Character of Works.

The Railway is constructed generally to the same standard as the main line. From the junction to the township, the line is practically straight and level, the only curve being 90 chains radius, and the steepest gradient 1 in 440, but the last 30 chains, leading into the mine, has four curves of 7½ chains radius, and gradients of from 1 in 30 to 1 in 42. These steep gradients are in favor of the traffic, consequently are an advantage in working the line.

The following notes give the leading features of the works—Land enclosed, 1 chain wide; Fencing, ditch, mound, four wires and top rail; Gates, as on main line; Formation, 12 feet wide; Bridges and Culverts of totara and matai timber, according to the General Government Standard Drawings; Sleepers, 7 feet x 8 inches x 4½ inches, about 2,000 to the mile; Ballast, gravel about 1½ cubic yards per yard forward; Rails, 40lbs per yard, Government pattern, joined with fish-plates, and fastened to the sleepers by dog-spikes.

The Station Buildings at Kaitangata consist of an engine shed, 31 feet by 19 feet, a goods shed, 42 feet by 21 feet, and a passenger platform, 100 feet by 12, all of the best timber and iron. The passenger house at Kaitangata Station is not erected yet. A substantial and convenient stage is built at the entrance to the mine, so that the coal is emptied at once from the miners' trucks into the railway waggons. Generally the works on the Kaitangata Railway are well designed, suitable for the purposes for which they were intended, and faithfully built with the best materials.