D.~l

20

Abstract— continued.

Dining the year four sect inns of railway, totalling 22 miles 41 chains in length, as shown in the following table, were handed over to the Railway Department for general traffic : — Flan Mileage. Hallway. Section, Length. Date. M. ch. M. ch. M. ch. 0 oto 420 Waiuku Bront* .. .. .. Patumahoe .. 420 i 10 Dec, 1917. 44 10 to 49 8 ' East Coast Main Trunk .. .. Motuhora .. 478 26 Nov., 1917. 0 oto 85U ! Raetihi Branoh .. .. .. Raetihi.. .. j 850 | 18 Dec, 1917. 37 53 to 42 26 Stratford- Main Trunk (West Und) .. Kohuratahi .. ' 453 7 Jan.. 191.8. Kaihu Vallmy Railway. No work has been done on this line during the period. Kawakawa-Hoktanga Railway. Okaihau Section (16 m. 25 ch. to 24 m. 44 ch.; length, 8 miles 19 chains). — Work has been going on throughout the period, but the number of men available was very small, so that progress lias been slow. Moreover, the work has been hindered by continual rains and consequent slips, including some very heavy ones. A trestle has been constructed over the site of the bank at 19 m. 54 ch., which is being formed with material obtained from the large cutting between 19 m. 58 ch. and 19 m. 74 ch. A steam-navvy has been employed in this cutting and showed excellent results, but the material, a heavy clay pug, is now too wet to handle, and the machine is being transferred to the borrow-pit at 19 m. 45 ch. for a couple of months, the material there being sandy. Formation-work up to 22 m. 65 ch. is nearing completion, and several concrete culverts have been constructed as far ahead as 24 m. 33 ch., in Okaihau station-yard. Earthwork is now in hand up to this point. A road-deviation between 23 m. 25 ch. and 23 m. 50 ch. has been formed and metalled, and the main road between Kaikohe and Okaihau, which is used as a service road, has been remetalled for a distance of about 1 mile, the metal for this and other purposes being obtained from a quarry at 21m. Concrete piers for a subway at 19 m. 58 ch. were completed, and a telephone-line has been erected from Kaikohe to 19 m. Some Jugoslavs are now at work on this line, and better progress is being made, but the nuuujer of men available is by no means sufficient. Whangarhi - North Auckland Railway. Oakleigh Section (0 m. to 7 m. 60 ch.). —The Kioreroa contract (0 m. to 4 in.) has been completed, about two years after due date, the contractors having been delayed by scarcity of labour and unfavourable weather. The work done during the period includes the completion of the southern approach to the Otaika Bridge, 63 chains of stone pitching, and 2 miles of fencing. Beyond 4m. co-operative work has been carried on by the Department with the object of completing the line to Portland Station (5 m. 21 ch.). The formation of this length is complete, and the rails are laid and ballasted. An overbridgc has been erected at 4m. 70 ch., and the line has been fenced throughout. A station building, goods-shed, and two platelayers' cottages at Portland have been erected, also one cottage at Kioreroa. The whole of the work on this length has been delayed by very severe storms, which have caused serious damage from time to time. On the remainder of the section little has been done, except some ballasting in the vicinity of Oakleigh Station and the erection of the Katetoki Stream Bridge (7 m. 30 ch.), which is well in hand. Tauraroa Section (7 m. 60 ch. to 14 m. 75 ch.; length, 7 miles 15 chains). —Although the formation of this section was completed last year, it has been found necessary to employ the ballasttrain throughout the period in clearing slips from the various cuttings, about 30,000 cubic yards having been removed by the train, besides a very large quantity disposed of by other means. Some of the banks, also, have been very troublesome in the matter of slips and subsidences, while the abutments of two overbridges had to be replaced by pile piers owing to slips on the slopes of the cuttings. The Tauraroa station-yard filling was completed with material excavated by a steamnavvy on the section ahead. Two lifts of ballast have been put on the whole section, and a third lift, has been commenced, but the output of the quarry is required at present to metal the main road between Oakleigh and Mangapai. Only one stone-crusher is at work in the quarry, there being no engine available to drive the second crusher, but a sufficient supply of stone for pre-

Name of Railway. Total Length of Railway or Section. I I Open for Traffic. J I Expenditure to 3l8t March, 1918. Provincial Government Links, etc. M. ch. M. ch. £ Canterbury (lengths included above) Otago and Southland Gisborne to Ormond Tramway Midland Railway, valuation of works constructed by company .. 731,759 372,522 4,975 *683,460 Grand total 1,116 45 2,993 7 38,346,124 * Includes valuu for £150.000 paid to debenture-holders under the Act, 1903. J llidland Railway l'otitions Settlement Act Amendment