PORT CHALMERS RAILWAY.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2122, 23 February 1870, Page 2

PORT CHALMERS RAILWAY.

The ranch talked-of agreement in respect to this railway occupies some live pages in to-day’s Gazdk. The contracting parties are his Honor the Superintendent of the one part, and Mr David Proudfoot. contractor, j and Mr John T. Chaplin, coach proprietor of the other part. After setting forth that the makinu and maintaining of a railway from Dunedin to Port Chalmers and the construction cf wharves in connection therewith at the Port being of great public utility and highly beneficial, and that Messrs Proudfoot and Chaplin are willing to undertake the construction of the same, the agreement goes oil to state that the Superintendent, by the advice of his Executive Council, has consented to execute the following covenants on his part. In the the first place he agrees, so soon as the works shall have been commenced, to settfipart the whole o£ the moneys tlieuO’forth collected !at the Dunedin and Port Vjhalmers jetties, which shall form a fund to be called “ Tile Port Chalmers Hallway Giufrintee Account,” from which on the Ist April, and Ist October in each year, until the line is completed and in actual working order, the contractors will receive eight per cent, interest on the moneys actually expended ; provided that the amount on which interest shall he paid shall not exceed L 70,000. Provision i- made that should the jetty dues fall short of the interest required, they are to be increased to a sutlicient sum to cover the sum required ; and that until the Province exercises the power to purchase the present dues shad not be reduced. The Superintendent is to do all things necessary to empower the contractors to construct a wharf at the Port, and get an Ordinance passed authorising the compulsory taking of ail land required for railway pmrp >ses. The contractors on their part covenant to construct and maintain and work for public traffic a single line of railway with all works, approaches, wharves, &c. ; the point at Port Chalmers to be appoint already described, and at Dunedin a proint in the site reserved for a cen! ral station'. A sum of lijiffiOO is to ba deposited in Treasury as security for the construction ol the line within IS months from the date of the agreenjfent (Jan. 23). The wo l ies are to he carried gut under the inspection of an engineer appointed by the Government; the guage is to be 4ft no gradient to be steeper than 1 in or curve sharper than 10 chains radius. The line is to be worked for public traffic, under regulations approved of by the Superintendent ; and the contractors are to run at least six trains pier day, at a rate of not less than fifteen miles per hour, including stoppages, but provision is made that if at any time the traffic he found not sufficient to require six trains to be run daily, a lesser number may be run. The rate of fares is to be approved by the Executive, but it is stipulated that the charges for general merchandise shall not be reduced below 4s Od per ton; and passenger fares below Is lid for a single, and 2s Gd for a return ticket for first-class passengers ; Is for a single, and Is Gd for a return ticket for piassengcrs, without tßs contractors’ consent. At the termination live years from the date of the completion of the line, the Superintendent may pjureliase it, on twelve months’ notice being given. Three arbitrators are then to be appointed, and the value awarded by them -js t» be paid to the contractors ■within three months afterwards, whereiq,o, t the line wifi be handed over tt, tao Province, By the specifications it appears that a 1 bridges and viaducts are to be uoustructed of timber—totara, black piue, or manuka. The wharf at Port Chalmers is to be of sutlicient length to give berthing room for six vessels of a carrying capacity of 1000 tons each, and is to be extended from time to time as increase of traffic may demand. Stations, sheds, &c., are 10 be built of timber and iron.