RAIL LINK

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 140, 30 June 1937, Page 6

RAIL LINK

. RAIL-CAR PIONEERS THE LINE . * I Major Work of Reconstruction Finished REGULAR SERVICE $OON Transport lfl & major factor -in the economic life of any communSty, so tHat the completion of a xaii link between Napier and Wairoa*. offlcially performed this morning by the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. R. Semple, is an event of prime importance to the province. To the farmers north of Napier it means that a cheap methcd of bringing their produce to tixe Tna.jn marketing eentres has heen provided; and to the public merchants of Hawke's Bay it means that a greater source of reyenue has heen opened up. Idttle more than a year has elapsed since 30 men resumed wprk on April 27, 1936, on the aban'doned project of ihe Napier-Gisborne railwajr, and by the end of the present year the wholo of tho link will haye been handed over to' the Railways Department and a regular schedule of trains will be runaing. To-day the rail car Arai-te-Uru pioneered' the line between Napier aiid wairoa — the forerunner of a regular train serviee and later of a rail-car serviee from Wellington to Gisborne. * It is txue that some.. portion of the yrork had been already completed when work was recommenced last year, but ; * the major portion of the task still lay khead when the engineers of the PubJic Works Department mapped out their programme and had the work hegun. Eeconstruction Problems The r&vages of time, had done mnch to destroy the first work done on the3 line. Near Napier the track was overgrown by weeds, and at.places it had been twisted by the earthquake, but it was in the hill are'a past Eskdale that a full realisation of. the dam&ge was brought home to the speetator. Part of the permanent way was beneath water, and at other portions fcuge falls of earth precluded any possibility of excavation and a new track to be placed several feet above the originar level. Damaged tunnels were ia need of repair, and in place3 new levels and directions had to be made for the track. The line was divided into various eections, campa were established, and gangs of men, assisted by machinery, began their long task, At the same time skiBed workmen began their work of completing the giant spans of the Mohaka Viaduct, which was finally completed to-day. Their task alone was $ major operation: the big rail bridge was to be the l&rgest in the Southera Hemisphere, 908 feet long,' and 310 feet above the bed of the Mohaka gorge. The great change was apparent today as the offieial party sped along the line in the rail-car. • To all intents and purposes the .track was in the best of 'condition, ,and it was rarely that the smooth xunning of the car was interxapied by irregularities in the line. Bridge Problems In addition to the work on the restoration'ahd' completion of the right-of-way, a serious prcfblem coufronted the engineers in the host of small and large bridges.in the hill region. One bridge, 63 miles from Napier,, was found to have moved forward several feet during ihe earthquake that suspended the working of the line in 1931. In addition to this loss of alignment, the piers supporting the struction were straiued, 8B& ' the abutment^at one end .spliniered. Whiie sulfieiently strong to. accommodate the ballast and work trains without risk, the bridge was obviously dangerous for the heavier locomotives used on other lines in the Dominion, apart from the big K-class engines that will shortly make their appearhnce on the line. This and other bridge problems have occupied the attention of the engineers during their work, but have been treated solely as part of the task in hand, The general work of reeonstruction oi the line , has piograssed- smoothly and •teadily. There have been no serious aeeidents in the whole of the 15 months during wiuch jvork has been in progress, and-no great delay. The line is now on the ove of completion.