G.— ENGINEERING. 



141 



Estimated Cost of Converting all the Railway Lines to a Standard 



4 ft. Si in. Gauge. 



The discrepancy arises largely from the fact that the State Eailway 

 authorities based their estimates upon a high-standard 4 ft. 8J in. track 

 with 80-lb. rails for every mile of line in the State. In Western 

 Australia, for example, where the State authorities prepared a total esti- 

 mate amounting to about 35,669,O00L, the estimate would be reduced 

 to about 15,000, OOOL if lighter earthworks and 60-lb. rails were adopted 

 on most of the tracks, and in Queensland a similar procedure reduces 

 the original estimate of 53,332,000L to about 32,000,000L, but even 

 these modified State estimates greatly exceed the figures given by the 

 Commissioners. 



Chief Works required to give a Uniform 4 ft. 8| in. Gauge Line suitable 

 for fast, heavy Traffic from Fremantle to Brisbane. 



As regards Western Australia, it will be necessary to lay a new 

 line on the 4 ft. 8i in. gauge alongside the present 3 ft. 6 in. gauge 

 from Perth to Kalgoorlie, and to construct an entirely new bridge over 

 the river Swan. In South Australia there is at present a very un- 

 satisfactory length of line on the 3 ft. 6 in. gauge, with severe gradients 

 and awkward curves, between Terowie and Port Augusta. This would 

 be eliminated by the construction of a new 4 ft. 8i in. line fi'om Port 

 Augusta to Lochiel, and by the conversion of the existing 5 ft. 3 in. 

 line from Lochiel to Salisbury to the 4 ft. 8^ in. gauge. These two 

 pieces of work would at once cut out two of the three present change- 

 of -gauge stations in South Australia — viz., those at Adelaide and Port 

 Augusta, and the Terowie change-of-gauge station would be transferred 

 to Salisbury. The reduction in the existing heavy grades is shown by 

 the fact that while on the present route on the 3 ft. 6 in. line there 

 is a summit level of 2,000 ft., the summit level on the proposed new 

 line would not exceed 400 ft. This work, if taken in hand at once, 

 would cost about BOO.OOOL, and would in itself, without any other 

 changes, greatly improve the present railway facilities between East and 

 West Australia. In converting the 5 ft. 3 in. line from Adelaide to 

 Melbourne the most important work would be a new bridge over the 

 river Miuray, suitable for the heavier rolling-stock — an expensive piece 

 of work. In "Victoria the Commissioners suggested three allernalive 

 routes, as shown in the lantern plates, but they pointed out that 

 Eoute A would be very costly and difficult to work, and therefore it 



