The Wellington Manawatn Railway.

Manawatu Standard, Volume X, Issue 18, 19 June 1885, Page 2

The Wellington Manawatn Railway.

COMPLETION OP PLATELAYING T6 PORIRUA : BRIDGE.

INSPECTION BY DIRECTOBS.

(Wellington Paper). The work o* platelaying on the Wellington and Manawatu Railway was couaploted to the bridge over the Porirua , Harbour at Parrainatta Point on Wednesday. The rails are now laid right across, . the bridge, and ballasting operations will now proceed rapidly to that 'point until the line is ready for opening so far to public - traffic, which is expected to^be early m August. The firßt bmcial inspection of the line from "Wellington to Porirua Bridge by the Directors <»f ilfe Company yaa^rnadf j on Wednesday. A "special train con-" veying the Directors, the Secretary (Mr Wallace), the Chief Engineer (Mr Hig. ginaon), and the Assistant-Engineer (Mr Fulton), also several, ladies and other guest*, and the 'representative's of ti|* • Press, left the Company's sheds beyond Pipitea Point at 10.20 a.m. The train consisted of one of the new ten-wheeled tank-enerinees, designed byMrHigginson and built by Messrs Manning and Wardle, three of the , long bogie carriages imported from America, and bmlt' by Messrs Gilbert, Bush: and Co., and on* brake van. The 'engine, which'i* onejof j • five of the same type, has six Tob&pled Bfr- • wheels, 12in cylinders with 18in stroke, and ! leading and trailing Bissell bogies. The 1 two bogies and 'the absence of flanges on the middle pair of coupled wheels give! the engine great flexibility m roundins: curves, and now that the frames — \yhich through an error on tlje part of the builders Had been made 'somewhat too slight — have been thoroughly strengthened, the engines are m : aJ^ respects most satisfactory. The carnages are Very similar m tyj» to those m >üb« on the Christchnrch-Ihinedih line. They have; reversible seats placed transv«raely t with a longitudinal "passage down th* middle of the carriage, clere-istory roofs, ample side ventilation, and are well \ equipped m the way of lbuvre blinds to the windows, so that: the. admission of light} and air can be regulated at each passenger's will. The lamps are a great improvement on those hjtherto seen here jin railway camagesVv.Thley are ; made for burning kerosene, and,; having white porcelain reflecting shade! above, cast down an excellent .light, as was proved m passing through tunnels. Each carriage has four of thasa , brilliant lainpß, and the effect when lighted is very } pleasing. Another commendable feature about the carriages is that the secoqd-class seats are well padded, and are, m fact, as comfortable as those of the jßrst-.class. This should tend to popularise the 'line, as has been 'the case on British rail wayi, where imgrovmentjs have* been 'made m the cheap-fare ' carriages. t „. . ,',j. :: Starting at 1X).20 the train rapidly ascendrid the steep gradient of lin 40 by which the Manawatu P.ailway leaves the side of the Masterton line, and, turning . westward, soon entered the first of the five short; tunnels' which are" metttwitb ; m the first two miles from town. The . glimpses of scenery during the daylight intervals- were exceedingly charming as • - the: train wound its way up and. around ' the hills torminc the side ef the Kaiwar. ra Valley, running along at a dizzy height above the road and stream. In fact, the first few miles of this line afford one off the most picturesque lengths of railway travelling yet to be enjoyed m New (Zealand. Nor must it be forgotten . that "the Manawatu line is necessarily the/.-fibt link starting from Wellington of the Mam Trunk Railway oi the North Island, which will ultimately run through from ! Wellington to Auckland.' Cpnse- - r ~qx[ently7the~&clvanocd «tage a.t which its first section has now arrived is a matter, of colonial interest. : [ Thee: first >. sta4oh ■> (Crofton),. t\fro ahd^a* half, miles /'from • Wellington, was passed without stopping and the first halt was made at Khandallah, fotiruiileS tfrbni town, .&t \o.3f. i After, two minutes?- pause, anbther i ' start was made, and the Summit Tunnel, four and a 1 half miles from Wellington, wai ■ passeid through, the elevation above sealevel at thaj^point being 520 ft. .As -thr '. train .glided 'm -and out ' of deep rocky cuttings and' round curves, numerous most lovely bits, of scenery were caught sight of, especially a view of the harbor, - : like jo. deep blue* lake lying nestling among the surrounding, hills, which could! be seen looking down the Ngahau* - ranga Gorge from this high elevation, *. ' peep * which assuredly will be. a favourite on 3 with the excursionists of thefuture, a The sscend stoppWe was at the pretty , little village of Johnson ville, which already! seems to have caught from the railway the motion of progress, and appears inclined to go ahead with the times. Johnionville is six miles from town. A few minutes after leaving Johnsohville the train stopped to enable the passen- . gers tp inspect one of the big engineer. , ing wbrke of the line— the great Belmont Viaduct— a timber, trestle ; bridge IJKMI high, [the train passing at that altitude above; the valley below. There are Aspani ot 40ft, two of 30ft, and one of 20ft. On boch tfdes ot the rails Are placed, break* , winda, after the Rimutaka fashion, so as toj avoid; anyj riskjof* .train beinffj , blown' off theviaduct by the fierce wiudi • that sweep up and down that bleak gorges Having duly admired this, fine work, the passengers- resumed their Beat* and the .proceeded, passing Porirua . . Station and- finally coming to a standstill at the! Parramatta Bridge, which-spam-the narrow neck of the Porirua Harbor. Tne Whole journey abounded m attrac- . live scenery, especially along the'Porirua sborei, where the effect is often that of \. an inlknd lako. The one- drawback ifsa the wjhblesale' destruction of thelovelfT: bush jirhich once clothed and adorned all v. the hills now so utterly bare, and this cannot be top >much deplored. It is to . be hoped that, tree-planting will be ex*;.. s tensively undertaken, and that thus ihn '\ . mischief, so far as possible, may be repaire L The Parramatta bridge has be ' fore been fully described m our columns; it has five spans of 80ft each. The train did not cross the bridge, as there was abont an hour's work still to be done m the'laying of rails over it, but the Direc tors and guests walked^, ovjßr-.,a»d duly examihed everything.^ ?; Aftur a stay of nearly tn hour, during which time some light refreshments ivereqonsnmed, the pnrfy.r»anmed their seats, |md the train started homeward about [12.20 p.m._ Tlie run of just otw ■16 jniles'to "town"" was' accomplished io * r 40tnhiute8, or at an average speed of '" 25 miles an hour— -v. rate of 35 miles m s hour b«ing experimentally maintained - for a couple of miles. The engine and " carriages ran with most admirable smooth UPBB and steadiness throughout, even over those parts of the line where the' ballasting is not yet" fiiiißhed, and- th» ' efficiency with which «H the work bug 7 -l been carried out is highly creditable to-" all concerned. It may" be mentioned that tlie ninf of six miles from Jphusonr ville to Wellington was done m exHp^y J. 13 .ftiiiiiiteB. The Wellington.sheds w«» ' reached at 1 p;m., after a ; very enjoyable and satisfactory trip. •