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At Tutira stktion-yard (28 in. 5 ch.) tlie platelayers' cottages were completed, latrines, shelter-sheds, passenger-platform, and loading-bank, and 6,000-gallon vat were erected, and a good water-supply was provided. At Matahoura Station (32 m. 36 ch.) a shelter-shed and loading-bank have been erected, and temporary stockyards were built to deal with the present traffic requirements. Four platelayers' cottages are in hand at Putorino station-yard, (at 37 m. 20 ch.), while the goods-shed is practically completed. The Department's sawmill at Makomakojhas cut 870,206 sup. ft. of timber, most of which has been used on the Putorino and Wairoa sections. Regular trains have connected with the Railway Department's services to Eskdale, and good use has been made of the service by the settlers in the neighbourhood, both for goods and passenger traffic. Wairoa Section (37 m. 35 ch. to 70 m. 67 ch. ; length, 33 m. 32 ch.). —The works which have received most attention on this section comprise the heavy earthwork, tunnels, and bridges. The formation on this section is heavy, and, in addition to hand gangs and scoop teams, ten steam-shovels have been employed throughout the year, with their attendant locomotives and trucks, the leads in some places being over a mile. This work is well in hand, and will be completed in ample time to enable the platelaying to proceed as soon as the larger tunnels and bridges are finished. The northern portal of the Kotemaori Tunnel, at 42 m. 15 ch.—4-2 m. 56 ch., has been erected, and the bottom heading has been driven 6f ch. back to 42 m. 49 ch. The driving is rather wet, but the country is quite sound, being a soft sandstone, and indications point to better conditions when enlarging the heading. Pumping and ventilation machines have been installed, and the concrete layout is complete. The Chimney Creek Tunnel No. 1, at 46 m. 25 ch., 15 ch. in length, was completed in February of this year, and Chimney Creek Tunnel No. 2, at 47 m. 9 ch., 14J ch. in length, was completed in October last. The formation of road-deviation at 44 m. 79 ch. has been completed, and at 47 m. 67 ch. to 48 m. 8 ch. the formation and metalling is finished and a start has been made with the overbridge. In the Mohaka Tunnel, at 53 m. 2 ch., bad conditions generally have been experienced, and, although conditions have improved during the last six months, the tunnel is still very wet and rotten in patches, and a third shift has been started to speed up construction. A total of 16J ch. has been completed. The Waihua Tunnel, at 60 m. 70 ch., 14-07 ch. long, was completed in November last, including both portals. Several slips occurred at the south portal, but these are all practically cleaned up. Between 55 m. 45 ch. and 65 m. 25 ch. the railway fouls the road in a number of places, and several deviations to avoid this and eliminate crossings have been put in hand. The largest of these, 55 m. 43 ch. to 56 m. 53 ch., is almost completed, and metalling is in hand. Creek-diversions have been excavated at 52 m. 37 ch. and between 62 m. and 64 m., several of those between the latter chainages having been carried out by means of scoop teams. The culverts and water-drives throughout the section are well in hand, approximately twenty culverts and waterdrives having been put in during the period, and the balance will be completed in ample time to synchronize with the early completion of the formation. Approximately 400 ch. of fencing has been erected. The Waikare Viaduct, at 38 m. 15 ch., consisting of five 50 ft., one 60 ft., and three 100 ft. spans on steel trestles with concrete foundations, was commenced just after Christmas, and rapid progress has been made. The rail-level on this viaduct is 250 ft. above river-level. The concrete abutments A and F and concrete piers B and B1 are complete. The excavation of pier Eis complete, and that of Pier Cis well in hand. The approach trestle to the viaduct has been erected, and the cableway for the erection of the steel will be complete in the very near future. Extensive investigations have been made and bores put down to determine the best type of foundation for the Mohaka Viaduct, which will be tlie largest and most imposing of these viaducts, and an early start will be made with these foundations. The Wairoa River Bridge, at 68 m. 59 ch., consisting of one 107 ft. 6 in., two 106 ft. 3 in., and two 15 ft. 2 in. spans, is nearing completion. The six cylinders which form the river piers are practically complete, and the pile pier on the north bank is completed and a start has been made with the erection of the steel superstructure. A good deal of trouble has been experienced on this work with floods, and at one time a part of the temporary staging was carried away. The programme generally from the Wairoa end is to prepare all works from Wairoa River to Waihua River for platelaying, so that this work can proceed as soon as the Wairoa River Bridge is completed. The light formation from 66 m. to 69 m. is nearly completed, and good progress should then be made with the platelaying. A temporary hold-up may be experienced at the Waihua River Bridge, which has not yet been commenced, but after that everything should be complete to the Mohaka Tunnel. This latter work is well under way, and should by that time be nearly completed, so that track may be continued to the Maungaturanga Viaduct. Owing to the additional men employed on this work, especially over the latter half of the period, additional workmen's accommodation has been necessary, and this has been provided partly by the transfer of some of the huts from the Waikaremoana hydro works and partly by the building of some additional cottages.

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