55

D.—l

Picton- Waipara. North End. Awatere Section (28m. 38ch. to 33m. 60ch.; length, 5 miles 22 chains). —The formation' platelaying, and ballasting have been completed up to 33 m. 45 eh., and nearly all the fencing has been done. The contractors —Messrs. Scott Bros.—for the Awatere Bridge finished their contract early in the year, and the road approaches have been finished. All the materials for a wind-screen have been procured. A considerable amount of work has been done in trimming cuttings and making up banks on the older sections of the line between Blenheim and the beginning of the Awatere Section. A sixth-class shelter-shed has been erected at Dumgree, and a contract for the erection of the station buildings at Seddon is in progress. South End. Omihi Section (Om. to 15 m.; length, 15 miles). —The formation and bridges have been finished up to 12 m. 60 eh., and the rails have been laid up to 11m. 76 eh.; with the exception of one cutting, the earthworks are nearly finished to Scargill Station, at 14 m. 40ch. About one-third of the formation-works in Scargill Station yard have been done. Some work has been required to make good the excessive settlement of banks. The ballasting on the section has been about half done. Platelaving will be recommenced shortly. A contract has been advertised for the erection of the Omihi and Scargill Station buildings, and also a contract for the supply of timber for sheep and cattle yards, &c. The fencing of the line has been done for ten miles. The erection of two platelayers' cottages at Waipara is nearly complete. The concrete walls for platforms at Omihi and Scargill Stations are being put in. Hokitika-Boss. Plans for the Hokitika Bridge have been prepared, and tenders were invited for the erection on 27th May last. Otago Central. Ida Valley Section (85 m. 60 eh. to 98 m. 4 eh.; length, 12 miles 24 chains) was completed and handed over to the Working Bailways Department in December last. Poolburn Section (98 m. 4ch. to 105 m. 43 eh.; length, 7 miles 39 chains). —The earthworks on the first four miles are nearly completed, and on the remaining length they are well advanced; all the culverts are completed. At present only No. 1 Tunnel is being excavated ; the whole of the heading has been driven, and only half a chain of the tunnel remains to be completed ; the rock is standing well without lining, and it is not expected that lining will be required beyond a short length at the ends. No. 1 Tunnel is 10 chains long. As soon as this tunnel is finished work on No. 2 Tunnel will be resumed; this tunnel is 11 chains long ; 7 chains have been excavated, and 4-7 chains have been lined. The masonry of Poolburn Viaduct has been well advanced; one large pier is finished, and another nearly so. The cylinders for one pier of the Manuherikia Bridge are finished, and those for the second pier are being sunk. Some of the steel-work for the Poolburn Viaduct has been delivered by the contractors, Messrs. J. and A. Anderson, who are supplying the steel-work for the Poolburn Viaduct and Manuherikia Bridges. Spottis Section (105 m. 43 eh. to 114 m. 18 eh.; length, 8 miles 55 chains). —A considerable amount of work has been done on this section. Catlin's Biver Bailway Extension. This section of line, three miles and a half long, has been in hand during the year, but owing to the small number of men employed the formation-works are not yet completed. Waipahi-Heriot Extension. On this extension, three miles and a half long, the formation-works have made slow progress during the year owing to the small number of men employed. The earthworks are nearly completed for about two miles and a quarter. Orepuki-Waiau. All the culverts are finished on the first four miles and a half; also all the cattle-stops and gates and most of the fencing. The earthworks are well advanced. The works were stopped during part of the year. A considerable amount of work has been done in bushfelling and clearing, extending over the first eleven miles of the section. The finishing of the first four miles and a half is now in hand. Surveys of New Lines, Land-plans, etc. A land-plan survey of eight miles of the Kawakawa-Grahamtown Bailway was completed during the year. The survey for the permanent line has been extended for a distance of seven miles southward, starting from the fifteen-mile peg from Kawakawa towards Hukerenui. A resurvey of the Whangarei Extension from Opau Wharf to Grahamtown was made during the year, and also a land-plan survey. The permanent survey of the Helensville Northwards line has been extended eight miles during the year, and follows the original trial survey. A land-plan survey for the Paeroa-Waihi line was completed during the year. The land-plan survey of the North Island Main Trunk line, north end, has been completed up to 83 m.