MAIN TRUNK TRAINS

Taranaki Daily News, 30 December 1916, Page 7

MAIN TRUNK TRAINS

BLOCKED BY SLIPOBSTRUCTIONS IN CUTTING NEAR HOKOPITO. Auckland, Dec. 27. J slips which occurred on the Main lnnik line on Tuesday afternoon and evening near Horopito, six miles north of Obakune, had the effect of delaying the arrival at. Auckland of the early looming Main Trunk expresses by about four and a half hours. Two slip's which occurred were directly due to a thunderstorm accompanied by heavy rain which swept over the Obakune district on Tuesday afternoon about o'clock. The first slip was n small oiie. It [came down in a cutting near the viaj (luct between Horopito and Obakune and [ was cleared by . 8 p.m. Shortly afterwards, however, a much larger slip came down in the same spot and a largelyincreased gang' was necessary to deal with the obstruction. It was attacked energetically and by 2 a.m. to-day through communication had been re-r-tored.

The Main Trunk expresses from Wellington to Auckland due to arrive here at C.43 a.m. and 7.50 a.m. did not put in an appearance until a- few (minutes | before 11 a.m. The first e.vpress v renehed .the slip about 10 p.m. and the second followed about an hour later. When the I obstruction was removed the two exj presses were formed into one train and completed the journey in that way. The ' two expresses carried 350 passengers.

LAST WEEK'S BREAK WORK Of BRIDGING THE GAP. Describing the manner in which the recent break in the Main Trunk railway lino was temporarily repaired, the Auckland ,St£.r says 1 hat a big staff of men under the direction of Mr. O'Longhlin (assistant-traffic manager), anil .Mr. F. Truman (traffic inspector), -assisted by Inspectors Robinson and Davis, made an uncomfortable position somewhat less trying Cor the weary travellers. Hard-workinff, strong navvies were seen carefully carrying babies and relieving striggling women of burdens of l.bggage across the slip. Another extremely interesting feature was the making of the deviation line, which is abort one mile in length. On Sunday morning at daybreak a' gang of 1(10 men had been gathered for the final effort; throe permanent way inspectors (Messrs. Osborne, Williams and Sellars), under Mr. D T. Mcintosh (district engineer), directed the efforts. The men were divided into small gangs, each having an allotted task. First came the men with picks preparing the track, and jifet out of pick's length was another crowd carrying sleepers and dropping them,into petition. These sleepers were hardly down when some more men with heavj rails fame along, and on top of the sleepers the rails were placed. Then came some with elongated braces and hits, boring boles for the spikes, followed sharply by the spikers themselves. Others came with great, long iron levers, lifting here and pushing there, tinder the direction of a ganger some yards away, who was watching the rails to see that all was stright and even. About :i p.m. on Sunday the lines met, and travellers and holiday-makers were saved even the Httle trouble they had been put to by the sleepless nights and hard graft of railway men, The engine and three carriages which were embedded in the Karaka cutting as the reseult c, ; the collision will be extricated as toon as possible. The Department will also proceed with the work of getting the cutting cleared, a task which will occupy considerable time, especially in view'of the difficulty of procuring labor.