this centre rail, and so minimizes the danger, and gives additional power. I was informed that only on the Vesuvius Railway and on one incline on the Alps is there such a steep gradient as here, and that it is only on these three lines that the Fell engine is in use. Not being an engineer I cannot vouch for this.
At all events the Rimutaka gorge is a sight which once seen can never be forgotten. Critics of the carping sort say that the line should never have been brought by this route at all. They tell you of two alternate routes of easier grades and much more suitable for traffic. All I can say is that for the tourist, the Rimutaka line offers attractions which are positively enthralling. The curves are very abrupt. The pace is rapid enough to make standing on the platform dangerous, as the oscillation is extreme; but the scenery is thrillingly grand.
The clear, brawling stream dashes along at the foot of the embankments, with here and there an abutment of logs and gabions stemming its impetuous rush, and diverting the insidious waters away from their work of undermining, and overthrowing the labours of the engineer. Some of the glens are stupendous in their depth. Two slender, spidery-looking chain-bridges span the stream at two different gorges. The bosky hills seem on fire, as the steam and mist curl and wreathe their ghost-like fantastic columns aloft through the dark canopy of matted creeper and dewy fern fronds.
