ot once made by the engineer of the borough council for the jemoval of the fallen earth with all. possible dispatch, and a gang of about thirty men was soon employed on this task. The cars continued running from town up to the place of tho landslip, whence passengers had to walk the re'jnaining short distance to Karori. An Animated Scene. When a Dominion representative paid a visit of inspection early in the evening, the sccno was quite an animated one. Big electric lights, by which the men, "sou'wester" clad, were working, threw their Steady radiance on the sleety night and on the sloping wall of earth, which a ]6coro of busy shovels were spooning into ;as many as eight drays. As each dray was :filled it was led a dozen chains lower down the muddy road, and its contents tipped, by lanterns' light, down tho deep gully. The gully has been used in the past as a deposit for ■debris from the quarry, and it is large enough to receive all the earth which came down with yesterday's ifall. It is feared, however, that probably ns much more of the hillside will have to como down and be removed before tho jroad will'bo entirely safe for traffic. Yesterday's slip has left a big hole in the Smiddle of the hill face, and the earth iabove this is liable, to give way at any itime; in fact, it was crumbing down, very ielowly bnt steadily, last evening. It is expected that part of tllis upper earth hvilkbe removed, or at least buttressed, .before the "through" car servico to KaTori is resumed. A conference with representatives of. the syndicate which owns rthe property will be necessary before any ■large removal of this earth can be made. It. was expected that the gang of men who were at work last evening would •continue workinu till midnight, and that operations would be resumed at seven o'clock -this morning. 'When the men ihave daylight tor their operations, it will ■be possible to tip a great deal of the ■earth down a giilly on the Karori side of the slip, which is nearer to the fall. It is hoped to have the tram lines cleared, and sufficient precautions taken :against further accident, for the cars to :mn right through to Karori this aftermoon. It will probably be two or three days, however, before all the land which it is feared will have to come down can he removed. The work of the men in the sleet and darkness last night was far from comfortable, but they were regaled with hot iea brought in large cans from Karori, and were generally assisted to make the best of their task. Other Slips. A slip occurred yesterday morning at Reaper's Loop, on tlie Brooklyn line, and blocked one pair of lines until the afternoon. Traffic was blocked on the South KaTori Road by a slip which occurred yesterday afternoon. It is hoped to have the road cleared this morning.