LIGHT RAILWAYS.

Gisborne Times, Volume VII, Issue 330, 3 February 1902, Page 3

LIGHT RAILWAYS.

(To the Editor of the Times.)

Sir,—lt appeared to he the unanimous feeling of the meeting called to discuss railway matters last Friday, that we should even now revert to the narrow or light gauge railway, there by ensuring a prospect of getting to the Motu some time during our lives. To wait until we connect with the

present guage is to surely and certain ly condemn the Motu settlers and their children to their present helpless and miserable existence for the remainder of their lives. Does any reasonable being believe that Parliament wili vote us any larger annual railway grants in the future than we have had in the past, bearing in mind the fact that our present representative is a prominent member of the Government.

Allowing future grants to be equal to those received in the past, how far will they take our railway of the present gauge, and how long will it take to reach the Motu ? We know that it has taken two years to construct 10 miles of the easiest laid track in the whole colony, then what will be the rate of construction when they reach the hilly and broken country necessitating the building of bridges, cuttings, embankments, etc., etc. 1 un-

hesitatingly say that the next ten miles of railway will take ten years to construct, and so on to the end of the chapter, and when ultimately the Motu will be reached not a living soul of the present generation will be there to see it. Therefore, I say, let us all as with one voice say that we will have the light, railway, and only it. It was a pleasant feature of the meeting to notice the complete absence of any opposition to the resolutions brought forward, and it is to be hoped that the Railway League, having started the light railway scheme going under such favorable circumstances will not allow their interest in it to abate until success has crowned their efforts. Reference was; made at the meeting to the Tasmanian light railways, a few particulars of which would perhaps be of interest to your readers at the present time. The gauge is two feet. Maximum gradients 1 in 25. Minimum curves 99ft. radius. Width of clearing 30ft. Width of cuttings 10ft. in base. Width of banks 10ft. on top. Bridges all of timber. Ballast 800 cubic yards per mile. Sleepers sft. x Sin. x 4in. Rails 431 b and 461 b per yard. Rolling stock : Goods trucks on bogies, each truck carries 10 tons and weighs 2 tons 14cwt. Passenger cars will seat 18 passengers. Hand and vaccuum brakes on all rolling stack. Construction carried on by piece and day work very satisfactorily. Cost of line including surveys and construction £2OOO per mile. Locomotive in working order weighs 19 tons, and hauls 50 tons up 1 in 25 on curves of 99 feet radius. With four traina each way in each day they can carry one hundred thousand tons yearly. One great argument in favor of a light line construction is that we are completely cut off from any possibility of functioning with any of the existing ordinary gauges of the colony for many years to come, and if eventually it is found necessary to so connect, it will then be a very simple matter, and in the meantime the light line will have served its purpose.—l am, etc., KAITI.

(To the Editor ot the Times.) Sir,—l was one of those who attended the Gisborne Railway League’s indignation meeting, and it struck me, ana it must have struck others, as a singular fact, that notwithstanding the unanimous opinion of the League and others present, that a light railway was the proper railway for Poverty Bay, and also notwithstanding the fact that the, Hon. James Carroll and the Premier were of the same opinion, nevertheless when it came to practice, a broad gauge railway was constructed. Nothing happens without a cause, and I naturally set my brain to work

to discover the cause of this paradox. And the conclusion I have come to is this—we have not got an engineer in the colony with any practical experience in the construction of light railways. It may he thought by some that an engineer who can build a broad guage railway could construct a light railway. I very much doubt that. At any rate, a man's prejudices invariably lean towards that which he has done before, and thoroughly understands, even though abundant and convincing arguments may be brought forward that some new wav would be an improvement. Even in {he smallest matters we see this tendency to stick to the ills we know tof rather than attempt that which we know not of. Now, being a firm believer myself in light railways rather than no railway at all, what I would suggest is that the Gisborne Railway League take steps to import, or bring pressure on the Government to import, an engineer from Tasmania, India, or elsewhere, where light railways are in vogue, who has had practical experience in the construction of light rail ways, and let this expert take in hand the construction of a light railway to the Motu, and alter the gauge of that portion already constructed to the requirements of the League, if they consider the above suggestion sound, will not be act-

narrow guage. I trust the Railway ing upon it because I do not happen to be a wealthy landowner in an influential position. Though a railway will probably benefit me very little one way or the other, 1 love to see matters of public importance executed in the best possible way independent ■of any personal benefit I may derive therefrom—l am, etc., C. P. W. LONGDILL,.