LEVIN-BARTON DEVIATION

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 2913, 23 July 1925, Page 2

LEVIN-BARTON DEVIATION

The Feilding Star publishes the following paragraph: "It was announced from its headquarters the other day that the Levin-Ureatford Railwav Deviation League intended keeping the agitation very much alive, despite all the official cold water that had been showered upon the expensive proposal. But Nature lier-.-olf has turned on the water tap, and so effectively that a Palmerstnnifin was so impressed by the waters' way of the route of the deviation that he took photographs of a countryside under water —as a knockout argument when the devijitors come into the tiring line ngain. Here is one of the snapshot expei ienecs of the man who went over I lie proposed (and impassable) route only the other day. On reaching- the neighbourhood of the Wliirokino bridge he was dismayed to (hul a big stretch of the countryside submerged and the road impassable. A transfer was made to a small flat bottomed boat and for some considerable distance progress was made over an inland lake, to a point where ■ the road was again passable, passing en route a herd of cattle, which was being driven to a less dangerous section of the country.’’—This, says the Levin Glirnniele, is a vary cheap style of argument. It could mid has been applied to the site of the new railwav station lor the 1 aliiiersl on half million deviation, which is situated between two small streams that periodically over-ilow their banks and have often inundated the station site. When forty years ago the original surveyors of 1 he Maimwatu line came to tin* Koptiroa- Longhurn section they found far worse conditions existing ill regard to Hood water-, and if they had been ns f'nini-hearted as the Feilding Star appears there would have been no Wellington-Manawatu line constructed. Instead of misleading photographs we invite our contemporary to peruse the report of the Public Works engineer who last year surveyed the route lor his Department. lie found no practical difficulties and -ays: "After crossing ibis river (the Manawatu), the line runs across the Moutnn Swamp for a distance of 1 } miles. A hank averaging twelve feet ill height will be required. I do not anticipate more than the usual amount of sinking ibat occur- in building a bank over swamp country and it will not take long for it to reach a satisfactory I'oundat ion."