ELECTRIC POWER BOARD.

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 34, 5 November 1920, Page 10

ELECTRIC POWER BOARD.

VISIT TO THE WORKS. 'ihe main object of this review is to give ! ^ general synopsis of the constructional J work as far as it has prcgressed. On arrival at Tuatapere the party inspected the Goods Shed which has been constructed by the Board at a cost of £327, plus £33 for painting. The object oi this depot is to store material prior to its transit to Monowai. A railway siding is being constructed and the Board will pay £15 as an annual rental. The material from this depot will be transported by traction engines and motor lorries. On leaving Tuatapere the Board were met" by a deputation from the Wallace County Council, whose first complaint was that the longitudinal decking of the bridge was worn through. Further on the deputation wanted the Board to widen the road. The road in question has been taken over by the Board for maintenance and not for construction. The Council seems to considerthe Board fair game to shoalder responsibilities which should be carried on its own shoulders. It was a decidedly I trival matter, and the Council seem to forget that ihe Board is forming and maintaining miles of road which are an asset to the country. Tlre Board have taken over this rcad and it will be handcd back a'gain to the Council in five years, • time, the Board to return it in good con- ■ dition. The distance from Tuatapere to Sunnyside is 29 miles and represents the length of road which will have to be kept in effective repair. From the proposed Buspension bridge to the headworks will mean approximately another nine miles which is being formed. Of the 29 mile stretch of road, about six miles have been formed and gravelled. A lar'ge section of this was practieally impassable during'a certain period of the year. It is no w a good rnetal road which, when consolidated, will greatly facilitate motor trafiic. Of the remaining portion about 18 miles is being maintained and in rnany places gravelling has been heavy. The remaining mileage is in good order just now bub will require a good deal of attention when heavy transport begins. At Taylor's Creek there is a fairly steep grade down to the creek which was previ. ously forded. A bridge is being erected ' across the stream which will have the effect of straightening the road as well' as dispensing with the necessity of fording the stream. The bridge is wooden and without going into detail is a decided improvement. Further up the road we came to a bend in the road. At this point there is a gravel pit which has been excavated right up to the boundary line. This pit is a decided danger to traffic and at some time or other will be the eause of an accident. This defect should receive the attention of the Board now, as th.ere is no doubt there will be a greal deal of motor traffic on the road. There is a fair sized cutting from the top of the plain down to Sunnyside Flat, on which is situated the depot, consisting of huts, cookhouse, store, blacksmith shop, etc. This depot will i'emain at its present site for about another five months and wjll then be shnced j up to the headworks on completion of the suspension bridge. The huts are very comfortahle and portable. The cookhouse is neat and elean, and the men receive a good meal for ls 4d. At this site the Board have constructed a punt which transports materials across the "Waiau. The propelling power is the current, which is fairly strong. Crossing over the Waiau at this point 'Dggers' " Hill is reached at a distance of about two miles. The sawmill was designed to cut 5000 feet per day, and in a short time timber will be transported to the works by a tramline which is now being constructed at a cost of about £1G~0. It is stated that about 60 per cenf. of the timber in the bush is totara. Returning to the descent to Sunnyside the road to Monowai turns at an angle to the proposed suspension bridge. If we remember ') correctly, the span is about 312 feet The approach to the bridge is a siding on the hillside, arfd we understand that this is the piece of formation where rock was anticipated and the contractor found soft material. There are no geological indications that hard rock would be struck and in the absence of a geological examination the work was very costly to the Board. It is anticipated that this uridge will be completed in four months' time. The following tenders will give a fair indication as to the work and its cost : — Road metalilng, Letter Box, Taylor's Flat to Peg 90, bank of Waiau River, £922 19s. Road metalilng, County Road, new metal, Peg 29 Taylor's Creek and enda at Letter Box, Taylor's Flat, £532. Road metalling, County Rxxad maintenance, from 21.6 M. to 24 M. Tuatapere-Blackmount Road, £345 12s. Road metalling, County Road, new metal from gravel on Otautau flats to

14 M. on Tuatapere-Blackmount Road, j £490. dnt on with his ys shut, hshrdlushrdlush j County Road, maintenance, gravelling | Alton Creek-Tualapere-Blackmount r.oaa, j £242. Road metalling, County Road, new I gravel, 14 M. to 15 M. Tuatapere-Black- j mount Road, £392. Forming, etc., main access road, Waiau 1 road, Station 90 to Station llA. to Waiau Bridge, £2045 18s. Forming, etc., main acess road, Waiau River to Monowai, Sections, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, £2179. Road metalling, County Rcads, new work, 15 M. peg to end at Wairaki bridge, Tuatapere Road, ~o44 6s 8d. Ironwork for Waiau suspension bridge, Sections 1 and 3 at prop. rate of tender for whole of supply, £1371 ls 7d (approximate). Ironwork Waiau suspension bridge, Sec. tions 2, and 4, at 7^d lb., £478 18s 5d (approximate). Our opinion is that the Board has done goocl work. The first sod was turned in May last and good progress has been made. The Board, in making good lmes of communication, have acted wisely, and money spent in this difiection is well spent. In addition to the commitments already enumerated, contracts have been let for the following Poles, hardwood, £70.057 10s; pole ironworks, £9250; cross arms, plain, £3824 ls ?d ; cross arnis, rata horcd. 30,000 sup. feet, at 52s 6d per 100ft, £787 10s ; insulators and pins, £11849 ; wood stave pipe (including construction and steel work), £37,064. These figures make a total of £143,832 17s 3d, so the ratepayers will see that they are well into the schem'c. Tis total cannot represent the total commitments as we have no record of the cost of erection of sawmill at Diggers' Hill, punt, huts, blacksmith's shop, and various other items. Then there is the cost of offiees, about £11,000, motor cars, salaries, commissions, etc. We were unable to get to Monowai owiag to the short time at our dispoeal. The following table gives the wages paid to staff : — Ganger in charge of earthwoWcs, 18s; ganger in charge of concrete works, 18s; ganger in charge of bridge wo?3, 18s; general blacksmith, 18s ; carpenter, 18s ; traction engine driver, 18s ; waggon driver, 18s; leading bushman, 18s; sawyer, 18s; station, ary engine driver, 2nd class, 16s ; driver three horse dray, 16s ; motor lorry driver, 16s ; shoeman, 16s ; second bushman, 16§ ; sniper, 16s ; tracker, 16s ; trolleyman, 16s ; tailerout, 16s ; skiddy, 15s; slabby, 15s; general labourers, 15s ; blacksmith's striker, 15s ; carpenter's labourers, 15s; concrete workers, 15s ; fireman on traction engine, 15s ; tallyman, gravelling contracts, 15s ; storeman, 15s ; road maintenance man, 15s. TRAN SPORTATION. Statement by Messrs Hay and Vickerman, showing the comparative costs of the different methods of transportation of supplies, machinery, etc., from railhead at Tuatapere to the Headworks. CONSTRUCTION EXPENSES. To allow any method of trasport to be adopted and to provide accesa, expenses for construction of necessary works are involved as tabulated below : — •

TRANSPORT BY RIYER (WAIAU). The annual charge per boat would bo ;

Wages of captain, £300; engineer, £260; deck hands (2), £450; interest at 6 per cent. on £3800, £228 ; depreciation at 8 per cent., £304; insurance, £60; annual overhaul, £l50; totalling £1752, or 13/6 per ton. Tlre fuel costs per trip from Tuatapere to power house and back would be : — Kerosene £23, lubricatmg oil 15s, stores 5s — £24, or £1 4s per ton, making the total cost per ton carried £1 17s 6d. Similar costs from sawmill to power house would be : Annual cliarges 12s per ton, and fuel 10s, totalling £1 2s per ton. The comparative cost of transportation by using boats would thus be : — — Goods from Tuatapere. — £. Construction Exps. (para. 5) ... 21,350 Freight 5000tons at £1 17s 6d ... 9,375 Carriage Tuatapere - to River ... 250 £30,975 — Timber from Sawmill.— £. Construction Exps. (para 5) ... 350 Freight 3000 tons at £1 2s 3300 £3650 It will be notcd that it has been assumed that boats will be saleable at the end of the job for £3,200 each. We consider this very open to question. TRANSPORT BY TRACTION ENGINE. The cost per return trip would be : — Coal £5, wages £3 10s, oil and stores 15/-, totalling £9 5s with overhead charges for interest, depreciation, repairs, insurance, totalling £4 10s per trip or £13 10s in all, making the cost per ton carried (on the basis of only 10 tons per trip), £l~7s, or, allowing a further contingency of 3s per ton, £1 10/The cost for comparison would, by this method, be, for goods from Tuatapere:— £. Construction Exps. (para. 5) ... 17,600 j Freight, 5000 tons at £1 10s ... 7,500 j £25,100 If the roads are well maintained, 12 tons should be the average load with the possibility of reducing the above cost by £1875. TRANSPORT BY 3-4 TON MOTOR LORRY. The cost per day for direct charges would be : — Driver 16s, tyres 15s, oil and stores 3s, petrol 26s, totalling £3, with the following indirect charges : Depreciation 15s, interest 4s 6d, insurance 5s, garage 6d, maintenance and overhaul 15s, totalling £2, making the total cost £5 per day, or £2 10s per ton carried. Road maintenance with lorries would probably be heavier than with traction engines. Lorries of this type have the further disadvantage that they could not handle the heavy wTeights in the generating units, which would necessitate traction engines, though only for a few trips. Transport by motor lorry would tnus cost : £. Construction Expenses 17,600 Freight, 5000 tons at £2 10s ... 12,500 £30,100 TRANSPORT BY HORSE WAGGON. These are slow and would take two days up and two davs down, necessitating 9 to 15 teams, which could, though not very conveniently, be diverted to other work in ' the off season, and which, to ensure the rate of £3 per ton quoted below, would have to be bought and worked by the Board. £. 1 Construction Expenses "13,800 Cost oi late or unprofitable timo 1,500 5000 tons carted at £3 15,000 £30,300

Trac- Motor Horse Boat. tion. lorry, wag'n. eng. £. £. £. £. Improving County road, 27m. 4000 6000 6000 4000 Maintenance County road, 27m 1000 3000 3000 1500 Bridge across Waiau River . 5000 5000 5000 5000 New road, Taylor's Flat to p.h 3000 3000 3000 3000 Maintenance do. S.M. ... — 600 600 300 Railway, Tuata-pere-Rivei* ... 3500 — . - — -Wharves and Cranes, Tuatapere & Power House 750 — — — . Wire Ropes and Maintenance of Channel Slipway 1000 r— . — Improvement of river channel .. 2500 — — — Road at Power House landing 600 »•* *- — Total ... 21350 17600 17600 13800

From Tuatapere.

Tramway. Boat. £. £, Tramway, three miles ... 1800 Wharf and crane at sawmill >.« ... 350 Total ...- ... ... 1800 350

From Sawmill.