REPORT ON RAILWAY LINE FROM NEWCASTLE, SOUTHWARDS. The Engineer-in-Chief to the Hon the Minister for Public Works.

Waikato Times, Volume VII, Issue 353, 18 August 1874, Page 2

REPORT ON RAILWAY LINE FROM NEWCASTLE, SOUTHWARDS. The Engineer-in-Chief to the Hon the Minister for Public Works.

Public Works Office, Wellington, Juno 30, 1874. Sir, — I have tbe honor to submit tho following report on a journey made from Auckland to Wanganui, in March, with the view of ascertaining as far as possible, " The direction which the lino of railway shall ta!ie after crossing the Waikato river." Mr James Mackay kindly accompanied me as far as Taupo, and Captain Tumor, District Engineer, as far as Ralatipmna, -where he left me to make an independent reconnaisanco towards Napipr, on which ho has reported, and a copy of his report is attached. The right direction for & railway to connect the north and south ends of the North. Island, is well defined as far southwards from Auckland as Newcastle, where the Waipa river fulls into the Waikato, and a railway to this point is now under construction. From Newcastle southwards two lines are available, one ascending the Waikato, tho other the Waipa. My line of march ifollowed the Wuikato river to Lake Taupo, by the route selected by Messrs Mackay and Edgar for a railway, thence to the head of the Waikato, at tho foot of Tiuapehu ; then down the Wangaehu and Turakma valleys to tho coast.

Line via Waikato river. (Line A.) The line from Newcastle follows the valley of the Waikato pretty closely to Taupo, except where, to avoid a bend in the river, a short cut has been taken, ascending the Little Waipa or the Pokaiwhenua riveri us may, under survey, prove to be more favourable, and again descending to tbe Wtukato through the Whaknmaru range, either by Turner's or Mnckay's Pass. The aiU i=:ihility of making this short cut is perhaps doubtful, ns hem y gradients will be reqnired, and 'some heavy work. The saving in distance is not easily ascertained, on nccout of the inaccuracy of the maps of the couutiy ; but it would probably be about ten miles. Once back m the Waikato valley, no difficulties of any moment occur up to Lake Taupo. The lino then follows the east shore of the lake, close to the water. Protective works will be required for about two miles, but generally the line will not bo e\|Kni]V(\ At (ho snath end of the lake n swamp near Tokuiio will be crossed, and the vaUey of the Soutnern Waikato will then bo followed to its bend. This valley is broad and even, but its inclination averages about 1 in 65 ior 2S to 30 miles, and it is not likely that a railway line could be got with lighter gradients than lin 40. At the summit the level above the sea is about 3500 feet, and there would be considerable trouble with snow in winter. From the summit the line would follow the Wangaehu valley to nenr Eakatipnunn. Up to this point the direction of the line is fixed by the formation of the country; that is, if the Waikato river is followed at all, it must be followed to its source, and the Wangaehu valley then followed for a few miles ; but from near Rakatipauna southwards there would appear, from the accounts I received from the Maoris, to bo a choice of lines, all unfortunately very difficult. . The country ljmg between the West Coast and the plains at the foot of lluupelni is a wild monntnmous region, densely wooded, tin nugh which the rivers Wnnganui, Wangaehu, Turakma, ltimgiliki'i, and Manawatu break in a succeision of gorges. Aline follow ing any one of these rivers would be expen«ive. A gl.mce at the map w.ll ahow that the line via the Turukinii nvei' would give the shortest length of railway to be niailo in order to join the railway from Manawatu to Wungnnui, and this would probably be also the cheapest, although it would be very costly indeed, A. line Irom Bakatipauna, by way of the Hautapu, Orowo, and Pohangina rivers, would be the shortest between Auckland and Wellington ; and from information I have received liom prisons acquainted with those parts of the country which ha\e been explored at all, 1 believe it will be found to be practicable. The totnl length of the line from Newcastle to the junction with the Manawatu and Wangnnui railway at Turakma would be about 220 miles, of which forty miles would be vei'y costly and the rett not above the nvn age cost of New Zealand lines. If carried to Mnnuwatu vid the Pohangina, the length to be constructed wo.uld bo ten miles longer, but a saving of about twenty-fi\e miles in the total distance to Wellington would be made. A very grea f drawback to this lino is the height of the summit, 3500 feet above sea level, over which the whole of llu* through traffic would have to bo carried. Mr Markov considered it undesirable to cross to the nest bank of the Waikitto, and I had very little opportunity of forming an opinion ua to the suitability of the conntry for making a milway through it ; but I believe a shorter lino (its shown dotted on map) could be got by keeping to the west of Luke Tjupo, which would have the advantage of easier gradients than the line we followed.

Lixes vid Waipa Eiver. This lino would pius through what is now an almost unknown country, and I cnn only speak of it at second h.md from the reports of persons who travelled through it some years aso, and whose attention was not specially directed to the question of making a railway. Vid Wanganui River {Line S). — There appears to be mo difficulty wlwtcvpp in reaching the head w nrera of the Wcipa river; and the summit dividing its waters from those of the Mokau is, from all accounts, neither high nor broken. There si ems also to be a low dividing ridge between the Waipa and the Wanganui rivers, by which a line could probably bo brought on the west of Tanpo and Buapehu to Bakatipaunn, und thence as on the Waikatu line, by Tunkina. Xhw would bo a much shorter line than that vid the Waikato (Lim A), but would pass over the same high, summit. If the line could be carried down the Wangauui, a a great reduction of summit level would be effected. I was informed that as far southwards as Kauana (London) the Wanganui valley is not very rough, but that from Eauai a to near Wanganui it is a continuous gorge. Vid Mokau River {Line C). — The country lying between Mokau river and the sea consists of limestone ranges, and is very broken and mountainous • on the east of the river it is moro favorable. There would seem to be a few miles from tlio mouth of the river which would be very difficult, but this is described as only a few hours' journey, by canoe, in length. The rest of the distance to the Waipa is described as open and pretty level. From the mouth of the Mokau to Wnitara, where the system of southern railways would be joined, some serious difficulties would bo met, but the line would, on the whole, be a vei y much better one than that vid tho Waikato. It would n quire about a hundred miles less of new railway, and the summit level would be much, lower. The total distance betw een Wellington and Auckland by this line would be about thirty miles longer than by that vid the Waikato. Line D. — Thero is still auot her line by which the southern and northern railway systems may perhsps be connected, viz , by a lino parallel to the coast at Taranaki, and between it and tho Wanganui river. It is believed that there is here a level stretch of country extending from Mount Egmont to the head waters of the Wanganui, Mokau, and Waipa, but I have no authentic information on tho subject.

Line via Napieb. As I heard a good deal from the Maoris and others, of the possibility of getting a line from Rakatipauna to Napier, I lequestcd Captain Turner to go that way and examine it, and at the same time to collect information as to the possibility of getting to the Manawatu Gorge by the Eangitikei and Pohangina rivers. His report, enclosed, show* that a lino by Napier is not practicable.

SUMMABT. In conclusion, it may bo stated, firstly, that a railway might be constructed via the Waikato and Turakina rners, by which the northern and southern railway systems of tho Noith Islund would bi> joined nt a not, unreanonable average cost per mile, although it nould bo unfavorable for working, on account of the height of the summit level and the steep gradients which would bo required. Secondly, that if the country on the West Coast were open for survey, a much better line would in all probability be found either by the Mokau river or by the level country supposed to exist between tho Wanganui river and the Tarannki coast. This line would require about a hundred miles lesa of new railway bejond thnt which it is intended in any case to construct, than thp Wniknto line, but would lengthen the distance between Wellington and Auckland by <ibnut thiity miles. A map is attached, showingrtlie different lines described. I have, &c. , John Cariujthebs, Engineer-in-Chief.