ONGARUE- STRATFORD RAILWAY.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 197, 7 October 1909, Page 2

ONGARUE- STRATFORD RAILWAY.

Details of progress on the StratfordOngarue railway construction were furnished by the Hon. R. McKenzie, Minister for Public Works, to a New Zealand Times representative upon his return to Wellington on Friday. The line is certainly not one of those which came under Mr McKenzie's ban as not being likely to pay axle grease; on the contrary, he states that it will when conmpleted, be an important trunk route from Taranaki to the North, and runs through very good grazing country, much of which is already settled. Construction work is going on energetically, and the next advance of the railhead will be at the end of October to Te Wera station, three miles beyond Kaiore. Looking ahead at this point, the Minister describes the formation work as easy,and it is well advanced as far as Ngatamira station, which should be reached with the rails by the end of November, thus completing 20 miles of the line. A tunnel of 280 yds is met with north of this point, and the work is already in hand, so that the advance of the rail shall not be much delayed when it reaches that point. Another tunnel, known as Big Hill, is met with 34 miles from Stratford, and this should be reached in June, 1910, thus bringing the line within two miles of Whangamomona, a thriving cenjre. Thence to its junction with the North Island Main Trunk line.at a point to be fixed, the country is very favourable to the engineer, and the distance is about 30 miles.