Stewakt. — On the Botorua District. 599 



tions of the various survey explorations. The hopes and fears, 

 expectations and disappointments, which alternated in the 

 experience of about twelve months of hard and harassing 

 work, eventually secured the location of a route favourable in 

 everything but grades. A limit of gradient of 1 in 40 was 

 aimed at, and a route was actually graded to the plateau via 

 Kokako ; but the works and curves would have been heavy. 

 It was determined that none of the deep ravines were suitable, 

 on account of the want of access which would have resulted 

 to a great part of the line should it be located half-way down 

 the sides of one of these. Besides, the amount of works and 

 danger from slips were such as could not be entertained or 

 risked. 



By the adoption of 1 in 35 for the maximum grade, it be- 

 came possible to breast the ascent on the west side, mainly in 

 a dry valley between the Mangatapu and Mangakotaha ravines. 

 And in the descent to the lake-basin two of the gullies — Te Uhi 

 and Manurewa — are not too deep to be embanked, and the 

 heavy fall of the country is overcome by grading diagonally 

 downwards until the levels near the lake are reached. 



It is unnecessary also to enter into the records of the rail- 

 way company and the purchase by the Government of all the 

 district railways in the colony. Those are matters of history, 

 and, presumably, of no general interest now. When the Go- 

 vernment determined to push the line to Eotorua, aiid the 

 writer's firm was engaged as the engineers, it became necessary 

 to at once locate the line for contract. For this purpose a set 

 of very stringent conditions were imposed in addition to a 

 limit of time. These comprised the compensation of grades 

 for curvature, so that, as the haulage would be increased by 

 curves, it would be diminished at these places by proportion- 

 ately reducing the grades. Also, all stations were required to 

 be straight in alignment and level for a length of 15 chains. 

 These conditions, and the retention of the ruling grade of 1 in 

 35, rendered the work of location in that dense forest one 

 of very great nicety and labour. It was effected, but with 

 hardly a foot to spare in the critical parts of the grading on 

 both flanks. Ten chains is the minimum radius of curvature, 

 and this only occurs three times, and each at a place close to 

 a station. The preliminary survey from Putaruru to Eotorua 

 showed about 116 curves. These the contract location re- 

 duced to 49, many of them being a mile and upwards in radius. 



The heavy grading on the western side may be taken at 

 from 1 mile 15 chains below Ngatira to five and a quarter miles 

 above, where the plateau is reached at 1,748ft. above datum. 

 The plateau is just five miles broad as traversed by the rail- 

 way. At Kaponga, 1,910ft. above datum, the descent begins, 

 and the maximum grade is used on a length of six miles, ex- 



