WELLINGTON – MANAWATU RAILWAY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXII, Issue 192, 28 August 1900, Page 4

WELLINGTON - MANAWATU RAILWAY.

The Minister for Public Works to-day laid on the (able the report of Messrs Hales (Engineer-in-Chief) John Coom and Napier Bell, on the condition of the Wellington - Manawatu railway. The report deals exhaustively with the state of the lines, tunnels, bridges, and rolling stock, and states that all are in a most satisfactory condition. According to the engineers named the formation of the line is in excellent order, well maintained, clear of weeds, and well drained. The permanent way is kept in good runn : ng trim; the bridges are all in a sa'isfactory condition, the totara atd kauri as it fails being at once rep'aced by ironbark, and defects in the steam engines are carefully attended to. They consider that the stations are all in very fair condition, and with suitable yearly attention th>y will show no marked deterioration for another 15 years, the age they carry at present. Referring to the rolling stock, they report that they inspected 82 per cent, of the carriages and 74 per cent. jof the waggms. All of them they found-in a very fair condition and well maintained, and they noticed eight I waggons only witli tyres thin from wear, 'but these were still in a safe conditio". The locomotives appear to be outwardly in excellent order, and as for the boikrs, which are the principal items, they are inspected every year by the Government Inspector of Machine* y, whose certificates were examined. The turntables are in good order, so are the weighbridges. Forty-seven per cent, of the total receipts of last year was expended in maintaining the line. The average revenue per mile was .£lll9, and the expenditure £529 per'mile. Captain Russel asked the Minister for Public Works when he had laid the paper on the table, whether the inspection of the line by tVe Government engineers was made with a view to the purchase of the railway. Mr. HallJones replied that it was not,