The arrival of Donald Campbell and his survey team at Balaklava at the end of December could hardly be considered auspicious. They docked aboard a Spanish tramper from Barcelona, squeezed in alongside a cargo of Mules and Muleteers, who had been seasick all the way from Marseilles; they had missed their booked passages due to a breakdown on French railways. On disembarking, they had to fend for themselves. No one was expecting them. They managed to take over a hut without doors windows or furniture, but at least with a waterproof roof. Campbell had tried to make contact with the Harbour Board of Officers and the abrasive Admiral Boxer, without success, and decided to start work independently. Luckily a reorganisation took place whereby Captain Heath of HMS Sanspareil was given responsibility for the harbour,and was more interested in what was going on around him than Boxer was. When informed what this bunch of civilians was doing with their measuring chains and theodolites, he quickly grasped the significance of the Railway and thereafter was following them a little too closely.
Fundamental to a successful survey was the selection of the best possible base. Campbell's brief had been to base himself on a deepwater wharf, where heavy materials could be easily off- loaded onto a large flat storage area alongside the start of the track. The Harbour authorities agreed that this should be the Ordnance Wharf, just below the church, and allocated the British Army Post Office garden alongside as the railway yard. From here the obvious route through Balaklava was along the main street, although at the extreme north tip of the harbour the passage between the water and the hill was so narrow that the track would be at the water's edge, probably needing banking. On to Kadikoi there was more choice of route, although numerous culverts and small bridges would be needed across the many streams and rivulets. There was level ground west of Kadikoi where they could locate their intermediate depot.
At Kadikoi he found the main snag - the gradients up Frenchman's Hill towards the col were much steeper than anticipated. He could route the track up the valley on either side; he opted for the northern one, where the current track ran. The track had a gradient of 1 in 7, but Campbell managed to plot a way up with a maximum gradient of 1 in 14. He would definitely need a stationary winding engine at this point. Beyond Frenchman's Hill the slope up to the Flagstaff on the Col levelled out to about 1 in 25/30. Once up on the Col it would be relatively plain sailing; he sited the terminal roughly behind Raglan's HQ, and envisaged the line continuing to the Worontzov Road with branches serving the Divisional depots and siege batteries.
