STRATFORD RAILWAY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVII, Issue 22, 26 May 1915, Page 7

STRATFORD RAILWAY.

PROGRESS OF THE WORK. A report on tlio progress of the Mam Trunk-Stratford railway works has been furnished by the honorary commissioner of the Auckland Railways League to the secretary, Mr R. R. Hunt. The report is as follows:—' j "This smal corner of the King [Country has shown a great deal of progress in recent months owing, no doubt, to-the vigorous manner in which the construction of the railway has been pushed along. The tunnel, however, which must be regarded as the open sesame to the commercial prosperity of the district, is somewhat lagging, owing to the hitch and the taking over of the contract by the bondsmen. I believe that the Public Works Department has insisted on the tunnel being heavily timbered, with the result'that as far as straight ahead driving and the connection of ■the two headings are concerned, the | effective work of piercing the hill has I been rather small since the end of February. Large quantities of props 'and caps have been cut on the western side of the Okahukura hill, and ino doubt when, work is begun in a (systematic way the finishing of the 'hole through the hill will be an accomplished fact in a short time. ' "The cuttings and fillings and general formation from Okahukura to Matiere as a contrast are in a very forward state and promise to lie completed before the tunnel. In some cases the large fillings are carried on by night, with the aid of acetylene lamps, which shed their light on the face bv means of reflectors, and appear to act very well. One small tunnel behind ■Salter and Co.'s mill is still unpierced, but the breaking down of a near-by tunnel to the east i s proceeding apace with a 'popper' plant, driven by a 20h.p. Tangye oil engine. At the Fourteen-mile the most dubious part of the road has been dressed with burnt papa for the new deviation, which should be a decided improvement on last winter, when the long bend was one of the worst parts of the road. The road from that point to Matiere threatens, however, t.) lie very bad indeed under the enormously increased traffic." ,