SUGGESTED RAILWAY ROUTE.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 8, Issue 127, 30 May 1916, Page 3

SUGGESTED RAILWAY ROUTE.

One cf the original surveys of the I Manawatu railway line was placed be- I fore the Deviation Commission at Pal- i merston North by Mr. J. \W. McVilly, I assistant general manager of the N.Z. railways. The survey constituted part of the Wellington-Foxton-Waitara route, and Mr. McVilly explained that when the survey was made in the 70's it was proposed to have a direct communication between Wellington and Waitara. the line of route being taken from Levin via Fcxton and to towards the Marten district. At time Foxton was the only point where goods from Wellington could be supplied to the Manawatu district by means of sea carriage and Palmerston was served by means of a tramline from Foxton. In the late 70's and early 80's a series cf floods took place, and covered the Fcxton line to a depth of a s much as nine feet of water, so that the authorities were compelled to look for a better route for the main line. At this time Palmerston was developing as a mid-North Island centre, fine district surrounding it was becoming settled, and the authorities had no hesitation in changing the proposed line in the direction of Palmerston and taking up the connection towards Taranaki by the route followed at present.