b.—2b.

store old and worn but good, tank-stand and goods-shed good, loading-bank good, Inspector's office and store good. Eastown Workshops Lifting-shed very old, floor old and patched with old cases, roof-iron old and rusty , pit, good beams, bottom rotten in places , timber-shed old but good boiler-shop, both buildings and tools in good condition , coppersmith-shop good all but roof, which is gone benches and tools old but good, smith-shop, roof rotten, building good, forges and steam-hammer good condition ; main workshop building good, benches and pit good, machines all in good condition and well kept, engine and boiler very good, tank-stands good and well painted, fire arrangements and brigade very well drilled and ordered, water spouting in one minute and a half from ringing of alarm-bell, storehouse very good and tidy, tarpaulin-shop very fair condition and repair office neat and well kept, time-house old but good, pattern-store good and tidy , engine-shed, concrete floor a little damaged, roof old and patched, otherwise good , coal-shed old and damaged oil-store old but good; locomotive foreman's office good and new Wanganui Station good and neat; piatform very good, privies and urinals good and clean , traffic office good and well kept, Besident Engineer's office very good and new; lamp and porter's office new and good, tank-stand good , coal-shed old and worn, but good, goods-shed good, but roof gone a little , Customs' bond house and shed very old, but good condition , loading-bank good, post-and-rail fences good, picket fence good, second loading-bank good; cattle-pens and -yards very good , old Public Works store good, but gone at ground, platelayers' cottages good, Stationmaster's house old but good. All buildings well painted. Wharf Back piles, wales, and planking very rotten, and need much repairs, second row of piles mostly good, third and outside rows good, caps, beams, braces and wales, mostly in good condition, top planking very rotten. Cattlewharf very good. From Aramoho to Wanganui. Permanent-way The road is in fair running order, rails, 521b. iron, ballast, poor and sandy, sleepers, generally good, but some half-decayed. Structures Only culverts, which are in fair condition, but old. Fencing Fences fairly good, but there are parts which are half-rotten, cattle-stops in poor condition, but beams safe , the sills and planking are much decayed, the gates are in good repair , signboards good. Stations St. John's Station platform good , shelter-shed good, windows broken Aramoho to Patba. Formation is in good order, clear of weeds, except in a few places. The line is being altered and straightened in places. Permanent-way : The road is in good running trim; the rails are 531b. steel, except 3-jjj miles of 401b. steel; the ballast is sandy gravel at first, then a long stretch of shell ballast, then shelly limestone ; on the whole the ballast is scanty, but parts are well ballasted. The sleepers are very good. Structures All these bridges, from Wanganui northward, are in their turn to be strengthened for heavier engines. A number have been entirely renewed, many have had extensive repairs, and a number remain which must be repaired pretty soon, but with few exceptions there is nothing very urgent about the bridges which are in want of repairs. Brick tunnels in very good order Fencing is mostly in fair order, cattle-stops, many getting old and decayed, some good gates fairly good, but want painting. Stations: Station-buildings, shelter-sheds, platelayers' cottages, platforms, loading-banks, goods-sheds, are all in fair condition, with unimportant defects here and there, privies and urinals, good and clean, cattle-pens, tank-stands, all in fair condition, with a few places here and there slightly decayed. At Patea all building and station fixtures are in good condition. The wharf is in very fair condition, the top planking only wants some repairs. Patea to Hawera. Formation Part of the formation through high papa cuttings is slipping or stretching, and blocks the drains , otherwise formation is very good, and mostly clear of weeds. Permanent-way ■ The road is kept in good running trim, the rails are 6 miles of 401b. steel and 12J miles of 531b. steel ; ballast is sandy gravel, plentiful on first part, scanty towards Hawera; sleepers fairly good, as far as we could see. Structures A considerable amount of renewals have been done on all the bridges, and a few are almost entirely renewed. Many, however, have decayed parts in various members, calling for more repairs, which are being done, each district in turn , and the worst of these bridges is safe to wait until the time comes for it to be renewed. Culverts are in good condition, though many are very old. Fencing: The fences are partly posts, at long distances apart, iron standards and droppers, and five wires, in very fair condition , other parts are ordinary post-and-wire fence, all in good condition. Cattle-stops vary very much , many are good and many are considerably decayed. Gates and signboards good, but want paint. Stations Station-buildings, shelter-sheds, platelayers' cottages, goods-sheds, tank-stands and pumps, loading-banks and picket-fences are all in good order; privies and urinals good and clean. At Hawera, station-house and platform very good, privies and urinals good an d clean, picketfences good , two stores in good condition , tank-stand and windmill very good; cattle-pen and two coal-stores in good order, engine-shed good condition, Stationmaster's house and cottage very good and trim. Mile-posts in good order, grade-boards mostly damaged or illegible.

18