It's Bulldozers
V. Boulders
At Beach Loop

The occasional passing of a train, even a big J class engine with its string of freight wagons, is a comparatively quiet moment at the short tunnel just south of Beach Loop. While the trains, slowed down by speed restrictions, chuf through the tunnel at little more than a walking pace, the roar and clatter of the bulldozers overhead is momentarily stilled.

When the trains have gone, the excrutiating noise of battle is resumed. It is a battle between bulldozers and boulders. In what was once the heart of a hill the machines are making hard work of uprooting and shifting big chunks of sandstone rock. Even tougher is the job of churning up a bed of hard blue papa, which a dozer blade polishes to a finish like marble.

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Bulldozers raise friction smoke as they grapple with tough terrain

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Rare view of a tunnel without its hill: a picture taken at the north portal

Contractors are required to finish job by May 31, plus approximately three weeks of wet weather allowance. They have a good chance of doing so.

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This picture shows more clearly the big sandstone boulders which are making the work difficult. They throw a heavy strain on the machine.

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From above tunnel, at top left of picture, material from cutting is shifted into steep gully, nearer camera. There it must be consolidated and built up to make foundation for new line.