LIGHT RAILWAYS.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 March 1920, Page 11

LIGHT RAILWAYS.

THE SALVATION OF THE COUNTRY. What promises to become an historic event, marking an epoe in transport and land development, took place at Frankton on Saturday afternoon last. Sir. George Parr, Chairman of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce and pioneer of the light railway movement, drove the first peg for tlio survey of the route for the proposed light railway to connect Raglan and Kawhia with the Main Trunk line at Frankton. Mr. Parr said the occasion was an .epoch-making one. For years the'community had been crying out for development, but it had' taken a European war to show the young men of the Dominion how best this development could be brought about- Light railways had played a tremendous part in the late conflict, and engineers told them that they were destined to play a still bigger part in times of peace, for in New Zealand, at any rate, they were going to give access "to the back-blocks and open up tremendous areas of land that were at present lying idle. The proposed line of which tliat day's ceremony was the commencement, would give two exceedingly wealthy districts a railway connection with the Main Trunk line, and put Frankton in touch with two excel- , lent ports. Tiie people between Frankton and the coast, by the enthusiasm ■ they were showing over the matter, ap- ( parently realised the benefits they wert ; going to reap by having a railwaj . through their territory, for it was goi ing not only to increase the value ol i their land, but would break their isolation and bring them to civilisation quick- ; ly and cheaply. The engineers wh( 3 were employed on the work had hac - several years actual experience in tin i construction and working of light rail 1 ways in France, and they realised tha' - this system was the surest and chrapes way of developing the land of Nev Zealand. Captain Dansey said that Waikat held wonderful possibilities of develop ment. It had a splendid river whicl was practically running to waste, bn which could be put to excellent use by i system of lateral light lines opening ui the country all along its route. The sam principle held with the Main Trunk lint This ran straight through the island an the country on each side was practic j ally untapped. It was only by thes s feeder lines, cheaply and quickly buil: -'. that they could hope to develop th e country,' for if they waited for th ;. standard gauge railways to be construct t _ o d—well, they would wait for ever. Tli few miles of light railways that ha , s been constructed in New Zealand ha 1S been the means of carrying millions ( . feet of timber to the main lines. The •j were some people who looked upon ligl l railways as toy ones, and yet if mos people'had been told a few years aa '" that the two-feet gauge was going t K be the means of winning one of th greatest wars in the world's histor I' they would have laughed. Yet this wf ," true to a great extent, for the ligl lines constructed during the war carric "! not only thousands of tons of mun tions, thousands of tons and tr mendous quantities of rations, but mi lions of men. After the experience 1 had had of them, he was convinced thi they were the most economical meat of transport for New Zealand. *■.', The two-feet, gauge was not brougl ', into the war by luck, but as a result < lW a conference of the mo=t eminent; el e gineers of the Empire, whose progno i& tieations in regard to them had prove !" right in every respect. The Governniei is of New Zealand was already over-bu :(1 ' tlened with railway work, and the bac' a ' block settlers would simply have k ' help themselves. The speaker point >'- out that 300 miles of light lines con rp be constructed for the cost of 100 mil of of the standard gauges. He hoped ™' ,:i:e, in a few years' time, from the "fo by two" peg which would shortly ne driven, a net-work of light railwa; c<l radiating in all directions, and he co to gratulated Hamilton in having men foresight and vision who were eapa't ler of seeing possibilities and what w in wanted years ahead. (Applause). '■'T Captaiii Worley, who will have char If of the actual survey work, said he al ise had had considerable experience of lig led lines in France, and was sure they wc Tic the one solution of the backblock trai ire port problem for New Zealand. Wiiat to railway past their doors would mean Ing the settlers of the hack districts, fh ted could not. possibly realise nntil_ th ■ny got one and he believed the driving te's the peg that day would be the co to meneement of a' system of transpi lid- that would not, only revolutionise t st- country districts between Frankton a md the west coast, but would be the ata re-. 7 ing' of a scheme that would radii wh throughout the North Island. A del un- ite start would be made on the sun gbt on Monday, and they hoped to have ' op- plans and' everything ready in time can the opening of Parliament, so that tl ital would be prepared with a definite- sehe ■in<» in black and white to place before w {Government.—(Applause)—Times.