1946-1947 — Page 16

15

55.

Two constructional-sidings, built by the Japanese at the Taipo and Beacon Hill Tunnels, were removed in order to eliminate the danger of unattended facing points.

56. The service line between Hung Hom Loco Yard and Kowloon Station was converted to an assembly line for UNRRA wagons.

This necessitated the installation of a Block Station and the laying of a cross-over road at No. 2 Bridge for controlling the traffic between Kowloon and Yaumati as well as that between Kowloon and the Hung Hom workshops yard.

57. Out of the total length of 7212 ft. of brick arches in the Beacon Hill Tunnel, 2646 linear ft. had been destroyed during the War. In addition, there were numerous cracks in the remaining portions of the arches. Red bricks numbering 1,300,000 were purchased for replacing the mission arches. A contract for this job was signed on 15.8.46 and completed in March 1947. The Contractor could only work about 6 hours per night, because the work had to be done without interference to normal traffic. The work remaining to be done consists of repairs to minor cracks by Cement Gun.

58. The arches in Taipo Tunnel (900 ft. long) were also damaged during the War. In the central portion of the Tunnel where demolition had occurred, reinforced concrete arches over a distance of 100 ft. were erected to replace the brick arches and the cracks were grouted by Cement Gun.

59. Major Bridges No. 25, No. 33 and one pier of Bridge 47 were also demolished during the retreat of the British forces. in December 1941. The Japanese rebuilt these bridges apparently in a hurry and left many parts undone, such as sides and bracings. A contract for reconditioning Bridges No. 25 and No. 33 was completed in November 1946.

On February 1947, cracks in one of the piers of Bridge No. 47 were found to be developing further. Arrangements were made immediately to reconstruct the pier.

pier. Minor repairs to sidewalk and bracings of this bridge still remain to be done.

The

60. Signals. The double-wire signalling mechanism at Yau- mati, Taipo Market and Fanling was looted during the Japanese occupation period. Efforts to obtain materials from India for restoring this system were not successful. alternative was to put back the old system of signalling as a temporary measure. The contract for this work was com- pleted by the end of the year. Meanwhile procurement for the double-wire signalling material has been requested from the United Kingdom.

URBAN COUNCIL PUBLIC LIBRARIES