Of course work done with such care and by the day was costly, and it would doubtless be possible to construct a similar line by contract at two-thirds of the price. But it is a question whether much would have been saved in the long run, for, except the usual platelayers’ work, no repairs of any sort have been necessary since completion, nor has any part of the mechanism failed or given trouble; a result not usually attained in contract work.
It may interest those who have similar work to deal with if I explain that in making this line all our material had to be hauled from our base on the Great Western Railway at Balderton. The procedure was as follows:—At the rail-end four 15 ft. lengths of light timber framing 9 in. deep were laid on the bare formation. A train then backed up with eight wagons of ballast, and on top of them four lengths of rail ready keyed to sleepers. The rails were lifted off alongside where they were to be laid, the “tops” of the wagons were removed and the ballast shovelled off on each side. The train then drew away to refill. The length of framing next the rail-end was lifted forward to the end of furthest framing, and so consecutively with the other three, thus leaving between the rail end and the fresh laid framing a space of 60 ft. with the loose ballast lying thereon. Four men with shovels and four with rammers then put the ballast in shape and rammed it solid, and also true to a level given by the engineer. The rails and sleepers were next lifted into place, and the fish plates affixed. The sleepers next the joints were temporarily packed, by which time a fresh train had arrived. The process was then repeated. In this manner, with a staff of ten men at the rail-end, a driver and boy with the train, six men loading ballast, three men straightening and bending rails, and three fixing them in sleepers, 60 ft. were laid in about forty minutes, including delays for field crossings and cattle-stop bridges. After a day or two of this work the men were set to packing and finishing what had been laid. With a larger staff the two processes might, but less conveniently, have proceeded at the same time.
The following is a detailed account of the cost of construction:—