REPORT BY THE RAILWAY ENGINEER
ON THE ORETI RAILWAY.

Railway Engineer’s Office,
Invercargill, 18th January, 1866.

To His Honor the Superintendent.

Sir,—In accordance with your request, I have the honor of reporting on the works of the Oreti Railway under the following heads:—

1. General favorable character of the ground over which the Railway had to be constructed.

2. Circumstances under which at the time of its projection the character of the Permanent Way and Rolling Stock was determined &c.

3. Works executed within the Province.

4. Construction of Rolling Stock and supply of two Locomotives from Victoria.

5. Contracts, Estimates, Tenders, and Expenditure for Specific Works to be executed within the Province.

6. Suspension of Works, their resumption, final suspension, and arrangements made for conveying Traffic over a portion of the Railway.

7. Present state of the Railway and most advantageous means of using and improving the Permanent Way, so as to admit of the use of the Rolling Stock of the Bluff Harbour and Invercargill Railway over it, as also of its own Rolling Stock.

8. Estimated cost of completing the Railway.

9. General Summary.

I.—GENERAL FAVORABLE CHARACTER OF THE GROUND OVER WHICH THE RAILWAY HAD TO BE CONSTRUCTED.

The length of this Railway extending from Invercargill to Winton, is 19 miles. The principal rivers crossed are the “Waiopai,” the “Waikivi,” and the “Makerewa.”

The “Waiopai” is crossed by a Viaduct, having 12 openings of 17' 3" each; the “Waikivi” by a Viaduct, having 5 openings of 17' 3" each; and the “Makerewa” by a Bridge having two centre spans of 44 feet each, and two side spans of 20 feet each.

The heaviest Cutting and Embankment is in the Makerewa Bush, where the greatest depth of cutting is about 20 feet, and the greatest height of Embankment is also about 20 feet; these, the heaviest Earthworks on the Railway, extend for a distance of about one and three-quarter miles in all. The country north of the Makerewa River was of a very favorable character, the heaviest works being at the crossing of the Typoo Creek, where the Embankment is about 16 feet in height, and the bridge, one with 5 openings of 16 feet span.

II.—CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH, AT THE TIME OF ITS PROJECTION, THE CHARACTER OF THE PERMANENT WAY AND ROLLING STOCK WAS DETERMINED, &C., &C.

This Railway was projected in the winter of 1863, at a time when all communication with the Wakatipu Lake and the Nokomai was cut off by the deplorable state of portions of the road from Invercargill to Winton, and when it became evident that the construction of a Railway was the cheapest and best means of securing that communication with the north in the winter months, which might otherwise be interrupted at any time by the action of a few weeks of wet weather on the unmetalled roads. It was therefore considered of paramount importance to complete this Railway before the ensuing winter, and every preliminary to the commencement of the Works was pressed forward to that end.

With a view to such expedition the question of the adoption of a Wooden Rail, and the application of Mr. Davies’ Patent Engine and Carriages for running on it was submitted by His Honor the then Superintendent, to a Commission consisting of Mr. Heale, Mr. Dundas, Mr. Fenton, and myself; and we decided it to be advisable to adopt the Longitudinal system of Permanent Way, and to treat the Longitudinal bearer itself as the Wooden Rail on which the Engine and Carriages of Mr. Davies’ Patent should be used until the time when an Iron Rail could be added to these Longitudinal Bearers.