OPENING OF THE WANGANUI MANAWATU LINE.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 64, 22 May 1878, Page 2

OPENING OF THE WANGANUI MANAWATU LINE.

Al.hpu.gh during the past month various official .trips have been made between /vv7anganui and Foxton, Monday was the "first day oh which the line was formally opened for passenger traffic, and hptTOthstandin^ that the Department did not deem it Of anfficient importance to have any demonstration to mark the event, beyond the mere issue of double' tickets at the single rate, his Worship the Mayor of Palmerston declared -it 'a, public holiday/ ,The train from Foxton arrived at and started from Palmer ston, y punetu ally at the advertised hour, and ..on reaching Halcombe was met by the down train, having onboard Mr T. F./Rotheram, the General Manager. The/train from Wanganui was m tow of the i j'j Pelican," a powerful Farlie's patent, capable of coping with the steep gradients/On the northern: section of the line* and as the . " Dougal " was unequal tq- the. task of performing the . through journey, it became necessary to :tranship the .passengers. While shunting with tliat vieWiijOiieof^the 'carriages by some neglect or other got off 'the rail on to. the. line, but by the aid of a few levers, and under the direction of Mr Ebtherain,>it i .was. quickly replaced m position and started aWay to time. -The patch of line between Halcombe and Marton was, of course, the OhJyppr.iOn of the line previously closed to the public, but it is not, by any means one pre.enting any engineering difficulties, the road being comparatively straight until | the Bangitikfei River is crossed, after I which almpit "three parts of a circle is described, when Greatford is reached.. [ From thence until Marton comes m sight -7-a' distance of foui* miles and 60 chains •—the line \§ straight as an arrow and as level as a b'pwling green. Tlie appearance of the' cbtihtry; : after - crossing the river and ltfaviiig the Mianawatu behind is something surprising, and would make "it appear- ?ks if another region - were entered. The bush which has greeted the eye almost without a break from Carnarvon is seen no more, and gorse hedges and ; greeh; fields, -with occasional iip-turned land, supply. its place. From leaving Marton the rail gradually dips, passing Bonny Glen, and pursuing its sinuous course through steep cuttings, until on arrival at Turakina the traveller finds himself m the bosom Of a valley, and'his further progress blocked up by picturesque but rather formidable looking hills .. The . ascent is made round the side, and after a struggle up an incline for a '.mile aiid, half the top is reaclied, when the 521 b rails which are used upon all steep grades and sharp curves, ar% .'discarded, and the 401 b again, brought/ m to requisition. The table land^reached; a, long stretch of level country intervenes for a couple or three'miles, when another descent is.'made into the valley of the. Wangaehu, the g aies Varying from Oniei/ in thirty five, m some portions being even as low as biie m thirty-three. After a brief stoppage the Wangaehu (or sulphur) River iisferossed, and then commences the most portion of the^ whole trip.. The sbourse as seen from the valley is a most remarkable one^ as looking, u^ summits oL s the 'various. hills: numerous gaps at various; distances. apart are a visible, and one can scarcely imagine that the tr^ain m its onward progress will /have to perioral almost a circuit, Indeed m many portions not only are circles described, by the route', but the line wriggles almos.tyi|ito a continuation of the figure'; eight. However; on accomplishing 'the. ascent the labour is well repaid by the glorious panorama spread "pair- beneath, the river winding .its terpentine below, with the ocean visible m the distance. Everything is then fair and smoojth until a halt is made, at Fordell, the nucleus of a township, and at. which a pretty little flour mill is now m course of cons traction .by Mr Murray, of TVangahui, being a.perf ect fac- simile oi that erected at Sandon by the same firm.' It is almost completed, and 1 we were gi yen to under s tand that grinding opera; tions will be commenced at the beginning of next month. . Leaving the little placed behind, we commence another descent, and' about as steep and dangerous as any on the line. In fact, beside being one m thirty, there are some of the curves no more, than five chains, and so closely together as to -cause the trainip perform a succession of figures of eight, one being no sooner finished than another commences. This is contihiied until tlie engine pulls up for breathing time at Matarawa, and from thence to the journey's end there Jis nothing but plain sailing. At Gkoia, which is eight miles from Wanganui, there is a; small cluster of white pine, J and that is the first approach to anything like bush met with since crossing

the Eangitikei and losing sight of Manawatu. At East Town, which is on the southern side of the Wanganui, four acres and a half have been set apart by the Government for the use ot the Department, upon which -it is contemplated to erect commodious workshops. The river is spanned by a splendid bridge, six hundred feet m length, of timber lattice, with iron tierods, the abutments standing upon 144 piles driven 35. feet below the waterline, on the top of which there is a solid bed of concrete. It was constructed by Messrs Eundle & Bassett, and although the contract price was something like £15,000, the builders were over £3000 out of pocket. On "the other bank the* pretty township of Aramoho is located, and there also is the junction of the Patea line. The rails form a complete triangle, one side being that from Foxton to Patea, another from -Foxton to Wanganui, while the third is composed of the line from Wanganui to' Patea. There can be no doubt that the section from Halcombe to the Northern terminus will not only prove to be a most dangerous, -but an expensive one, and we believe it is the intention of the '■* General Manager, Mr Eotheram, if he can succeed m securing funds the purpose) to- have some of the more dangerous curves altered, from, five to. seven chains. One thing is quite cer** tain, tha. he cannot be expeotedyto carry onthe traffic of the line with the. very defective rollihg-stook at.present .at his comniand^as y toy keep the Wan-" ganui section m effective working order he will require facilities which are not at 'requisite ■yon.-.: other lines. We noticed that not only have the carriages at that end been pain ted and decorated|but also smoking; carriages have been attached to both first/and ; second classes, an arrangement which l is to be carried . oiifc jthrqaghoufc the line. On the return trip to Foxton, a start was made at 4.20 p.m.,. but owingyto long and apparently unnecessaryydelays at Turakina and Marton, instead of the train arriving at Palmerston at 8.40, it was fully half an hour after that time* However, taking it altogether, the itrial was most successful, -and nothing '6c-* burred to mar. the pleasure of the trip) four hours and a.half being allowed for sightseeing m Wanganui."While "strolU ing through, that .town we wandered into the Free Eeading Eoom, and it may ; be mentioned, as somewhat of a coincidence, that almost the first object that met our eye was a telegram, framed and glazed, to the following effect :— " WelUngton, Nov. ,^d, 1869.-—To .the Eesidents of Wanganui.-^r-rl congratulate you on the the completion of the Telegraph, may it "strengthen *the bonds of union and promote the prosperity of the Colony.— William Fox, Premier." In concluding this, -we cannot do better than repeat tbey prayer of Mr Fox, and trust that the next ten years will witness even greater strides m the march of progress.: . ; . - ;