THE MIDLAND RAILWAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 11 March 1908, Page 63

THE MIDLAND RAILWAY.

PROGRESS REPORTS. From Ofk Own Corbespondext.) CHRIBTCHURCH, March 5. The Otira correspondent of the ChweW church Press writes: — "Mr Leslie Reynold* brought the survey of the Punch Bowl tfl a successful termination at the end or , last week, and the work of clearing anffl forming the route of the pipe line will be put in hand immediately. The tunnel portion of this work will also be com* ! menced at an early date. The starting ipoint of the drive will be some 740 ft above the river-bed, and it is estimated to secure in the driest season some 12 heads cf water, which, with the great altitude off the intake will be quite sufficient to generate 800 horse-power. Mr Reynolds expressed himself as being well pleased] that this particular survey had been concluded, with such a trifling accident as that mentioned last week. 'The work,' said Mr Reynolds, ' was at all times attended by the greatest danger, and had the man been injured there" would have been no* thing for it but to lower him over the face of the Punch Bowl — a straight dropofolosfl upon 400 ft.' On the Otira. end work generally is bein.fc pushed ahead with i vigour, and the Holt's Creek pipe Una takes a more definite shape as the days go by. The contractors have been fortunatef in securing a fine pi^ce of bush some six miles from Otira. This particular strip of forest land contains some splendid birch, straight as the proverbial arrow, and of « very serviceable length. Men are now) busy felling these trees and conveying- then* to the bridge sites up Holt's Creek, there to be utilised in the construction of the; bridges to carry the water mains. Thef general aspect of the tunnel approach ia much the same as last week, there being; 'no sign of the solid country so far. The. heavy rain of Sunday, Monday, and Tues^ day brought down a quantity of loose) material, out a day or two will see thing* squared up again. Six inches of rain felß i during Sunday, and as a natural conse-i quence the Otira was running a bankety Beyond a slip or two of no moment, nol damage is reported, and the coaches leftf for Broken River on Monday afternoon.Some of the older hands here declare it to? be the biggest volume of water seen ia the Otira River for the past eight years. *