P.—4a.

66

[p, W. MACLEAN.

exactly what you propose to do —that is to say, divert the station ? —I am quite sure we would have had to do so, owing to tho enormous increase in the business. The Commission may therefore take it that supposing you had spent the £200,000 or £300,000 or more which would have been required, in 1912 and the following years to alter the station and yards by making use of those lands, that would have been a temporary expedient, and you would, still be faced with the difficulties that you are faced with at the present time ? —The proposals which were made in 1912 were admittedly only of a temporary character. Mr. Luckie asked you whether you could not take the station to the southward of its present position, and your answer was that it would satisfy no one ? —That is so. That is my opinion. Have you carefully considered that aspect of the matter ?—I have. Have you any plans in connection with that aspect of the matter ? —Not the removal of the passenger-station. I have considered the question of retaining the passenger-station in its present position, and making sorting-yards and goods-yards to the south. But apparently Mr Luckie's suggestion, which may yet be made by somebody else, is that you should take the land to the southward of the present station, and on the left-hand side of the present line going from Longburn to Palmerston North ? —Assuming that is what is intended, that the whole station should bo taken away, then the effect of that is that the whole business of passenger and local goods at Palmerston North would have to be taken to a point somewhere near Awapuni. The effect of that would be that everybody in Palmerston North has got to add from two to two miles and a half to the cartage they would have to do to get their goods. Mr. Luckie: That was not the idea. Tho suggestion was to carry the station a bit farther south to a point about Kairanga Road. Mr. Myers.] Is it a proposal you would have in your mind as a Railway Engineer ?—Absolutely not. You would be involved in the same trouble you have at the present time. In the first place you would be removing the station farther from the town than it is at present ? — Yes. And what next ?—You are faced with a number of road-crossings which have either to be closed, or bridged, or dealt with in some way. And you have that in the immediate neighbourhood of the railway-yards ? —Yes, or else going across them by level crossing. You are also faced with the difficulty of sending the traffic all through the Square ? —Yes. And as to tho expense ? —The expense would be most serious. I have considered a number of alternatives. Mr. Marchba,nks.] You said just now that you had considered a proposal for leaving the passenger-station where it is, and of constructing goods and sorting yards to the south ? —Yes. Did you make any estimate of the cost ? —Yes. What does it run into ? —[Typewritten statement produced : see Appendix B.] Mr. Myers.] You put in certain statements giving notes and estimates in regard to the first proposed scheme, and then in regard to the alternative schemes ? —That is so. And your proposed scheme shows a total net cost of something like £500,000 ? —Yes. After allowing £50,000 for contingencies ? —Yes. That includes a complete scheme to Whakaronga Station. Mr. Jjuckie.] And that provides for £200,000 credit for sites sold ? —Yes. Mr. Myers.] That idea is based on present-day prices for labour and material ? —Yes, current prices. And if the prices of labour and material go down the cost of those estimates will also go down ? —Yes. The same observation applies to the alternative schemes ? —Yes. Tho first alternative scheme assumes the provision for local passenger and goods traffic at present station-site, sorting-yard north of present station-site, and a sorting-yard on the outh of the Napier line ?—Yes. That is one of the schemes you spoke of in your evidence ? —Yes. And the total cost of that you estimate at £400,000 ? —Yes. I want to call special attention to that. This scheme retains all level crossings, and does not deal with any bridges or such crossings at all. There are between Longburn and Terrace End sixteen public crossings and twenty-four private crossings. This first alternative scheme involves the retention of all those level crossings ? —Yes, together with very considerable shunting over the Square and over West Street. Now, the second alternative scheme involves the retention of the station at the present site to deal with all the business ?—Yes, they arc all based on the red scheme. This No. 2 scheme means that we retain all tho business, except the locomotive-depot, on the present site, for which we would have to buy a block of land to the west of West Street, or what we call south of West Street. The reason for purchasing that property is to provide shunting facilities to a certain extent at the Kairanga Road end. It would not do away with tho necessity of doing away with the shunting over tho level crossings, but would minimi.sc.it, and in order to shunt to the northern limit of the Square we provide an overhead bridge such as I have shown in the plan, and wo purchase some property. It also involves the closing of West Street, and the diversion of Main Street until you come, to Kairanga Road. Then the locomotive-depot would be placed probably on the northern side (or the western side), with, a bridge over Cook Street. It also includes the bridging of crossings to Terrace End. I wish to call special attention to this point: that this scheme which I have sketched out for the crossings at the various places —namely, Princess Street, Alexandra Street, and Scandia Street—is quite an impossible arrangement. It would satisfy nobody. The estimated cost of those bridges would