The Wellington and Manawatu Railway.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IV, Issue 221, 14 August 1884, Page 2

The Wellington and Manawatu Railway.

PROGRESS OF THE WOEKS. ;■:{.' ; [Post:\ The various contracts m connection with the cori'str action- of a line of railway from Wellington to Manawutu. are being pushed* forward' with the utmost celerity, and should no unforeseen difficulties arise, there is "every likelihood that a portion of the line will be opened tor traffio m less than three months' time. The heaviest contract let by the company, that of IVJr Joseph Sxunders, has been, completed, for som,c w.pekfj. The length of the section is on.ly about a rnilib, ex< ending from Thorndon ou,t past Kaiwarra, but its cost has been unusually laige, the amount involved being £47,00Q, owing to the difficult nature of the work. The section from Johnsonville to within^ short distance of Porirua, is l^avy one. Included m the qoi^tract is a bridge over a gully on -Mr Bannister's property, whose height is not less than 120 teeb. The structure is said to be the highest m any. pa^t of tjip colQny. A bridge over the harboar "at PoVivua has been finished for some weeks. The most recent contractor on the lino is Mr S.. Brown, who is carrying out what is known as the Pukerau contract, five and a* half miles long-. Extensive tunnelling requires to be done on this section, and an excellent plant, including an engine of 15 horsie-powev, has been erected at Paikakariki for the purpose of maun factoring the bricks needed to line the tunnels. An idea of the eniciciency of the machinery on the ground may be gathered from the fact that the plant is capable of Sliming out 1000 bricks per hour. The contract time. expires }5 months' hence, Twq more peotion.s w.hiqh are about to be let wi'l extend the line to Otaki, and from that point another one will connect, with the works which are proceeding from the Palmerston end. Only four contracts nave been let from Longburri, the northern terminus, th,e total le.ngth being 32 miles. i'Wo of the sections have been completed, so far as the formation is concerned, the plate-laying over a portion of the .liny has been commenced. The three sections which ppm<j}n j;q b^ let hayg been surveyed, and as sop^n as. tl^'e p ( l«^s a_nd spegniqations have oeeu 'prepared; tenders will be invited. The company are losing no time m taking steps to bring their landed property into the jn : ar|et. ' between 30,'00Q and 4Q,OQQ

acres m the Fitzherbert district are being surveyed, and a portion of the land will be offered for sale' at an early date. Steps have also, leen taken to drain the Makerua swamp bf.lpjOOQ; acres. A contract has been let ''to Mr Bow'Uen for felling,- about a chiiin oi bush on each sidb of the stream which leads from the swamp so that > when the work of? dredging ihe creek, i« commenced,. the silt *iuav'" be deposited on land which at present is encumbered- with timber. _Mr Bnwden has four months m which to do the work. The waggons which arrived by the direct steamers some weeks ago are now being put together m one. of the sheds at Thorndon, a contract having been let for the performance of the work. The locomotives are believed to be on board the Aorangi, which is due m Wellington m about live weeks time, and as soon as they are put together the directors hope to be able to open the line as far ah JcthnnnnviUa.