The Rakaia Bridge.

The financial difficulties prevented the undertaking of the construction of the bridge over the Rakaia. A suggestion was made that a cheaper form of structure than that originally planned might be adopted, and a report on this suggestion was made by the Provincial engineer (Mr. page 40 E. Dobson). He submitted a plan for a railway bridge, or locomotive ferry, estimated to cost £30,000, including rolling stock. The bridge would consist of piers of raking piles, 15 feet apart, with caps and beams to carry a light railway, and the rolling stock would consist of a light locomotive and six trucks or floats. A loading ramp would be provided at each end of the bridge, carts and teams would be loaded on the trucks, drawn across the bridge by the locomotive, and discharged at the ramp at the other end of the bridge.