THE LATE S.W. GALE.

Globe, Volume VII, Issue 707, 25 September 1876, Page 2

THE LATE S.W. GALE.

Damage to the Bailway. Again we have to chronicle the stoppage of traffic on the lines of railway north and south, totally so on the former, and partially on the latter. The heavy downpour of rain on Friday night, coupled with the fact that it had been raining very heavily in the hilla> for some time previous, had the effect of flooding the Waimakariri and the whole of the southern rivers. The point of attack at the Kakaia was the southern embankment to the Bakaia bridge, which has before been washed away. The river began to rise on Friday evening, and by Baturday morning a breach of some 40 yards had been made in the southern embankment. The water also rose on to the permanent way, and washing away the sand and earth of the foundation of the rails, rendered traffic impossible. Mr Lawson and Mr Warner being apprised of the mishap at once proceeded to the spot by'a special train with a gang of men, and!. . measures were at once taken to repair the damage and make arrangements for continuing the passenger traffic. The men were afc work all night on Saturday, so that the* damage was repaired early yesterday morning. A special train was despatched to meefc the train leaving the Ashburton, and the passengers were conveyed across the damaged portion in trollies. So complete were the arrangements made by the railway authorities to meet the exigency that, notwithstanding the accident, the passengers by the evening train were only thirteen minutes beyond the usual time of arriving in town. The river, we may say, was very much in flood on Saturday, but from telegrams received yesterday the railway authorities anticipate no further damage, the river having gone down and all damage repaired. The Waimakairi shared with the Bakaia .; in the immense amount of flood water poured into it, Indeed, there has not 'been each t

quantity of wate* in the river since 1868. Late on Friday evening, and towards morning of Saturday, it began to encroach at the old place near Chaney's corner, and as the storm continued in the hills the water soon found its way on to the line. From the railway bridge over the river to the Belfast Factory the water has, more or less, undermined the soil of the permanent way, completely stopping the traffic. The 4.30 p.m, train to the North only reached the Factory station, as it was found impossible to proceed further. A large number- of Kaiapoi and Rangiora residents had thus perforce to return to town and remain all night. Messrs Lawson, Warner, and Knight went up yesterday, when a gang of men were taken up and set to work to repair the damage done. It is anticipated that it will be Wednesday before traffic on the North line will be resumed. Yesterday Messrs Millett and Saunders despatched a special coach to Kaiapoi, conveying those who were unable to proceed by train on Saturday afternoon. , The arrangements made for the carrying out of the traffic on the North line until the damage to the line is repaired will be, that trains will leave morning and evening only for Chaney's corner station, thence arrangements have been made for a coach service to Kaiapoi, to Connect the trains. The Amberley train will come on to Kaiapoi instead of stopping at Rangiora. There will be no goods traffic on the Northern line. THE FLOOD IN AND NEAR KAIAPOI. The following information from our Kaiapoi representative furnishes particulars as to the effect of the flood in and around Kaiapoi : "The water in the rivet rose high, but not to the top of the present embankments, which have kept back the water. The flood rose on the island about a mile from the town during the day, and on Mr Mont's farm Mr McLaren had 400 sheep drowned. The carcases of sheep and one or two head of cattle were seen floating out at the bar. The rivers North are mostly flooded ; the Eyre is flooded and the drains, with the rain on Friday night. No serious damage is reported to have been done by the gale. The flood is finding its way mainly down the IslaMoatting and through the culverts on the ISforth road. Abridge over the culvert near Mr Burgess' house on the North road was reported to be washed away at 4 o'clock. The cause assigned at the Bealey for the flood in the Waimakiriri on Saturday was the heavy north-west rain, in twenty-four hours there being a fall of 5 l-10in. As a result of the erection of the protective embankments to save Christchurch, the heavy body of water was suddenly shunted towards Kaiapoi Island. The direction taken by the overflow was over the bankß at Chaney's, and acroßs the railway line, and on the opposite side on to the lands of Messrs Wright (late Watts' land), Stanton, Monk, Baker, Burgess, Tibbetts, and Pashby. The North road, from White's bridge to Pashby's, was flooded, as well as the road in the other direction towards Chaney's and Treleavan's. In addition to the losses mentioned above, Mr Stanton will be a heavy loser in regard to crops and fences. The railway bridge referred to is considerably shaken with the lodgement of.debris and the force of the current. A large groin protecting the South approach stood the test, and effectually carried out the intention of the railway engineer in its erection. To show the force of the current at this point, it may be stated that large stones (weighing some half a ton) which were brought from Lyttelton on the occasion of the last flood, with which the groin was packed, were scoured out by the force of the stream. Railway communication north of Kaiapoi was kept up as usual. The railway telegraph was found to be of great advantage. It was high water in the river between 8 and 9 p.m. on Saturday, but although the water reached within 18 inches or 2 feet from the top of the embankments, and was over the wharves and capsils of the swing bridge, it did not overflow into the town. It was fortunate the protective works were nearly finished, for except leakages in places, and the defective floodgates to the Ohoka drain, which latter had to be filled with bags of straw mixed with shingle, the works were completely satisfactory. The only portion unfinished was a chain of embankment; across Birch and Go's wharf, but the Council works committee placed on a gang of twenty men with drays who finished a bank in time to prevent any overflow. As the drainage through the embankments was left open water escaped in one or two places, but only so as to fill the side channels, while the backwater up the north branch found its way past the brewery. The works of the Canterbury Spinning and Weaving Company, which are unprotected, escaped the overflow, and it spread more over the lands towards the church bush. The land on the line of the main Rangiora drain and swamp was partially flooded, but it is supposed not injuriously. From ten p.m. on Saturday evening there was an appreciable decrease in the volume of the river, and on Sunday morning it had gone down to its usual dimensions. Traffic by road is re-opened. Only the approach of the bridge over the culverts at Burgess's was damaged. It has been repaired. |