The Audit Office,
Wellington, N.Z., 7th June, 1928.
I hereby certify that after investigation of the publisher's lists and other records the average circulation of the New Zealand Railways Magazine for the 12 months ended May, 1928, is in excess of 20,000 copies per month during the whole of that period.
Controller and Auditor-General.
The New Zealand
Railways
Magazine
Railways
Magazine
Registered for transmission by Post as a Newspaper
Published by the
New Zealand Government Railways Department
“”
For Better Service.Circulation Over21,000
Vol. 3. No. 8.
Wellington,
New Zealand
December1, 1928
The King's illness is a matter of grave concern to all New Zealand railwaymen.
At the time of writing the gallant fight our Sovereign is making against the encroachment of malady is touching the finest fibres of sympathy and evoking respect and admiration throughout the Empire and beyond. His courage in trial is such as was to be expected from one whose example throughout the years of war and reconstruction has been a never-failing inspiration to his people.
The human touch supplied by news that the King, despite his serious condition, maintained the keenest interest in the progress of the first Test Match in Australia shows how responsive he is to the spirit of his people. That match meant more than a mere game to Old England. Its outcome would prove to the Homeland, more satisfyingly than the best trade figures could, its complete recovery from the War.
What everyone would wish is that in this season of family reunions—not the least amongst the features that make Christmas dear to the human heart—the reunion of the Royal Family may be blessed by the restoration to health of our Sovereign. Nothing could add more completely to the joy of the people of the Dominion than a Christmas cheered in this way.
The busiest season of the year is now upon us. Although a festive time for most, Christmas means a period of hard work for the majority of railwaymen, a testing time in which the efficiency of the system is tried out to the uttermost through the swelling tide of traffic that reaches its high-water mark on Christmas Eve and stays at flood until well through February.
Reports from many sources indicate that the extensive preparation work put through in recent months to make the services better known and increasingly acceptable to the public will bear fruit in a substantial expansion of traffic, both local and from overseas.
In particular there should be a big contingent of visitors from Australia as a result of the extensive publicity campaign organised by the Government Overseas Publicity Board, and now being handled by Mr. H. J. Manson, New Zealand's Trade Commissioner in the Commonwealth.
The progress made in operations and equipment during the year serves as an assurance that the national transportation machine and the men who work it will stand up to the task, and succeed in bringing satisfaction to the large numbers of additional passengers that this season's
It is to be anticipated, in particular, that the facility of night expresses in the South Island, for the first time available during summer holidays, will encourage a great deal of new inter-island travelling because of the travel-time saving which their running effects.
To all travellers on our system we extend the season's greetings, and assure them of the best service from every one of our staff in the effort to make any trips they take by train pleasant and comfortable, together with a guarantee to do everything possible to secure for them that safety for which the New Zealand Railways holds so enviable a record.
Mr. James Cowan has distinguished himself as a devotee of Nature and wild life. Now he comes forward as historian and protagonist of the railway, for he has written the story for the the “Romance of the Rail,” booklet No. 2, just issued by the Publicity Branch of the New Zealand Railways (says the “Dunedin Star”). It is described as an illustrated narrative of the railway express journey from Lyttelton to the Bluff. It might be thought that this is an uninteresting subject, since its scope does not extend to Nelson or the West Coast or the Alps, where our best scenery is; but Mr. Cowan has an eye for the beautiful and the romantic, and the gift of showing his readers all the charm that lies in the supposedly drear precincts of the railway. Thus the booklet becomes not an advertisement for the railway, but a charming collection of vignettes of our South Island cities, interspersed with fragments of Maori legend and white history, and all kinds of anecdotes.
The booklet is illustrated to do justice to the text. The cover design is a lovely bit of colour work, and the photography traverses Lyttelton, Christchurch, Rakaia, Ashburton, the farming lands, seaside Timaru, Oamaru, Port Chalmers and Dunedin, with glimpses of the Gore and Invercargill stations. To overseas readers this work would be specially attractive.
How a road accident served to prove the excellent spirit of service to the public existing amongst members of the Railway Department, is told by Julian B. Foster, American Trade Commissioner for New Zealand:—
Wellington, 12th October, 1928.
Mr. H. H. Sterling,
General Manager,
N.Z. Railways,
Wellington.
Dear Mr. Sterling,—
I know that you are always glad to hear of any exceptional courtesies which are shown by the employees of your organisation to the travelling public in New Zealand, and it is with this thought in view that I am writing to let you know of the following instance which took place recently:
On Saturday, September 29, Mr. Cruse, and Mr. Barnhouse of the General Motors Company, and myself, were making an attempt to motor from Greymouth direct to Christchurch over the Otira Gorge. Unfortunately we underestimated the depth of the river at Bealey and our car was stuck in the middle of the river and had subsequently to be pulled out by two horses. We had gotten very wet in attempting to extricate the car, and when we finally reached the shore we were anxious to proceed to Christchurch by train.
I called the stationmaster at Arthur's Pass by telephone and told him of our predicament. He was kind enough to allow us to proceed on the goods train which was to leave at 7.30. He was good enough to have the train stopped at the quarry at Bealey, and the guard on the train named Carroll, had arranged a large fire in the stove when we got to Springfield. The stationmaster there, Mr. Wills, very kindly volunteered to serve tea to us, and did everything possible to make us comfortable. It is thoughtfulness of this type that expresses in my mind the real meaning of the word “service,” and I am sure that you will be glad to hear of the active interest which your employees manifested on our behalf.
Very truly yours, (Sgd.)
Julian B. Foster,
American Trade Commissioner.
Upon relinquishing the portfolio of Railways, the Right Hon. J. G. Coates has forwarded the following letter to the General Manager:
I am giving up this week the portfolio of Minister of Railways which I have held continuously since 1923.
In doing so I should like to take the opportunity of expressing to you, who have been so long and intimately connected with the New Zealand Railways, my own personal thanks for your untiring efforts, and through you, to every member of the staff of the Department, my appreciation of their loyal services to the country at large.
More than one tribute has been paid lately to the zealous and efficient manner in which all ranks of the Railway Service carry out their duties and, in adding my own tribute to the others, I wish to express my conviction that the Railway Department will always continue to maintain its high traditions.
The General Manager feels sure that the staff will be highly gratified to know that their efforts have been appreciated by our late Minister, and on their behalf he has thanked Mr. Coates for his very kindly communication.
I wish to convey to all members of the Service my thanks for the splendid way in which they have backed up my efforts to meet the transport requirements of the community since taking control of the Railways in June last, and to wish all, staff and public alike, a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Already there are indications of a more hopeful outlook. I have been looking over last year's returns for the first seven periods of that year (up to the 15th October) and I find that then a comparison with the previous year showed a decrease in revenue of £64,000 and an increase in expenditure of £89,000, or a gross adverse total of over £153,000.
When I look at this year's returns to 13th October (the last date to which the figures have been gazetted) I find the revenue has increased by £75,000 over the similar term last year, whilst the expenditure has increased by £92,000, an adverse total of only £15,000—with two less days accounted for. Comparing the two adverse balances, £153,000 last year, with £15,000 this, it seems evident that the dangerous downward tendency has been substantially checked. This gives hope that by the time the end of our present financial year is reached the Railways will be able to make a better showing financially than they did in the previous twelve months, besides giving the public a service more in keeping with present day transport needs.
Much still requires to be done and I confidently look for that measure of support from the staff in 1929 that will enable us to discharge our duty to the public in a manner that will reflect credit on ourselves and bring satisfaction to the users of our services.
With all good wishes,
General Manager
Sleeping Car fitted with broadcasting outfit.
Featuring Holiday Resorts.
Queen Cleopatra's Barge.
Miss Tiora Meadows, Transportation Queen, is seen enthroned, with the Mayor of Wellington, (Mr. G. A. Troup), as Barge Master.
Among the most interesting features of the month was the Carnival in Wellington for the Dominion War Memorial and Museum. A principal feature in this effort was the Transportation Pageant in which the Railways took a leading part. We have included in this issue one or two photographs from among the many taken of the Railway display. Miss Meadows won the contest with eleven thousand votes to spare.
“See the descending sun Scatt'ring his beams about him as he sinks, And gilding heaven above … With paint no mortal pencil can express.“—Hopkins. An Evening Scene in the Geyser region of Whakarewarewa, Rotorua, New Zealand.
ByJames Cowan .Specially written for the N.Z. Railways Magazine.)
“A few weeks ago,” writes Mr. James Cowan, “I asked my old friend, Alfred Warbrick, to give me the narrative of his crossing of Waimangu Geyser, when it was in the zenith of its scalding muddy glory, and this is his story, told more fully than has ever been published before.”
Deeds of fearlessness and valour are many in the adventurous story of New Zealand, but for deliberate daring there is one that in my belief surpasses all others and that is Alfred Warbrick's challenge to Fate by rowing across the boiling crater basin of Waimangu Geyser in a brief interval between its terrific eruptions. It was not an act of sudden impulse, and therefore it called for exceptional effort of will and courage. A quarter of a century has passed since this truly daredevil feat astonished New Zealand, and a generation has arisen which knows little of the excitement which the tremendous outbursts of the “Black-Water” geyser created among visitors to the Rotorua district. It is of some historical value, therefore, to recall the story of Warbrick and Buckeridge in their little dinghy afloat on a geyser-lake that only now and again—not when they were on it—was hurled hundreds of feet high by the enormous forces of steam—generated in the superheated regions below. There is a special interest, too, in telling the story now, in more detail than has ever been given before, for Mr. Warbrick, who has for forty years been guiding in Geyserland and for twenty-five years has been Chief Government Guide, lately escorted her Excellency Lady Fergusson through the Urewera Country forests and mountains to Waikaremoana.
“In the winter of 1903,” said Mr. Warbrick, “I happened to be visiting Auckland on business connected with the Tourist Traffic—I had lately joined the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts, under Mr. T. E. Donne. At that time there was a lot of interest in the little craft Tilikum, the British Columbia Indian canoe raised upon and rigged as a yawl, which had reached Auckland from Vancouver, sailed by Captain Voss on a daring voyage round the world. With Voss was Mr. H. E. Buckeridge; he had left the canoe at one of the South Sea Islands, and had come on to Auckland by steamer. While here Mr. Buckeridge met a number of people interested in yacht-sailing and other sport, including my friend Mr. Ernest Davis, the yacht owner. One morning when several of them were together, the talk led from the voyage of the Tilikum to various deeds of bravery. One or two of them thought it was a very risky thing to sail around the world in the tiny Tilikum. Mr. Davis then took a hand in the discussion. Talking of that sort of thing, he said, in his opinion there was only one man in the country who was willing to face any kind of danger and that was Alf Warbrick the guide, who was then in Auckland.
“I am just repeating the conversation as it was told to me afterwards.
“One of the party said:
‘Alf Warbrick is no doubt a brave man, but there is one thing he is not game to do, and that is to cross Waimangu Geyser in a boat.’
“I must explain just here that Waimangu was at that time at the height of its fame; it was throwing the contents of its great pool, or small lake, more than a thousand feet into the air.
“Mr. Davis replied to the remark just made: ‘I know Alf Warbrick well, and I know that crossing the Waimangu Geyser wouldn't stop him. Now, let us go up to the Grand Hotel where he is staying, and one of you can put the question to him.’
“I happened to be in the hotel reading, when a party of seven or eight men came into the room. Mr. Davis and Mr. Buckeridge—the latter I did not know then—were among them. Mr. Davis introduced me to the party, and we all had a ‘spot’ together. Over our whisky Mr. Davis told me of the discussion they had had, ranging from the
“I laughingly said that I knew nothing about the question of who was the most daring man. Thereupon Mr. Davis said: ‘Alf, would you be afraid to cross Waimangu in a boat?’”
“I said that I was not afraid of anything—may be a rash remark, still that was the truth of it. I also said that if Mr. Davis would send his yacht dinghy to Rotorua for me to use on the geyser pool I would undertake the job on the following Sunday, as I was returning to Rotorua on Saturday. It was now Thursday.
Hurling two Acres of Water and Steam 1,000ft. High.
The Famous Waimangu Geyser as it was before the Great Eruption of 1915.
“Mr. Davis agreed to this and said he would have the boat placed on the Rotorua express.”
“There is one thing I would like,’ I said, before the party left the hotel. ‘I would like to have a companion in the boat if I can get one.”
“Mr. Buckeridge at this, said that he would accept the offer. So it was settled that Buckeridge was to be my mate in the dinghy.
“Next day (Friday) the Auckland papers published the news of my coming challenge to Waimangu. During that day dozens of people asked me not to attempt the feat of crossing the pool in a boat; it would be certain death, they said.
My reply to this was that it had to go through now that the newspapers throughout the country had taken it up and spread the story of my intended row on the geyser.
“On Saturday morning there was a big crowd at the Auckland railway station to see me off. A lot of people again asked me not to attempt the feat. I could only point to the little boat on the train.
“Just before I boarded the train Bishop Lenihan, the Catholic Bishop of Auckland, came to me and said: ‘I have heard all these kind people asking you not to carry out this foolish and dangerous undertaking, and I have heard your reply. I see that you are quite determined, and so will say nothing.’
“I then asked His Lordship if he wished me to do anything. I asked this question because I could plainly see that he had something on his mind.
“‘Yes,’ said the Bishop. ‘I have read in the Press that you propose crossing the geyser tomorrow afternoon, Sunday.’
“My reply was ‘Yes.’
“I would like you to alter the date to the Monday,’ he said.
“I agreed to do this. The Bishop and I shook hands and I jumped on the train.
“When the train reached Rotorua that evening, many of the local people, who had heard about the
“I was now feeling the nervous strain of all this. But I was all the more determined to go through with it. I had said that I would cross the geyser at three o'clock in the afternoon, and I was resolved to do so at the time fixed.
“Before I left Auckland I had sent a telegram to Mr T. E. Donne—now in London—who was the General Manager of the Tourist and Health Resorts Department, telling him that I was going to cross Waimangu in a small boat, and asking him if the Department would pay the cost of taking the boat by rail to Rotorua. I received a reply, ‘Yes.’
Where Nature's Titanic Forces Lie Imprisoned
Frying Pan Flat, shewing Waimangu Crater in the Background.
“Early on the Sunday morning Buckeridge and I went out to Waimangu, taking the dinghy. During that afternoon the geyser was very active and burst into eruption every few minutes; some of the explosions of the crater lake sent the water and mud and stones about a thousand feet into the air. Quite a crowd of people came out, but I kept away from them. I didn't wish them to speak to me. I camped that night in the Government accommodation house on the hill above the geyser.
“I slept fairly well, and was awakened in the very early hours of the morning (Monday) by people who had come out betimes so as to be sure of seeing me on the geyser.
“By noon there were nearly two hundred people, most of them women, on the hills and slopes around the geyser basin. My workmen had come out early to carry the dinghy to the edge of the basin and wait for me.
“My mate Buckeridge was in the crowd when I went down to the side of the geyser at half-past two in the afternoon. We had a good look at the pool. It looked very cross; the water was in a very angry state.
“Buckeridge's first words were: ‘Surely you are not going out on that!’
“My reply was very short. ‘It has to be done,’ I said, ‘and now! So strip off your heavy clothes.’
“We both took off our coats and vests, and inside of one minute we were out on top of the geyser.
“The big muddy pool was boiling and seething under us. It might work up into an explosion any minute; though I had watched for a period when it would be likely to be quiescent for a little while. I had taken some light ropes with me as measuring lines; I wished to take the measurements of the geyser basin. I wouldn't trust the rowing to Buckeridge; because this geyser business was quite
“Almost immediately we put out from the shore, we were immersed in the steam rising in thick clouds from the boiling water, and the heat was almost unbearable. I rowed across and about the pool, and altogether we were twelve minutes on the water. We found that the length of the pool or lakelet was 184 yards and the width 84 yards. The deepest sounding we got was only 48 feet; this surprised me very much.
“We got through and drew in to the side again and it was with tremendous relief that the two of us stepped on to the shore.
“Out of nearly two hundred people—to be exact one hundred and ninety—who gathered on the slopes of Waimangu that afternoon, only about forty actually saw me rowing on the boiling water. I asked some of the people afterwards why they did not see me. They said that when they saw me and my mate preparing for the boat it was too much for them. They turned away and retired into the ravines between the hills until they were told by the watchers that it was all over and that we were safe on shore again. The boat was taken out of the boiling water and carried up the slopes.
“Soon after we had returned from our little excursion the geyser burst into active eruption and threw its waters and mud waters hundreds of feet high.”
To this first-hand story of an intrepid deed must be added the tale of the vengeance of Waimangu.
A Glimpse of Rotorua in the heart of New Zealand's thermal district, showing Lake Rotorua in the background.
At this period the geyser was in eruption forty or fifty times a day and hundreds of people used to drive out from Rotorua to watch the truly terrific spectacle, when the geyser hurled its two acres of grey-black muddy water and steam to heights greater than the hills surrounding it.
Three weeks after Alfred Warbrick rowed across the pool, his brother Joseph Warbrick, a farmer at Matata, and one-time great athlete and footballer, was overwhelmed and killed by an eruption of the geyser. This was on August 30, 1903. Besides Joe Warbrick three visitors met their deaths in that awful outburst—two girls named Nicholls, and David McNaughton, the four were standing, despite Alfred Warbrick's repeated warnings, on the lower slopes immediately above the crater, and when Waimangu suddenly threw itself into furious life they were unable to escape from the showers of boiling water and mud.
Then again in 1915, after a long period of quiescence, Wajmangu once more suddenly upheaved itself, blew a huge crater in the furious level of steaming sizzle known as Frying-Pan Flat, and partly destroyed the Government accommodation house on the hill, and fatally injured the wife and child of the reserve guide, McCormick.
Since those days of fearful convulsion in Waimangu's steam-tormented valley, there has been little violent activity in the famous gulch in the heart of the volcanic ridges. But anything may happen at any time in this queer region. And the ruined building which has been preserved as a memorial on the hill where the motors pull up, alongside the modern tea-house for travellers, is a constant reminder of the irresistible powers that lie dormant in Black-Water Gully below.
L. A. H., Lynn Atkinson Henderson, son of Mr. J. Henderson, Boiler Inspector, retired, was a fitter who served his time at Addington Railway Workshops, being later transferred to the Department's Drawing Office in Wellington. He went to Samoa with the Expeditionary Force in 1914, and later to Egypt, Gallipoli and France with the Fifth Reinforcement. He was killed in France. (The form used below is, technically, an interesting experiment, this being the first time the rondeau has been used as an ordinary stanza in verse.)
Definitions
Bill Buddle's sole education had been thrust upon him at a boxing school, and when he reached the intelligence front in the battle of life, he successfully encountered the situation by using his head instead of his hands.
In the inevitable conflict with his intellectual superiors, he simply sidestepped their wily mental moves by exploiting the psychological side of the subtle art of self-defence.
“Bill was regarded as the intelligentiary of the village.”
Whatever Bill could not understand, he explained fully. Whatever he fully explained, everybody accepted unconditionally.
In the little village of Geegeeville, Bill was regarded as the Intelligentiary of the village. Not only by the gentry, but also by the gents, the gentlemen, and by the people generally.
Bill's bedside poet was Omar Khayyam, and what man, woman, or child in the village had not been cheered and inspired by Bill's favourite quotation:
“Some for a costly limousine will mourn; Some hope, a little coupe, to adorn;
Ah, take the train, and let the motor go,
Nor heed the honking of a distant horn.”
It was when the Geegeeville Debating Society got held up over a dispute as to the correct meaning of the word “railsitter” that Bill Buddle brilliantly demonstrated his right to retain the intelligential title.
Mr. Hercules Hedger, chairman of the Geegeeville Debating Society, was commissioned to wait on Bill and take delivery of the decisive outburst of wisdom.
He met Bill at the local “smiddy,” and, with a bellows-like strength so characteristic of his kind, he looked Bill fair in the eye, and rasped out:
“Bill, what is a ‘railsitter’?”
“A polygamist,” replied Bill, “is a man who keeps on making the same mistake all his life. A ‘railsitter’ is a man who learns from other people's mistakes, and never makes the same mistake twice.”
This, of course, was purely a side-step on the part of Bill, who was sparring for time.
Had Mr. Hercules Hedger asked what a “railsplitter” was, Bill would certainly have had
“A ‘railsitter’ is a man whose motto is ‘Safety First.’ He pays for a seat in a railway train, knowing that he will have the privilege of sitting in that seat with the assurance that at no stage of the journey will he be dumped out of that seat into a lagoon, on to a gorse hedge, or over a barbed wire fence.”
ChapterIV.
On being made acquainted with Bill Buddle's ultra-modern definition of the word “railsitter,” some of the more hungry members of the Geegeeville Debating Society, showed a disposition to participate in a further helping of Bill's philological wisdom.
Mr. Hercules Hedger, the chairman, undertook to oblige, and on meeting Bill the following day, he said: “Bill, with further reference to the word ‘railsitter,’ it seems to be the general impression that the ‘railsitter’ is a man who sits on the fence.”
“No - no - no - NO!” shrieked Bill. “You're thinking of the motorscooter. He always sits on a fence—that is—'er—of course, if he happens to fall that way. If it is a protracted sitting, he usually passes the time blaming the roads and cursing the country, while the ‘railsitter’ squats in his comfortable cushioned seat enjoying the scenery.”
“The ‘Rattlebury’ vaulted over the potholes.”
Moral: Go by train and get to where you're going.
The Scene Bill Buddle Might Have Seen
“Yes,” sad Scoot Whizzer, “for getting over the country and seeing the scenery, give me the motor car every time.”
These words were spoken to Bill Buddle by Scoot Whizzer as they flew along the road in the new “Rattlebury” which Scoot had just purchased and was bringing home from the city.
“You see,” said Scoot, enlarging on the virtues of the motor car; “with train travelling you see the same old scenery every time.”
“I can never manage to see any scenery when I'm travelling in a motor car,” replied Bill; “everything seems to shoot past like a big basin of haggis.”
“Yes,” said Scoot, ignoring Bill's nasty indictment; “give me the motor car for variety, and there's nothing can beat the motor for giving a man a thrill.”
“And they can give you a dirty spill, too,” said Bill.
“I said ‘thrill,’” yelled Scoot, “not ‘spill.'”
Scoot's sense of humour had long since been embalmed by the constant inhalation of the vapours of many mysterious and terrible spirits, and with a deep touch of motor reverence in his voice, he continued:
“For combining business wth pleasure, give me the motor car. Nothing to touch it for killing two birds with one stone.”
“I thought the motor had a better average than that,” said Bill, and the conversation was closed.
As the “Rattlebury” vaulted along over the pot-holes, Scoot again became talkative.
“Remember Jim Butters, who went to school with us?” he asked.
“Perfectly,” responded Bill.
“Well,” said Scoot, “he's got a great sheeprun in these parts. The homestead, alone, which you will see from the road, cost something like five thousand pounds.”
“Good,” said Bill; “it should be worth seeing.”
At that moment they reached a part of the road that narrowed slightly and a car that had been following, came up close behind them.
“There's a car behind, tooting to get past,” said Bill.
Scoot gave a quick glance to the rear, and then, stepping on the gas, the “Rattlebury” gave a mighty leap and bounded forward with a speed that, to Bill's mind, made the passing scenery look like a half-cooked omelette.
When the time was opportune, Bill glanced behind, and away in the distance he could just see a little dark speck which, he had no reason to doubt, was a Ford car.
Having treated Bill to about ten thousand acres of scenery to the mile, and feeling that his prestige as a pilot had been brilliantly enhanced, Scoot slowed the “Rattlebury” down a bit and looked over at Bill with a triumphant smile.
Bill seized his opportunity, and said: “You were saying, Jim Butters had a place in these parts. What about dropping in to see him when we come to it?”
“Confound those Ford cars!” shrieked Scoot. “That was Jim Butters’ place with the tiled roof that we passed about two miles back. I thought you noticed it.”
“I did notice something red,” said Bill; “but at the rate we were travelling it looked like a tomato patch.”
“Never mind,” said Scoot; “some day when you're not busy we'll take a run out and spend the day with Jim.”
“Right-oh, thanks,” said Bill. “I would like to see Jim Butters.”
Moral: Travel by rail, and see the scene that's otherwise unseen.
Slow Trains
If there was one thing Jeff Hasty loathed more than a slow horse, that thing was certainly a slow train.
Jeff was fitted with one of those great big roomy brains which, like an elephant's appetite, requires to be nourished on quantity rather than quality.
With Jeff, a vulgarly large helping of speed was preferable to a generous assortment of scenic splendour.
“With Jeff, a vugarly large helping of speed was preferable.”
Jeff had long since persuaded himself that slow horses were meant to provide sport for fools, while slow trains were intended for the transport of slow horses.
On one occasion, Jeff had posted a letter on a slow train, and six months later, it came back to him from the dead letter office.
“Slow horses were meant to provide sport for fools.”
As a result of this marathonic experience, Jeff was never able to witness a man purchasing a ticket for the purpose of travelling in a slow train, without becoming involved in a host of morbid speculations as to the man's ultimate destination.
Jeff's first lesson in real speed was brought about by a remark made by Bill Buddle to the effect that a slow train on the right line would beat a fast motor on the wrong road.
To mention slow trains in the same category as fast motor cars was the one sure way of completely stirring Jeff Hasty's motor-superiority complex into action. It stung his sense of quickness to the quick, as it were.
On the occasion that Bill Buddle had made his remark concerning slow trains and fast motor cars, he had taken the opportunity of further animating the situation by announcing his preference, for a slow train that puffed along as against a fast motor car that petered out.
This, of course, was too much for any selfrespecting speed-merchant, so, to prove that Bill Buddle belonged to the type of gentleman in whose company it is folly to be wise, Jeff Hasty undertook to give the slow train an hour's start and beat it to its destination by another hour.
When Jeff started off in his high-powered, low-geared, peak-priced “Tootlebeam,” he was as full of confidence as the tank was empty of motor spirit. Jeff, however, was not long in summing up the petrol position, and as he turned back for the purpose of filling the tank with petrol, he took the opportunity of prefacing
So, as the slow train puffed and grunted up the incline, Jeff's “Tootlebeam” purred along the road in good style.
After purring for about five miles, however, the “Tootlebeam” developed “engine trouble.”
“Engine trouble,” it should be explained, is nothing more or less than the result of trying to make a slow car do a fast journey.
One motor in a hundred is built for speed. The other ninety-nine develop “engine trouble” attempting to head it.
“A slow train against a fast motor car that petered out.”
It is impossible for one slow train to pass another slow train on a narrow line. Hundreds of motorists die in the attempt to prove that it is possible for one fast motor to pass another fast motor on a narrow road.
When Jeff Hasty reached his destination, the whole of his confidence had leaked out, and a creepy despairing feeling had leaked in. Staring him in the face was the miserly fact that his one chance of success hinged on the possibility of a slow train having developed “engine trouble.”
As he dawdled along he heard his name shouted from the rear, and, turning round, he found himself staring into the grinning face of Bill Buddle.
“Good heavens!” gasped Jeff, pulling up; “how did you get here, by air?”
“Oh, no,” chuckled Bill, “I came down on the slow train this morning.”
Moral: Travel by train. Fast starts make slow finishes.
An Old Traveller for a Smooth Trip
Old Mrs. Gladbury was an exceedingly wealthy old woman, and although she had reached the four-score-year-and-ten mark, she was still in possession of most of her faculties, as was evidenced by the fact that she did not own a motor car.
One might conclude from the foregoing that Mrs. Gladbury was a very mean old woman. This, however, was not the case. She was an exceedingly generous old soul, and while she
“It is impossible for one slow train to pass another on a narrow line.”
Mrs. Gladbury had no particular grudge against the motor car itself. What grieved her, however, was the fact that the motor car had been responsible for landing so many respectable people in gaol.
The very thought of a gaol was anathema to old lady Gladbury, and she certainly had no intentions of tempting the devil by buying a motor car.
So, while her less favoured neighbours stampeded around the country in “our car,” Mrs. Gladbury was quite content to travel in peace and comfort in “our train.”
It was when a new motor salesman arrived in the village that things began to happen as far as Mrs. Gladbury was concerned.
Mrs. Gladbury was about the only person ot
“Old Mrs. Gladbury did not own a motor car.”
The new motor car salesman had served his apprenticeship to salesmanship with a secotine solicitor, and when he once got in touch with anyhody, it took more than a strong man's bluff or a weak woman's poodle to drive him off.
So, when it became known that the new salesman was taking Mrs. Gladbury for a run to the city and back with a view to selling her a new “Tipemup” car, the high-heads of the village wagged their chins, and gurgled, “What did I tell you?”
Unfortunately for the salesman with the secotine complex, it happened to be the potholey season in the main highway trade.
Notwithstanding the ingenuity of the car salesman in reducing the bumps per gallon to a minimum, it was quite evident that with each succeeding bump Mrs. Gladbury's bump of motor car antipathy expanded accordingly.
“Pretty rough road,” said the car salesman, in extenuation of the crime.
“I thought it was the car,” said Mrs. Gladbury.
“Oh, no,” said the salesman; “it's the potholes. “It's difficult to keep out of them.”
“Still,” said Mrs. Gladbury, “the car hasn't missed many.”
“The trouble is,” said the salesman, “the roads are far too flimsy for the motors.”
“Or, perhaps,” suggested Mrs. Gladbury, “the cars are too flimsy for the roads.”
The car salesman could now see that the pothole question was going to have a most disturbing effect on the sale of the “Tipemup,” so he said: “You won't notice the potholes so much on the return journey.”
“I'm sure I shan't,” rejoined Mrs. Gladbury.
On arrival in the city it was arranged to leave again on the return journey at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the car salesman undertaking to pick Mrs. Gladbury up at the garage.
“An old dog for a hard road,” says the old maxim. Mrs. Gladbury, however, had neither the intention nor the inclination to emulate the eccentricities of the old dog.
Mrs. Gladbury was a sensible old lady, and she preferred to ride comfortably on a smooth line rather than be buffeted about on a hard, potholey road.
When the car salesman stepped into the “Tipemup” on the return journey, there was attached to the steering wheel a note, which read:
“I certainly shan't notice the potholes on the return journey. Am going back by train.”
Moral: Travel by rail and see the road beautiful.
Bill Buddle's Free Motor Tour
When Joshua Skidman poked his nose over Bill Buddle's back fence and asked Bill if he and Mrs. Buddle would care to join the Skidmans in a motor tour, Bill accepted the invitation on behalf of the Buddle family with the fervour of a man returning thanks after being prepresented with a cheque for ten thousand and the freedom of New Zealand.
On hearing the glad news, Mrs. Buddle nearly fainted with excitement.
“It's very good of them to ask us,” said Mrs. Buddle; “it will be a cheap holiday.”
“Cost us nothing except the board,” rejoined Bill.
“Of course,” corrected Mrs. Buddle, “we'll have to pay for half the petrol.”
“Even if we pay for all the petrol,” said Bill, “it will be well worth it.”
“The motor car had been responsible for landing respectable people in gaol.”
“Left Bill to pay the account.”
“Of course,” explained Mrs Buddle, “the Skidmans won't expect us to do that.”
“No, I don't suppose they will,” said Bill, adding as an afterthought, “perhaps they won't expect us to pay for any.”
“I think we should offer to pay for half the petrol,” suggested Mrs. Buddle.
“Yes, that's only a fair thing,” said Bill. “Anyway, seeing the Skidmans have been so jolly decent in inviting us to go with them, we're not going to squabble over a gallon or two of petrol.”
So the great day arrived, and Bill Buddle and his wife set off on their grand free motor tour with Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Skidman.
Seeing that the Skidman's were providing free motor transport for the tour, Bill reckoned it was only a fair thing that he should pay for the luncheons and other incidentals along the way.
In fact, when it came to the settling up for teas, dinners, suppers, lunches, launches, and entertainments, Bill Buddle displayed such a rare talent for generosity, that Mr. Joshua Skidman was content to sit at the wheel and do all the “pulling in” while Bill stood at the cash window and did all the “paying out.”
in Aid of the National Art Gallery and Museum Fund.
Display by the Signals Branch of the N.Z.R. (which featured the evolution of sighalling), in the recent Transportation Pageant in Wellington.
At one stage of the journey, when a mishap to the car necessitated some repairs Bill offered to pay, but Mr. Skidman firmly protested.
When Mr. Skidman pulled out of the garage, however, and left Bill to pay the account, Bill was smitten with the terrible suspicion that, in spite of Mr. Skidman's protestations, his offer to pay for the repairs had been duly accepted.
One night, as Bill Buddle and his wife sat by the fireside, Bill said: “I was just making up what that free motor tour with the Skidmans cost us. Apart from board and lodgings, and a few other items that we would have had to pay anyway, the tour cost us, roughly eighteen pounds ten.”
“Yes,” replied Mrs. Buddle, “and I was just looking up the railway guide the other day, and I find that if we had travelled by train it would only have cost us seven pounds five.”
Moral: Travel by rail, and put your surplus in the bank.
The Winning Essay
“Are New Zealand Railwaymen superstitions?” was a question asked in our September issue, a prize of two guineas being offered for the best essay bearing upon this point. We have pleasure in awarding the prize to Mr. J. C. Batt, engine-driver, Wanganui, the writer of the essay printed below.
The general root of superstition is that men observe when things hit, and not when they miss; and commit to memory the one, and forget and pass over the other.—Bacon.
It has been said that supersition is as old as the world and the sense of reason has only been developed in the human race in comparatively recent times. Argument has raged round this subject right down through the ages and those who take the side of reason contend that, if people would reason more, superstition would soon die out.
Fear of the unknown would cause no end of inconvenience in railway work, and it can be said of New Zealand railwayman that very few, if any, are superstitious.
Locomotive men on our railways will smile at the superstitions of the hard-headed footplate staffs of Doncaster, Crewe, Swindon and other Homeland engine centres. The performances of engines and men in England prove that they are the finest in the world and just how a hare crossing the track in front of a train in that country could upset the engine crew, is hard to understand out here. Evidently superstition dies hard in the older lands. It would be bad for the peace of mind of New Zealand enginemen if they had such queer notions.
An early morning scene at Timaru, South Island.
Hares are plentiful in this country and the railway line is a favourite speedway for them. Frequently during a single trip a hare will be noticed on the line ahead, with its ears pricked up, watching the approaching train. It will start off at an easy gait, but begins to stretch out and crack on the pace as the engine reduces the distance. It will then run from side to side, and, if a wise old hare, will plunge into the fern by the line or climb the steep face of a cutting. But the centre of the track has a fascination for hares, and very often one is overtaken. Hawks keep a sharp watch on the line as they soar overhead, and, for these keen-eyed and destructive birds, hare makes a good meal!
I noticed, a short time ago, a black cat lying dead on the line, and it must have been seen by every engineman in the district. But I did not hear any remark about it. Just why a black cat that probably set out on a mission of good cheer for someone should be run over is hard to explain. Perhaps it was out on a Friday evening or the thirteenth day of the month! In any case all the engines are still running and nothing of any consequence has happened to any of the depot men.
It has been said of a certain engineman that he had a premonition that serious trouble would come his way and, sure enough, he was fatally injured in a runaway train smash. There is every reason to believe that, had he taken the usual precautions, and fully charged the train pipe and auxiliary reservoirs on the train before starting down the grade, he would not have met an untimely end on that particular trip. There is just a chance that a man who is conscious of a weakness in his workmanship or is absent minded, will be superstitious. He might
There is belief among some locomotive men that, if one has trouble of any kind at his work, it will be followed by two or more minor accidents. It is quite noticeable how often this works out correctly, but it is due, probably, to nothing more than coincidence. A driver may go for months and not have to write a report, and then he may have occasion to write a number of reports in quick succession, for such things as draw-gear failures, breakdowns, train delays from one cause or another, or perhaps something more serious. In most cases it will not be due to carelessness or indifferent handling of the engine or train, just what is commonly known as a run of bad luck. This belief is not peculiar to railwaymen, but is general among most people.
“The secret of education lies in respecting the pupil.“—Emerson
Some of the First Apprentices to join the Instruction Classes at Hillside Workshops, Dunedin, in 1926.
Any enginedriver who has been on the road at night during the bad weather of recent months would appreciate what such unfavourable conditions would mean to nervous or superstitious people. Wind, rain and hail, accompanied by blinding lightning and deafening thunder, has frequently been the experience of those operating on the night trains, and it is at such times that the men who control the throttle and brake valve realise that the reputation of the railways for safe travel is, to a large extent, in their hands. It is under these conditions that a good knowledge of the road is essential to enable the driver to run at schedule speed, or more cautiously, as circumstances determine.
A well-known ex-footplate man in England made the statement recently that there are more people killed on the roads in that country in one week than on the railways in a year. The record of the New Zealand railways is something near as good. There is, therefore, no need for those who work the railways, or those who have the good sense to avail themselves of the services provided, to be either superstitious on the one hand, or, on the other, in the slightest degree nervous.
An engine driver who loves his fascinating vocation is Mr. W. Barnes, of the London and North-Eastern Railway, who for a long time has had charge of the “Queen of Scots” Pullman which runs between King's Cross and Harrowgate. In an interview with a representative of the “Gloucester Journal” he gives his impressions as follows:—
Design by J.W.C., New Brighton, Christchurch.
“It's life to me running my engine,” he said. “When I am away on holiday I feel lonely and want to get back to it as soon as I can. Running my train on the long journey is just like a verse of poetry to me—poetry of sound and motion and signals which flash past as we tear along.”
Driver Barnes added that he had been driving for twenty years, and no longer went by watches or clocks, but by sound and feel. “Why, I could tell just where I was even though my eyes were blindfolded, by the sound of my engine and the song of the lines,” he said.
“An engine is a delicate thing, even though it is big and heavy, and you can drive it well or badly. Its beat will tell you if you are working it too hard, and so attuned to its noise do your ears become, that it is easy to detect the slightest trouble. Sometimes you get delayed and have to make up time at top speed—that is the time that I think of my passengers and wonder how they are faring with their cups of tea or bottles of wine. We pass dozens of other trains on the run, and as we meet and pass at a relative speed of 120 miles an hour I usually wave a ‘good-day’ with a cleaning rag.
“Tunnels are funny things. Even though you cannot see in them a different note in the roar of your engine tells you that the smoke of another train which has just passed through is still floating about. Night driving is a little harder as you must go by signals and sound alone, and even though you are certain that everything is all right there always lurks that knowledge that you are relying on somebody else, and you cannot help asking yourself sometimes whether he has done his job. You get so used to rushing into the darkness that after a time it is just the same as day driving. Thunderstorms hardly affect a driver at all.”
Driver Barnes said that he never felt any strain or overtiredness from his long journey. “I am too busy to get tired,” he said. When asked what was his favourite hobby he replied with a laugh: “Driving engines.”
Railway and Business Men Co-operate in a Great Successful Experiment
The Closer Linking up of Town and Country
New Zealand's first Commerce Train was organised by the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, in co-operation with the Department of Industries and Commerce, and the Commercial Branch, New Zealand Railways.
The train left Auckland City on 26th October, 1928, traversed the province, and returned to the city on 4th November. The tour was in all respects a complete success.
It was a happy inspiration, carried through to a thoroughly satisfying conclusion, that prompted the experimental running of a Commerce Train over the Government railway system in the Auckland provincial district during October and November.
The purpose of this tour, unique in New Zealand, was to create a better knowledge in the city of the resources of the country districts served by the railways and to foster a closer co-operation between the two and the development of those resources to their common benefit. The idea originally presented itself last year to a number of Auckland business people and commercial and railway officials in Wellington. Subsequent discussion on the subject resulted in the inauguration of the “get-together train,” as some care to call it. There was a deep and earnest desire on the part of leading city commercial men to gain a more intimate knowledge of the great province at their gates; the only matter at issue was how best to accomplish that desirable end. The Railway Department supplied a most satisfactory solution by arranging the organisation of a special train cruise on which a large delegation could embark and view all parts of the province with a minimum of trouble and expense. Many business men, like many farming people, have of course made trips through parts of the provincial territory, but without the advantages of seeing everything that could be secured under some special organised scheme. That scheme was drawn up, and the outcome was the despatch of a train, on a kind of roving educational commission, north and south and east and west.
Railways and Commerce at Grips.
General Manager of Railways (Mr. H. H. Sterling) greets Mr. H. T. Merritt (left), President of Auckland Chamber of Commerce.
It was a novel adventure, combining business and pleasure in a fashion that it was impossible to secure so fully and so easily in any other way. It was a train on which the passengers could live while they moved about the country for a week or more—the actual duration of the tour was nine days—viewing the farming districts, the mills and factories, the flocks and herds, the experiments in the treatment of soils, the forests indigenous and
Train Living.
The Commercial “home on wheels” consisted of a special train with ordinary first-class Pullmans for day occupation, four sleeping cars (each accommodating 20 passengers), a most comfortable lounge car; a kitchen car, where light refreshments, tobacco, confectionery, and sundries in everyday use could be obtained; and a wagon fitted up as a shower-bath carriage. Among the other conveniences furnished were a telephone, postal service, and gramophone. Each day a four-sheet newspaper was published on board by the Publicity Manager of the service. Nothing was missing in the fitting-out of the train that would assure the comfort and pleasure of the eighty men who made the “nine-days'-wonder” tour.
The significance of the tour from the standpoint of the National Railways was succinctly expounded by Mr. H. H. Sterling, the General Manager, in these words at the outset of the expedition:—
“I feel that the interests of city and country are so closely interwoven that every possible opportunity should be taken to let one section know exactly how the other stands and what it is doing in order that the best co-operative effort may be applied.
“My own experience of private enterprise is that gained whilst in charge of the world's greatest dairy concern, and that has shown me the universal advantages to be gained by co-operation. In the railway service there is an increasing desire to achieve a maximum of efficiency by this means. The service has been built up by a succession of capable administrators and can claim that it has never fallen down in regard to any transport proposition that has been handed over to it. In regard to this tour, I was very pleased to take advantage of the fine enterprise shown by the Auckland Chamber of Commerce to prove what the Department is capable of in the way of service. Every little detail has been thought out that may in any way help to make for the ease, comfort and entertainment of the travellers, and from the expressions already conveyed to me by members of the party it is quite clear that the efficiency of our organisation has surprised some and delighted all.
Service with a Smile.
Morning-tea outside the bathroom carriage.
“I feel sure that the lead given to the rest of New Zealand by Auckland province in the running of a Commerce Train will quickly be followed by other provinces. If that is so, then I can assure the public that the Department will be prepared to make equally thorough preparations for any tours of a similar kind which they may desire to make. Out of this trip, and the increased knowledge to be derived therefrom, there will be a double benefit; firstly, a complete appreciation by all who are thus brought into contact with each other regarding the work performed in the province for the good of the Dominion, and secondly,
There were over 80 people on the train, including 58 business men, 14 Government officials and the railway staff.
The following is a list of those who travelled on the train:—
Messrs. H. T. Merritt, president of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce; J. A. C. Allum, J. W. Andrew, R. Angus, J. Arneil, C. M. Bartley, C. F. Bennett, F. W. Blakey, Professor Belshaw, Messrs. C. E. Clinkard, W. Coltman, C. M. Croft (Canadian Trade Commissioner), Paul Cropper, W. M. Dawn, A. Eccles, W. R. Ellingham, A. W. Essex (Canadian Pacific Railways), W. R. Fee, J. Findlay, G. Finn, Julian B. Foster (United States Trade Commissioner), G. M. Fowlds, W. Fraser, A. A. Gray, N. Walker, J. P. Hooton, Gainor Jackson, T. G. Julian, O. Jones, J. Kidson, E. Kitchener, W. D. Lambie (Deputy British Trade Commissioner), S. H. Levland, J. T. D. Lloyd, A. G. Lunn, R. C. M. Laird, R. P. M. Manning, R. B. Marshall, A. E. Moore, E. P. Neale, A. C. Norden, A. M. Paterson, T. R. Procter, J. R. Rendell, A. A. Ross, John Schischka, A. M. Seaman, J. B. Shacklock, G. G. Shierlaw, S. Takle, Campbell Thomson, G. L. Thorburn, B. Turner, T. C. Webster, F. M. Winstone, J. T. Winter, E. Yates, E. W. Yates; and staff reporters of three Auckland daily newspapers.
The Government officials were: Mr. H. H. Sterling, General Manager of Railways; Mr. F. W. Furkett, Engineer-in-Chief of the Public Works Department; Mr. J. W. Collins, secretary of the Department of Industries and Commerce; Mr. E. Phillips Turner, Director of Forestry; Mr. P. W. Smallfield, Mr. W. T. Collins and Mr. W. Dempster, of the Department of Agriculture; Mr. E. Casey, Divisional Superintendent of Railways; Mr. D. Rodie, Commercial Manager of Railways; Mr. A. W. Wellsted, Auckland Business Agent; Mr. J. G. Rickerby, District Traffic Manager; Mr. G. G. Stewart, officer in charge of the Publicity Branch of the Railways and editor of the “Railways Magazine”; and Mr. A. H. W. Evenden, North Island Supervisor of the Refreshment Branch. Mr. J. T. Collin, of the Railway Department, accompanied the party as secretary.
The first day's journey (Saturday, 27th October) beginning at Auckland and ending at Rotorua, was planned with a view to demonstrating the value and interest of the great Waikato Valley and plains. The run up along the bank of the willow-fringed Waikato, with the background of blue hills, was a pleasant introduction to the plains of plenty which began to open out when the storied peak of Taupiri had been passed. After breakfast at Frankton the travellers were taken over the great butter box factory and casein manufactory of the largest dairy company in the world, the New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd. Later on in the day, on the Matamata Plain, they were taken over the same company's Waharoa butter factory, a wonderful place in its dimensions and its output of butter for the English market. The truly huge scale on which the butter-fat of these wide countrysides of “the Empire's Dairy Farm” is turned to account in the various works inspected was a real revelation to most of the visitors. They had not expected anything like it, and they came away with an added reverence for Queen Cow as a wealth-bringer.
Mrs. Fergus-Boyd.
The charming hostess whose gracious entertainment of the principals on the Commerce Train at Tauranga was so highly appreciated.
The Ruakura State Farm of Instruction was another establishment visited. There the visitors were shown some of the most scientific methods of dealing with the land, the most approved system of crop production and pasture management, and the raising, feeding and housing of live stock.
At luncheon in Hamilton as guests of the Borough Council and Chamber of Commerce, a happy note of optimism was sounded, an all-round expression of hope that this bringing together of business men and farmers and other producers would prove of great mutual benefit to town and country. The Mayor of the town, Mr. J. R. Fow, spoke of the delight it gave the people of Hamilton to be able to meet so many prominent men from the city, and he spoke of the room for development of production throughout the Waikato. Mr. F. H. Clapham, president of the local Chamber of Commerce, joined with the Mayor in expressions of welcome, and congratulated the Railway Department on its very excellent innovation, which he hoped was only the forerunner of many other commerce trains.
The president of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, Mr. H. T. Merritt, made the first of a long series of speeches which it fell to him to deliver on the nine days' tour. He said the business men of Auckland felt that the country so frequently visited the town that it was high time the town visited the country. “So many of us,” he said, “have only vague ideas of the conditions of farming, especially in the outlying districts, that we are anxious to see them for ourselves, with a view to letting the farming community know the commercial people of Auckland are keenly interested in their problems and difficulties, but above all in their prosperity. We are keenly conscious that the farmers' interests are the interests of the city, that the farmers' prosperity is the city's prosperity. We would like the farming community to know that we are not quite so terrible as we are perhaps made out.” Mr. Merritt went on to praise the Railway Department, which was keenly alive to the development of the province. He could not, he said, speak too highly of the manner in which the Railway heads had interested themselves in the present tour.
Rotorua and its wonderfully agreeable baths came as a capital finish to the long day's travelling and sight seeing. A refreshing night's sleep, and next morning (Sunday 28th October) saw the train under way up the line again, as far as Putaruru. Passing over the Mamaku plateau going and returning, the travellers enjoyed the glimpses of the real New Zealand bush, the remnant of the forest of rimu and other splendid trees which once clothed all the tableland country.
On the Dargaville Line.
Where young kauris are growing within nine feet of the track.
Just before reaching Putaruru a stop was made so that a visit could be made to a forest of another kind— the exotic trees that are now being planted so largely throughout the country by State and private enterprise in an effort to provide a quick growing timber supply. This was one of the older plantations of the New Zealand Perpetual Forests, Ltd. In the brilliant sunshine the guests gathered to listen to an extremely informative address by Mr. Owen Jones, an official of the Company. He explained that the soft woods planted there grew more quickly than in any other part of the world, and that the Company had planted many thousands of acres of useful exotics. Over a thousand men were employed at the height of the season, he said, and the weekly wages bill was over £3,500. This tree-planting work was turning to most useful
From Putaruru station, the party were taken in motor buses to the Waikato River at Arapuni, to view the marvellous task of capturing the energy of a great river for electric power. Some of the travellers had seen Arapuni before, but to those who had not been there previously there were sights of wonder all around—the deep river canyon, the tremendous cataract where Waikato, furious at being diverted from its course, makes a fearful wild charge out and down into the ancient river gulch; the huge dam that looked fit to stand as long as the Great Wall of China: immense quantities of heavy machinery, the hydroelectric power house site in the valley bottom, the transforming station on the pumice hill.
Medicine-ball Enthusiasts at Play.
Mr. T. Raborne, Public Works Engineer in charge at Arapuni, conducted the party over the works and down to the falls.
At lunch on the trainward journey the pilgrims were the guests of the Perpetual Forests Ltd., and Mr. W. Fraser, of that Company, told the party many interesting facts about the splendid tree-planting enterprise. He spoke of the possibilities of future pulping of soft woods and the manufacture of paper, and said that three things were essential: An abundance of soft woods, a good water supply, and cheap power. Arapuni had been chosen as the centre of the forests because of the hydro-electric power which the Government intended to develop there on such a large scale.
Mr. J. W. Collins, secretary of the Department of Industries and Commerce, who was a moving spirit in the formation of the tour, made a reference to the forests and the wild, wild Arapuni which voiced the feelings of many others. He said that though it was Sunday he did not think the spirit of the Sabbath was being broken that day. If anything, all the wonders they had seen had left them in a more reverential mood.
Now out to the sea coast, by way of Morrinsville, Paeroa, Waihi and Tauranga. The people turned out in strong force at the pretty town of Tauranga this lovely Sunday evening. A full moon rode high; the quiet harbour was a sea of silver light. A halt for dinner and a talk with the townsfolk, and then on again for the terminus of the East Coast line at Taneatua.
The train rolled along through a gently modulating countryside quite new to most of the passengers; for this is a lately-constructed section of line. Through Te Puke town, and the Pongakawa settlements, then down past the ancient Maori fortress Otamarakau and the softly glowing Waitahanui stream, to the long beach of the Kaokaoroa. This name means literally “Long Rib,” and it fits the place, the long narrow rib of low sandhills and smooth sea-strand between the cliffs and the ocean. Along this far stretching sandy shore there was a great running battle in 1864 when the loyal Arawa pursued and defeated a large force of invading rebels from the eastern parts who had vainly tried to break through to reinforce the Waikato Kingites against the British troops. It was peaceful enough this evening, with the moonlight on the gently-breathing waters, and a fairy glimmer on the bold white cliffs of sandstone over which ancient pohutukawa trees outjutted.
Through Matamata, an historic pakeha-maori township above the lagoon that was formerly the
Once upon a time, and that only a few years ago, the Whakatane district was to a large extent isolated, not an easy place to reach. We used to go down by small coastal steamer or by road, and both had their drawbacks. Not until the recent completion of the railway to the Whakatane Valley at Taneatua did this rapidly growing producing region come into its own, and the beneficial results were apparent to the commercial touring party. There was a time when the staple commercial product of most of this Bay of Plenty country was maize. A great deal of maize is still grown by both pakeha and Maori, but much of the land is now diverted to dairy farming, the most profitable of all branches of land work. To this industry, as well as to the raising of fat stock for the market, the coming of the railway means a great deal. There is, moreover, to be noted the immensely enhanced value of these seaward lands as the result of the great swamp drainage operations carried out by the Government.
The Rangitaiki Swamp is now the “Rangitaiki Plain.” The change in title represents a transformation which has brought a far-spreading area of marsh and lagoon and creek under cultivation and habitation, a region of industry and wealth, the home of scores of prosperous settler-families. Where once we saw nothing but a flax and raupo wilderness, threaded by slow muddy water courses and shining with lagoons, the haunt of wild ducks, there is now a wide expanse of rich grass land, with its grazing dairy herds, its plantations, orchards and homesteads. The eel-swamps have been unwatered with scientific skill, by canals and a network of deep drains; river courses have been straightened, and motor launches buzz along where once Maori canoes crept silently along the narrow crooked creeks. Across this redeemed fern country between the Awa-a-te-Atua estuary and Matata and the lower Whakatane, the railway goes to-day to its terminus under the hills at Taneatua, the business centre of a wealthy countryside where the Maori vies with the pakeha in agriculture and the production of butter-fat.
At the Portland Cement Works. Cheering the Company before proceeding by truck to the shipping office.
Taneatua, where the commercial tourists were warmly grected by townsfolk and farming people on Sunday, 28th October, is a busy country centre which only came into existence some thirty years ago. Here, where the strong mountain stream Waimana joins the Whakatane, there was, centuries ago, the camping place of the Urewera ancestor Taneatua, after whom the township was named, when the Government bought the Opouriao block and cut it up for close settlement. Originally a sheep run, on which Maori labour was chiefly employed, the Opouriao estate presently became the home of hundreds of farming folk, making a comfortable living out of dairying, stock fattening, and maize growing. The visitors gathered some idea of the value of this good country when over a breakfast as the guests of Taneatua residents, they were taken by car to the Opoouriao cheese factory, and along the well-settled plain to the Ruatoki factory. Some of them were taken to Mr. Charles Garlick's farm, and from the top of the Puketi (Cabbage-tree Hill) they enjoyed a wide view over the fertile lands through which the broad willow-fringed Whakatane River flowed. This Puketi, by the way, is
Pa-top in the war days of 1869.
Ruatoki, where pakeha and Maori live as neighbours and supply the large dairy factory, greatly interested many of the travellers. There, on the alluvial levels where the Whakatane issues from its mountain gorge to wander leisurely over the plain, that famous fighting tribe the Urewera has its headquarters, and here was demonstrated the ability of the Maori to engage in regular dairying work, which one might have supposed to be foreign to the spirit of a race of bushmen and warriors. The cow and the maize field have made these people of the villages scattered about the plains from Ruatoki township to Tauarau a tribe whose industry and earning capacity are held up as a model to less progressive native communities.
At Opua. The train at the quay where the party joined launches for Russell.
Motoring down from Taneatua to Whakatane town, with the green plains on the left hand and its dark bushy hills rising abruptly close on the right, the pilgrims were handed over to the hospitality of the townsfolk.
Before parting from the Taneatua hosts, Mr. Merritt, on behalf of the travellers, thanked them for their kindness, and Mr. Walter Reid responded. The visit to the seaport town was preceded by a run through the Maraetotara Gorge and over the hills by a “hairpin” road to Ohope beach, a far-stretching firm strand, surf-washed, with a background of pohutukawa-fringed cliffs.
Whakatane town, pert between the dark-grey volcanic cliffs and the estuary, was found a place of peculiar interest. There is no town along the coast so curiously placed. The visitors saw the Wairere waterfall cascading over the pohutukawahung precipice and flowing through the town. They looked up at the craggy walls lifting so suddenly in the rear of the hotels and stores, and they were told something of the story of the tall Pohoturoa Rock, which stands like a silent policeman to divide the traffic at the entrance to the town. They stood for their photographs at that historic rock, which, in the days of 1870, was a real bulwark to the settlement; forming the middle part of a part-natural, part-artificial barricade from the Papaka redoubt hill to the river bank.
Whakatane's citizens feasted their guests and there were felicitous speeches all round. The Mayor, Mr. W. Sullivan, declared that the visit of the Commerce Train would tend to cement the friendship of the men of the country with those of the town. The County Chairman spoke of the impetus the railway had given to primary production in the district, and he congratulated Mr. Sterling and
Group Photographed at Whangare Whangarei, North AucklandPersonnel of New Zealand's First Commerce Train—Oct.—Nov. 1928
Who's Who: K: Key to Names
A motor run over the transformed Rangitaiki lands, and the dairy factory at Edgecombe—named after the lofty boldly-shaped extinct volcanic cone which stands sentry over the upper valley—and then the exceedingly pleasant day out was closed at Matata, where the train was boarded again for Tauranga.
“If,” said Mr. H. H. Sterling, speaking at a smoke concert at Tauranga, “you regarded the Bay of Plenty line as a good investment for New Zealand, and you take into consideration the question of income and increment, then I say that the line will pay, and pay handsomely.” The General Manager went on to say that he had great faith in the Tauranga district, especially now that it was being well supplied with fertilisers. Touching on other points, he expressed his confidence that the great amount of building taking place in the cities was on sound lines, seeing that its basis was the great progress of the primary industries. The Bay of Plenty district, he said, was going to supply the wealth that would enable the commercial men of the cities to furnish the facilities that were required to develop a district not second in fertility to any other in the world. He deprecated the suggestion that there was any real line of demarcation between the interests of town and country.
At Kohukohu where Schools were closed in honour of the Train.
The secretary of the Tauranga Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Robbins, said the growth of citrus fruits in the Bay of Plenty district was attaining such proportions that very soon there would be no need for their importation to New Zealand.
Tuesday, 30th October, was a day of varied industrial spectacles and demonstrations ranging from gold-mining activities and iron and steel working to scientific treatment of butter-fat. A gloriously fine morning and an excellent breakfast at Waihi, given by the local Borough Council and Chamber of Commerce, put everyone in cheerful trim for the long day's programme. First there was a motor spin through some of the auriferous country and on through farming lands to the Waihi seabeach.
Returning, the visitors were taken into the surface-workings of the great Waihi Gold-mining Company. Here they learned that 800 tons of ore were brought up from the depths each day, and approximately £1,300 worth of gold and silver extracted from it.
The quartz-crushing and gold-treating battery at Waikino was the objective of another call. Then a move onward was made by rail to the Thames. The hosts there were the Borough Council and Chamber of Commerce, and an unusual experience was a sight of a steel mill in full blast. Mr. W. Bongard, Mayor of the old goldmining town, humorously apologised for the tide being out. He hoped the visit of the Auckland
The processes involved in the manufacture of cast steel by the Bessemer process were illustrated in a quite dramatic fashion in the large workshops of Messrs. A. S. G. Price, ironfounders and engineers, the builders of a very large number of locomotives for the Government Railways. (It was mentioned that 123 Price cranes were at present in use on the Dominion lines.) The furnaces, the huge receptacles containing molten metal, the pouring out of the metal into moulds on the foundry floor, every detail of the demonstration was watched with the greatest interest. The Mayor told the travellers that the town at present, to a considerable extent, depended on these most useful foundry works being kept going.
On the fringe of a great N.Z. Kauri Forest. Trounson National Park, North Auckland.
Aboard the “home on wheels” once more, the party moved on up the Thames Valley to the Morrinsville Junction, stopping on the way to visit the N.Z. Co-operative Dairy Co.'s dried-milk factory at Waitoa.
Morrinsville gave the tourists a treat by taking them in motor cars through the good farming country around the town, and hospitably fed and toasted them at an official dinner. The Mayor of the Borough, Mr. W. McPherson, said that there was much truth in the tuneful statement that “the more we get together the happier we shall be;” the tour was sure to have the effect of improving the pleasant and mutually beneficial relations between town and country.
Mr. A. H. J. Wyatt, speaking as a banker with twenty years’ experience in country districts, said that Morrinsville was more prosperous than any other district in New Zealand; it produced more butter-fat to the acre. One of the numerous speakers, Mr. C. E. Clinkard, representative of the Auckland Advertising Club, congratulated the Publicity Department of the New Zealand Railways on the high standard of its work.
“The ghost train,” as some wits called it, moved on while its tired company slept soundly, and next morning saw it berthed at Hangatiki station, in the King Country. This section of the inland cruise was designed to afford the business men some idea of the fertility and the possibilities of the northern portion of the Rohepotae—a territorial occupation, by the way, which has lost its point since the old frontier days, but which, like “King Country,” it would be a pity to drop, since it has a deep historical significance.
The good pastures of this upper Waipa Valley and the transformation of the country from a land of ferns and flax swamps to a region excelled by
Hangatiki, a place of some political importance in the old Maori Kingite days, was as far south as the Commerce Train took its passengers. The next stage was back to Te Awamutu, re-crossing that storied frontier stream, the Puniu River. At Te Awamutu, the go-ahead metropolis of the Waipa country—the western boundary was marked by yon blue looming range Pirongia away in the direction of the Tasman Sea—there was the usual hearty hospitable welcome. At the official luncheon the Mayor, Mr. L. G. Armstrong, and the president of the local Chamber of Commerce, spoke their greetings, and Mr. A. G. Lunn, past-president of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, was the principal speaker on behalf of the visitors. Mr. Lunn took occasion to give high praise to the organising ability displayed in the management of the railways.
The coal-mining activities along the Waikato now claimed attention. The train came down through the Taupiri gorge and crossing the broad river by the new bridge pulled up at the mining township of Pukemiro. Here the coal mine was inspected, and some facts were learned about the extent of the coal mining industry in this part of the country. The output of coal from the mines in the Huntly-Pukemiro district reached a total of over half a million tons last year; this was produced by about a thousand miners in the various pits. At Pukemiro, where the mine is only thirteen years old, somewhat over a million and a half tons have been won; last year's output was 152,060 tons.
The Commerce Train preparing to depart from Whangarei.
When the train returned to the Coal town of Huntly, the visitors were entertained at dinner by the Directors of the Pukemiro Collieries. The Aucklanders warmly praised what they had seen across the river. Mr. A. G. Lunn eulogised the enterprise of the Company in the using of slack, and he assured the directors of the sympathy of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce with the New Zealand coal companies in any efforts to combat the proposals made in New South Wales, by means of subsidy to export coal, that would tend to injure the industry in the Dominion. Mr. C. F. Bennett spoke in commendation of the comfortable housing for employees and the favourable working conditions at Pukemiro.
This Waikato visit concluded the programme of journeys in the South Auckland districts.
Now the great peninsula lying to the north of the Waitemate had its turn. The country to be inspected was practically unknown to many of the travellers, naturally so because for so many years it had been difficult to tour the north owing to poor roads, and the slow process of building the railways; the only ready access was by sea, and that only to the fringes of the Northland territory. Now, with the completion of the most important links it was possible to travel comfortably by rail right up to the shores of the Bay of Islands, within a few miles of New Zealand's earliest capital, and to the Kaikohe country, the heart of the widest and most fertile part of the north. As events proved, this was in some respects quite the most pleasant and the most informative section of the provincial tour.
That great inland waterway, the Northern Wairoa and its surroundings, with a typical area of the world's greatest timber-yielding tree, the kauri, came first on the train-motor car itinerary. At Kirikopuni, the rail junction that is to be when the branch line to the west is through from the Northern Main Trunk, the party took motor car to Dargaville, the principal town on the Northern Wairoa. There, and at Mangawhare, they were in the hub of the old-time kauri timber industry. They saw the mills where in former years large square-riggers loaded kauri in bulk and boards for Australia, the United Kingdom and Europe. They saw the townships and old camps where hundreds of tree-fellers and sawmill-hands made merry after their strenuous toil: heard stories of the lively years when timber was all the talk and when timber ships came up and went down the river in a continual procession. Now they saw farms and orchards and comfortable homesteads where once timber-men plied axe and cross-cut saw; rich grass fields and herds of dairy cows where once tall kahikatea trees stood like feathered spears in the swamps. The clearance of the bush and the drainage of the swamps have transformed the northern Wairoa from a land of kauri and white pine to a land of butter-fat and root crops and fat cattle and flocks of sheep.
Along the Banks of one of Northland's Glorious Rivers.
Dargaville was as hospitable at any place visited on the tour and that is saying much. The Mayor,
The sight of that Northern Wairoa day (1st November), that will remain longest in the travellers’ memories was the kauri forest of Trounson Park, where nearly a thousand acres of precious timber land, mostly kauri, have been preserved as a national treasure, through the generosity of the late Mr. James Trounson and Government purchases. A train from Dargaville took the party up the Kaihu Valley line to Te Aranga a run of 22 miles, and from there it was a wonderful bush walk among the kauri, many of them huge trees, the last of the primeval forest of the North. The visitors lunched in the stately bush, an interlude of delight. Returning down the Kaihu Valley the train pulled up at quaintly named Babylon — a name-relic of the days when the Maori had a craze for Biblical nomenclature—and saw A. C. McArthur's Ltd. new industry for the extraction of kauri gum from timber in operation. The plant deals with kauri swamp timber, pulverising it and subjecting the shredded materials to the action of alcohol and other solvents. Finally the dissolved gum is separated by reagents and produced in a commercial form. The first shipment of the company's product was recently sent overseas for varnish manufacturing purposes.
Moving on once more from Kirikopuni by the luxurious home on wheels, the excursionists found themselves very early on 2nd November, at Okaihau, the present terminus of the Northern line, close to the shore of Lake Omapere, set among its gracefully-shaped volcanic cones. This Omapere region is the core and centre of the famous Ngapuhi territory. There are alternate belts of rich volcanic and indifferent clay land; there were places where the gumdigger had left his trademark in the form of a myriad upturned heaps of clay. There were beautiful dairy lands, fine herds of cattle, numerous small Maori villages; great groves of the puriri tree, the most conspicuous feature of the native vegetation in this part of the country.
More motor car travelling, excellently arranged and most pleasant, through a land of great scenic variety. By way of change from so much land transit there was a motor-launch trip from historic Te Horeke, near the head of navigation, down to Hokianga estuary and Kohukohu town, twenty miles from the sea, sitting on the water's edge under its wooded hills. This road was diversified with the many by-rivers of Hokianga Harbour, such as the lovely Mangamuka; there the party toured the farming lands about its head and lunched at Broadwood, one of the richest bits of dairying and crop raising land in all this splendid Northland, and a place, the party found, of unbounded hospitality.
Scenes in the Northland.
The beautiful Whangarei Falls.
A car run through to the Otiria railway junction followed; this took the party past the eastern shore of Lake Omapere and through the old mision settlements of Waimate and Pakaraka, with their pretty churches and grand old English trees; on through the plain of Taiamai, the olden garden of the North,—where Ohaeawai township stands at the cross-roads of traffic.
There followed a train run through via Kawakawa to Opua, the deep water loading port of the Bay of Islands. Launch travel again, this time on more open water, past the celebrated mission station of, Paihia with its memories of those grand pioneer brothers of the Rongo-pai gospel—Henry Williams and William Williams—into Russell town, basking on its shingly half-moon of beach in famous Kororareha Bay. The great story land of the north this; a book would scarce suffice to tell its romantic legends and its sometimes
The last two days of the nine days’ tour were devoted to Whangarei, the largest town of North Auckland, and the country inland, a region where the practical usefulness and great wealth productivity blended with some unusual landscapes. Some of the places visited on this section of the round were the Puwera State Farm, the Portland Cement Works (on Limestone Island, in Whangarei Harbour), the Kamo mineral springs, the Kamo potteries, the very curious and beautiful limestone rock outcrops at Waro, Hikurangi; Mair's Park at Whangarei (a pretty spot presented by the late Mr. Robert Mair), and finest of all, the miniature Niagara of the Omiru Fall, on the Wairoa River, near the watermeet where the junction of that stream and the Mangakahia River form the Northern Wairoa.
The Puwera Experimental Farm, greatly interested the city men. It was amazing to contrast the luxuriance of the pasture as compared with adjacent waste land, a vivid illustration of the latent capacity of the northern clay lands.
Mr. C. J. Hamblyn, of the Department of Agriculture, supplied the visitors with a fund of information about the land and the methods necessary in its treatment.
At Limestone Island, down the harbour, the party were welcomed by Mr. T. H. Wilson, works manager for the Wilson's (N.Z.) Portland Cement Company and were shown over the place by guides, who explained all the processes in the conversion of the raw limestone into cement. At night (3rd November), there was the last official convivial dinner of the tour, at which the members were the guests of the town, Mr. L. J. Brake, Mayor, presiding. And then on and home again to Auckland, the end of a perfect tour, as one and all described it.
The Transformation of the Land.
At Puwera Experimental Farm, where gum-land is turned into rich pasture country by modern top-dressing methods.
At the final social gathering at Whangarei on the Saturday evening, tributes to the ability of the officers of the Railway Department were paid with great enthusiasm by both hosts and guests.
Speaking at the dinner given by the Whangarei Chamber of Commerce Mr. H. H. Sterling said
When the long land cruise ended at Auckland it was agreed all round that the running of the Commerce Train was a success, without any qualification. There was no note of unfavourable criticism from any of the members of the large party. Commercial men, representatives of almost every branch of industry, and professional men agreed with one voice on the thorough enjoyment and solid benefit derived from the long provincial tour, covering the country from the Far North to the King Country and the outer guard of the Urewera mountains. The co-ordination of train, motor and launch services was perfect, a triumph for the organising capacity of the New Zealand Railways. In the words of one of the International Trade Commissioners, an opinion endorsed by his confreres, it was impossible to conceive that a tour of this kind could be organised more effectively or carried out more efficiently in any part of the world.
The verdict, too, of the president of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce must be placed on record. “It has been a wonderful success,” he said, at the conclusion of the nine days’ tour. The vast undeveloped wealth of the country through which the train passed impressed him greatly. “The results which have been achieved with some of the fertile lands plainly show that only scientific treatment is needed to cause the province to pour forth a golden stream of produce.” The touring party he added, had been able to study at first hand the conditions of country life, and to form closer ties with their country friends. From that point of view alone the trip had been worth all the trouble spent on it.
When the Commerce Train started from Auckland on 26th October, it was manned by Engine-driver G. Day, Fireman C. Irvine, and Guard J. Melican. Members of the train staff were personally thanked at the end of the tour by the General Manager of Railways for their excellent work.
Attendants and Crew of the Commerce Train.
Richness of Forest Verdure seen on the road to Mount Egmont, North Island, New Zealand
“A Triumph for Common Sense and Co-Operation.”
The frank discussion by the representatives of the Home railway managements and employees, of the economic position of the railway industry, has been hailed by all sections of the British Press as a great victory for co-operation. In his present contribution, our Special London Correspondent refers to this and other recent railway developments in Britain and on the Continent.
Slackness of trade and the ever-growing competition of the road carriers has had the most serious effect on Home railway revenues in recent months. For the past half-year the most modest of dividends was paid shareholders, and on every hand the need for economy in the British railway world is clearly apparent.
To meet the needs of the present difficult situation, a most helpful agreement has been reached between the Home railway managements and employees of every grade. In order to reduce expenses and tide the railways over the present trying period, the railway unions, acting on behalf of the men, have agreed to a wages cut of two-and-a-half per cent., this cut to be applicable to all within the service from the highest to the lowest rank of employee. The settlement was not reached without much discussion, as might be imagined, but immediately the issue became clear the men's representatives at once agreed as to the wisdom of the wages cut, and the whole business is a triumph for common-sense and co-operation.
The immediate consequence of the wages cut will be to effect an annual saving in the wages bill of approximately £2,500,000, a sum which should materially assist in lightening the heavy burdens which the Home railways are at present called upon to bear. For the first six months of the present year, the largest of the Home railways—the London, Midland & Scottish—suffered a decline in net revenue of more than £1,000,000, as compared with the corresponding half-year of 1927. Equally serious decreases were recorded in the case of the three other large systems. Against these losses must be set off considerable operating economies effected through cheaper coal and more scientific working methods.
The British railways are by far the largest single industry in the land. In 1927 there were made over the various systems some 1,650,000,000 passenger journeys. Freight business totalled 325,000,000 tons, of which coal amounted to 199,000,000 tons. In a single year the British railways consume 206,000 tons of steel rails, 4,000,000 creosoted sleepers, and 500 miles of line-side fencing. Their equipment includes 24,000 locomotives, 94 rail motor cars, 51,656 steam passenger cars and 4,575 passenger cars for electric service, giving, in all, seats for 2,792,726 passengers. Goods wagons total 718,249, with a total capacity of 7,721,269 tons.
In an industry of this magnitude there is naturally big scope for the exercise of sensible economy in the use of stores, stationery, and so on. In order to direct the attention of its staff to this subject, the L & N.E. Railway has just issued to its employees a thought-compelling pamphlet which remarks that the L. & N.E. line annually spends some £12,000,000 on materials and stores. In this
Although the Home railways are straining every nerve to effect economies, it should not be thought that they are adopting anything approaching a cheese-paring policy. The four big group systems are spending vast sums on improving their way and works, and in introducing new and improved services to meet public needs. To cover the new situation which has arisen out of the phenomenal development of passenger travel by road, the Home railways have introduced cuts in passenger fares amounting in some cases to as much as fifty per cent. More liberality also is being allowed travellers in respect of week-end bookings, and other reduced fares, these concessions giving a wider range of facilities for travel than have ever before been offered in Britain. As illustrating the cheap travel now available, the Great Western Railway are running express excursion trains from Paddington Station, London, to Plymouth and return (226 ½ miles each way), for 11s. 6d. return, or at the rate of nearly four miles a penny. Fares such as these are much lower than those offered by even the most enterprising of road carriers, and the reduced rail fares now in operation, coupled with the higher degree of safety and comfort assured the rail traveller, should go far to bring back to the “Iron Way” much business which has recently gone to the road.
Regarding the safety enjoyed by the rail traveller little need be said. Compared with the highways, railways in Britain stand out as a wonderfully safe form of movement. On the point of comfort, the advantage enjoyed by the railway traveller in the short-distance business is not quite so apparent, but for long-distance movement the railway stands supreme in the matter of comfort. No road carrier can offer sleeping and restaurant car accommodation, for example, on the lines of that provided for the rail traveller, while for smooth running the long-distance expresses of Britain are far-famed. In this connection, it may be noted that a traveller on the L. & N.E. Railway from King's Cross to Edinburgh and back recently remarked in a letter to
A Great Terminal Station.
Southern Railway Continental Terminal, Victoria, London.
Rail and road co-ordination is bound to come in time, and here at Home the railways are giving very serious thought to possibilities of this kind. Every effort is being made to work in friendly harmony with existing road carrying concerns, and to fit in rail services as far as possible with the services offered by the established road carriers. In many districts the railways are shortly to put on the roads large fleets of road motors of their own. Parliamentary sanction to this procedure has recently been given. One of the greatest difficulties at the moment is the fact that road transport activities are being engaged in all over the country by a multitude of owner-drivers and “one-man” concerns who are most difficult to approach on the subject of co-operation, and who care little for a national road policy and the interests of the public and the carriers at large so long as they can make a living out of their vehicles. By degrees the whole problem of road transport and its relation to rail transport will be put on a proper footing, but for the time being the situation bristles with perplexities for the railways and their traffic officers.
When the grouping scheme was launched in Britain, one of the greatest advantages which was claimed for such a plan was the benefits which might be secured from the standardisation of plant and equipment. In the time which has elapsed since the coming of the new order of things, a great deal has been done by each of the four consolidated systems in the direction of eradicating superfluous items of equipment, and concentrating on standard lines. Considerable reductions have been effected in the number of locomotive types in service, and through the activities of the British Engineering Standards Association, a vast amount of useful work has been performed in arriving at the most suitable types of material for permanent way use. On the London & North-Eastern Line's Southern Area (comprising what were formerly the Great Central, Great Eastern and Great Northern systems), there were some eighteen types of rail employed prior to amalgamation. Now two types only have been agreed upon as standard for the whole group, and valuable savings will thereby accrue not only in regard to the supply of rails themselves, but also in respect of the various accessories utilsed in permanent way construction and maintenance.
For many years sleeping cars have been placed at the disposal of the first-class traveller in Britain. This year the L.M. & S., L. & N.E., and G.W. lines are introducing third-class sleepers into their longdistance night services. The new cars will differ from the first-class sleepers. The latter vehicles are used exclusively for night travel, but the third-class cars now being put into traffic will take the form of day passenger cars, with seven compartments, having hinged backs on either side so as to form upper berths by night. Four berths will thus be provided in each compartment, viz., two lower berths by the use of the ordinary seats, and two upper berths formed out of the hinged compartment walls. Throughout Europe the tendency is now to provide increased comfort for the thirdclass traveller, and it is not unlikely that very soon the present distinction as between first and third-class accommodation will disappear, and in
On the Continent.
A third-class Sleeping Car on the German State Railways.
On the German railways four classes of passenger carriage are available, and for some time the question of a reduction in this number of classes has been under consideration. Now a decision has been come to which provides for the abolition of the existing four classes, and the setting up of two classes only in their place—a first and second. The German railways anticipate that this move will be much appreciated by the public. It will also be advantageous to those charged with station working, and will permit of a better utilisation of passenger stock. The construction of carriages will also be simplified, and the work of maintenance made easier.
The French railways have for long been busy on electrification schemes of one kind and another and during recent times there has been great activity on the Government Railways in connection with the conversion from steam to electricity of the network of lines in the Paris area. The most important route tackled is that from Paris (St. Lazare) to St. Germain, and the recently completed electrification of this line will solve very materially the perplexing problems faced by the State Railways in handling the dense passenger traffic of the Paris neighbourhood.
The Paris-St. Germain route was opened in 1847 and is one of the oldest railways in France. From the capital to St. Germain is a distance of 13 miles, and the station of St. Germain is located at the top of a rising grade 1 ¼ miles long of 3.5 per cent. Two power stations supply current for the electrification, current being three-phase, 15,750 volts. Underground cables conduct the current to the line-side sub-stations, where it is converted to direct current at 750 volts for feeding the collector rail. Trains formed of motor and trailer-cars are operated on the multiple unit system, the carriages being of all-steel construction. Each motor car has four 165 h.p. motors, and weighs, when empty, 56 ½ tons. By dividing the Paris-St. Germain route into three distinct traffic zones, much easier operation has been secured. The first zone embraces stations in close proximity to the capital, these stations having a separate train service of their own. The second zone embraces stations outside the first zone up to about nine miles from Paris, and these are served by trains not stopping at points within the first zone. Outside the first and second zones is a third division, served by trains which do not stop at points in either the first or second zones. Passengers travelling from intermediate points to stations in another traffic zone, change trains at the zone terminal station, and special lay-out has been introduced to facilitate the transfer of passengers from train to train at these interchange points.
Locomotive Erecting Shop of the L. and N.E. Railway, Stratford, London.
Service Ideals of General Manager
Hundred Per Cent. Service.
Hundred Per Cent. Service
Some of the ideals with which he has undertaken the direction of the Railway Department were outlined by Mr. H. H. Sterling, General Manager, in a speech at the dinner given to the party on the Commerce Train by the local bodies at Whangarei.
Mr. H. T. Merritt, President of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, who proposed the toast of the Railway Department, spoke of the work of the railway officers on the tour as revealing a special degree of efficiency, and a desire to meet the demands of the public. The New Zealand Railways were, he believed, never so efficient as today, and whatever other modes of transport could be dispensed with, the railways were a vital necessity. That being so, it was for the commercial community to decide for itself whether or not it was going to support and cooperate with this great national asset. Instead of asking the Legislature for new powers in their competition with motor traffic, the railway officers had set themselves to achieve a high state of efficiency, and the running of the Commerce Train had been an indication of their success.
In his reply, Mr. Sterling said that in studying the transport problem he had found no better exemplification than the present trip of what he could wish the transport system to be, for in it he had seen every form of transport co-ordinated with the railway system to bring about 100 per cent. of satisfaction and 100 per cent. of service. What had to be considered was how best to co-ordinate every other mode of transport with the railways. On this trip the co-ordination of motor with rail, and launch with both, had given perfection of arrangements.
“I come to the transport problem as a New Zealander endeavouring to solve a problem that affects New Zealand as a whole,” said Mr. Sterling. “I say deliberately that so far as I am able to co-ordinate the various factors in transport I shall feel it my duty to devote my best energies to that coordination, without isolation of any factor in the transport services of the community.”
All the officers connected with the Commerce Train were imbued with the spirit of service, which must be the keynote of every publicly owned institution, said Mr. Sterling. It had to be remembered that the railways of New Zealand were a public service before they were a profitearning institution.
In conversation with one northern farmer to whom he had not disclosed his identity he had found that the farmer's idea was that the country wanted railways on which his fertiliser could be brought in, and also roads on which he could travel by motor-car, but he would still send out his wool by water-carriage as being the cheapest way. If that were the general idea, “then God help the officers who were trying to make the railways pay.” But he felt that as the people of the country grew in their sense of responsibility for the transport, and recognised that the railways were a community capital investment, they would more and more recognise where the railways stood in the economic service of the community.
Looking up Dart River, Paradise, Southern Lakes District, New Zealand.
Referring to the resources of the Far North. Mr. Sterling said he had scrutinised the district in the light of the knowledge he had gained in the period he had been closely associated with farming. He thought the portion of the country he had seen was full of infinite possibilities, but these had to be unlocked by the key of cheap transport. Until that key was provided, the district could not make the advance it looked for.
He felt very deeply the responsibility that rested upon him in the matter, and so, he knew, did Mr. E. Casey, Divisional Superintendent, and other officers. They came to the public in the spirit of service that was exemplified by the Commerce Train. All he asked of the public was to think clearly upon the transport problem and see where the railways stood in relation to economic and industrial life.
“I say that the railways are going to pay, in the only sense in which that statement can have any rational interpretation in a country situated in the position in which New Zealand is in relation to its railways, that is, in the giving of the transport services essential to the needs of the people at the lowest possible cost, and if we are able to solve the problems of co-ordinating the various branches of transport, the future of my officers and myself is absolutely assured,” continued Mr. Sterling. “I ask you to set aside passion, and not to be led away by catch-cries or prejudice. I feel sure the railways will stand, according as the problem of transport is made clearer and clearer by the closely co-ordinated thinking of all sections of the community, and that is the lesson of the Commerce Train. That is why I and my officers have rejoiced that the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and Mr. W. J. Collins, Secretary of the Department of Industries and Commerce, who was the originator of the idea, have rendered us the greatest service possible by giving us the opportunity to demonstrate in a tangible way that we are here for service to do the best we can to give you what you want—that is, adequate transport for your goods at the lowest possible rate, and, as regards the transport of passengers, all that makes for comfort.
“We aim to do that. We are here to give you 100 per cent. of service. With less than that you will not be satisfied, and neither will we.”
Transportation Pageant in the Capital City.
The Transportation Pageant in aid of the National Art Gallery and Museum Fund, which was held on Saturday, 24th November, attracted great crowds along the line of route. “The Railway Department's section,” says the “Dominion,” “was unique and well worthy of notice.” It included a full-size model of an express engine (shewn above), a sleeping car, a perfect model, 12ft. long, of a tourist carriage miniature engine and passenger car. The signals branch was represented by a fine display, while two other displays proclaimed in practical manner the pleasurable holidays to be had at Rotorua, Mt. Egmont and the Hermitage.
The interesting article entitled “The Art of Painting,” which appeared in the September issue of the Magazine, has focused attention upon the importance of the painter's work. The writer refers to the great part which paint and colours play in the lives of human beings, and, very properly, urges painters to make a thorough study of the theoretical and practical sides of their work to the end of giving the Department the best workmanship of which they are capable. In the following brief article I venture to emphasise one or two fundamental principles of painting upon which successful workmanship depends.
In the first place then, the surface to which paint is to be applied should be free from dust. Dust prevents the oil from entering the grain or pores of the material being painted, and thus the preservative effect of the paint is largely lost.
Adequate attention, too, must be given to the operation of priming. It must be done in the correct manner, so that no imperfections will show through the subsequent coats of paint, and all openings should be carefully stopped after the first coat of priming to prevent dampness from entering the grain and causing decay. Sappy timber, showing a sound surface but decayed at the back, can always be detected by the appearance of black streaks showing through the old paint. This timber should be removed instead of leaving it to rot through, thus destroying the fresh paint work and necessitating repainting.
Different materials, iron, hardwoods, etc., must be treated differently. Timber with an oily nature, like totara for instance, is more lasting than timber that contains little oil. Hence the latter timber requires a liberal application of oil to enable it to resist the effects of dampness. If open-grained or dry timber is thus treated there is no reason why it should not last equally as long as totara or similar hardwoods.
The priming coat, if it is to act as a preservative (its chief purpose), should contain more oil and less pigment than the finishing coat.
In view of the importance of the painter's work, might I suggest, in conclusion, the desirability of the formation of classes in the workshops, wherein the apprentices could be taught the best methods of painting by thoroughly qualified painters? I put forth the suggestion for what it is worth.
Is your capacity strained when you have to face a new set of conditions?
Can you master new ideas, new methods and new machines—and make them produce the goods?
In the new shops there are new machines of every kind. All of them are tried, tested and proven machines, and, with regard to the output of each, there is no element of experiment whatever.
But:
We have to learn to operate them efficiently.
We have to develop the tools to suit our work.
We have to maintain not only the machines but the tools at top form.
We have to direct them with precision to make them “deliver the goods.”
The facts may be summed up thus: All types of modern machinery, every amenity in working conditions, may be provided, but, unless every operator, tradesman and foreman sees to it that the machines and conditions are used to the fullest advantage their mere provision would achieve very little.
One word of advice—don't be one of those afraid to ask questions. I know there are machines installed that are puzzling many—more than will admit it. It is far better, however, to have to plead guilty to an innocent faux pas in this direction than to remain in a puzzled state of mind in regard to the operation of any particular machine. So don't hesitate to ask questions.
In the new workshops there have been installed many machines never before seen in New Zealand. The makers of these machines have sent a film illustrating how they work. That is an excellent idea.
The heating of tyres by means of electricity inside the shop will also be a notable advance in the equipment of the new workshops. This work, on account of the smoke and flames associated with it, was done formerly in a selected place outside the workshop. This is a wonderful advance, as those acquainted with this operation will well know.
A foundry with a concrete floor! Brass melting without any pit fires at all! Cupola charging under the direction of trained metallurgists! Die casting under pressure! Automatic oxy-acetone welding and cutting machines! Centre lathe work going to boring mills! Turrets, etc.! Electric riveters! Fuel oil furnace! Forging machines! Bulldozers! All these, and many others are part of the changes that are to be faced and mastered in the new shops.
The success of our work depends on our mastery of these machines and processes. As I said above, if in doubt, don't hesitate to ask questions. Their answers will be forthcoming.
Machinery Installation.
The Department's Electric Travelling Hoist in operation in the new Hutt Valley Workshops, Wellington.
Wit and Humour
Mrs. Seldomgoe (to booking clerk): “I wants a ticket to go down and come back that perspires in a month.”
* * *
A grammar school boy handed in the following composition on “cats.”
“Cats that's meant for little boys to maul and tease is called Maultese cats. Some cats is reckernized by how quiet their purrs is and these is named Purrsian cats. The cats what has very bad tempers is called Angorie cats, and cats with deep feelins is called Feline cats. I don't like cats.”
* * *
The part of a motor that causes more accidents than any other is the “nut” that holds the steering wheel.
* * *
Brown and Smith, returning by train from a football match, managed to get into corner seats about two minutes before the train started.
Suddenly they discovered they were without tickets. The booking clerk being the other side of the station, Brown said to Smith: “Quick! Hurry and get our tickets.”
Smith dashed out of the compartment, but returned in less than a minute.
“My word, you have been quick!” exclaimed Brown.
“Yes,” replied Smith. “I went into the next compartment and shouted: ‘All tickets, please!’ and I've got a handful.”—From “Humour.”
* * *
“How do you find marriage?”
“During courtship I talked and she listened. After marriage she talked and I listened. Now we both talk and the neighbours listen.”
* * *
In the old days, if anybody missed a stage coach, he was contented to wait two or three days for the next. Now he lets out a squawk if he misses one section of a revolving door.
* * *
Pat was arrested for being intoxicated, and on being brought before the judge he was asked by the court what he was there for.
Pat: “Your honour, I was arrested for being intoxicated.”
Judge: “Pat, where did you buy the liquor?”
Pat: “Your honour, I did not buy it. A Scotchman gave it to me.”
Judge: “Thirty days for perjury.
* * *
Another Case of the Obvious.(From The New Zealand Artists Annual)
Something Turns Up at the Jewish Club
A Popular Outing
“The daffodil is our door-side queen; she pushes up the sward already, to spot with sunshine the early green.”— Bryant.
In 1903 Mr. H. Hart, at that time one of the leading daffodil growers in the Dominion, having on hand a large surplus of daffodil bulbs was struck with the idea of naturalising them in grass on his property at Wetherston's, near Lawrence, Otago (says the “Otago Daily Times”). The first planting proved entirely satisfactory, and a yearly addition was made, until the result to-day, after 25 years of patient planting, is 12 acres of what was once unsightly hillside, closely studded with bulbs numbering, approximately, 1,000,000. The collection comprises most of the varieties known to horticulturists, from the massive trumpet nearly five inches in diameter, to the miniature cycla-minius barely a quarter of an inch across, and, in addition, a plot of a quarter of an acre containing some wonderful results of Messrs. Hart Brothers’ experiments in the crossing of daffodils.
Of late years the trip to Wetherston's in the springtime has become increasingly popular with flower-lovers, many of whom make an annual pilgrimage to the daffodil fields to feast their eyes on the beautiful sight of a hillside thickly carpeted with gorgeous blooms. Unfortunately, Wetherston's is somewhat off the beaten track and, as the trip there and back cannot be done under a day (excepting by motor car) the Railway Department, in running special excursion trains during the season of daffodils for the benefit of those not fortunate enough to possess a car, has performed a very real public service. That this service is appreciated is evidenced by the fact that no fewer than 800 passengers travelled by the two special trains despatched to Lawrence recently.
Despite the weather, which was hardly favourable for such an excursion, it was a happy crowd that travelled, and, by the time Lawrence was reached, any discomfort caused by a little rain was forgotten.
Lawrence turned out en masse to greet the excursionists, who lost no time in making for Wetherston's, either on foot or by ‘bus. Several buses were running between the township and Wetherston's, the proprietors doing a thriving trade.’
Thickly starred with millions of golden blooms, the hillside at the back of Messrs. Simpson and Hart's brewery was looking at its best, and the gorgeous sight drew forth exclamations of wonderment from the visito;s, many of whom, probably, had no conception that daffodils could grow in such profusion. Some of them, in defiance of large and plainly lettered notices requesting them not to pick the blooms, helped themselves liberally.
Among the Daffodils.
Some fine blooms on Mr. Hart's property at Wetherston's.
Nemesis, however, in the shape of Mr. A. Hart, was soon on their trail, and each one, on arrival at the foot of the hill was quickly deprived of his or her spoils and courteously thanked by the owner for assisting him to pick them.
In the early afternoon the crowd was augmented by the arrival of still more visitors, who arrived either by car or by bus, until, by 3 o'clock, there must have been fully 1200 people in Mr. Hart's grounds. Many of the excursionists, having viewed the daffodils, filled in time until the departure of the train by in-specting some of the sluicing claims with which the district abounds, or by making a tour of the picturesque little town of Lawrence.
The Green Island Band, which travelled with the train, took up its position on the Lawrence railway station prior to the train's departure, and kept the waiting crowds in a happy mood with a number of well-rendered selections. Promptly at 4,30 the first train, well-laden, left on the return journey to Dunedin, and half-an-hour later, the second special followed bearing its contingent of holiday-makers, tired, but thoroughly happy after their day among the daffodils.
The new social hall provided by the Railways Department continues to be the centre of many enjoyable functions, these having been brought into effect through the unceasing efforts and activity of the Hillside Workshops Social Committee. Previous efforts in this direction were eclipsed when a most enjoyable function was held in the form of a children's plain and fancy dress dance. The hall was beautifully decorated with streamers and greenery and the lighting effects were an outstanding feature. Through the generosity of the employees of the Hillside shops, free entertainment was provided for the 250 children who attended. The grand march was headed by Mr. C. J. Graham, workshops manager, and Mrs. C. J. Graham, who were accompanied by the Meehan twins, quaintly costumed as little Dutch girls. The costumes of the children who took part were greatly admired by those present, and much ingenuity and taste was displayed on the part of the parents who fashioned them. During the evening dances, games, songs, and competitions were held, every child present entering into the spirit of the entertainment, which was provided by the energetic management committee.
Pleasing to the Eye of Travellers on the South Express
The well cared for station garden at Balclutha, South Island.
Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch'd in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay;
Ten thousand saw I at a glance. Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
Wordsworth.
A Million Golden Daffodils in bloom on the property of Mr. H. Hart, at Wetherston's.
A Glorious Spring-Time Scene in Otago.
Among the Books.
“Along the Road”
Two publications which deserve special mention in our Christmas number have reached us. The first is a book entitled “Along the Road,” by—and with—Miss Elsie K. Morton.
Miss Morton has secured for herself a distinctive place in New Zealand literature by numerous special writings over a series of years, dealing with life and travel in New Zealand. Already widely known in the Auckland province by her special articles in the “New Zealand Herald” weekly literary supplement, the present book (which is the first she has ventured upon) will serve to extend appreciation of this gifted writer throughout the Dominion and overseas.
“Along the Road” contains descriptive stories of all phases of life and action within these happy isles. Miss Morton is possessed of a great capacity for expressing the spirit of New Zealand scenery, but perhaps a few little gems prised from the casket may give a better idea of the book than anything that could be said about it.
In “Why Cats Are Proud,” poor pussy is almost deified:
And then the homing instinct. Why is it is so hard to lose a cat, particularly if you want to? Why and how do they always come back? In childhood, I once carried a cat two miles over a country road in a sugar-bag, when we moved from one house to another. Next morning puss had vanished. She was found an hour or two later at the old home. How tired those soft little pads must have been after that long walk over the sharp metalled road; how did she know the way, how avoid all the cross-roads and turnings?
The dog is always praised for his loyalty and intelligence, but what more touching than the following instance of feline devotion? One morning my pet cat was missing. A little later, a small stray cat which had taken up its abode with us, came to the door in great distress, anxious-eyed and mewing. It ran back and forth until we followed it down the garden to a low thick hedge. It jumped on the hedge, still mewing. We investigated, and there, hidden in the thick growth lay poor pussy, shockingly injured by some fiendish trap …. And who shall say it was not pure, unselfish joy that sang in the little stray's purring, as it followed us back to the house? ….
Here is a delightful description, “After the Rain”:
Toward sunset, the murk in the west held pale rifts; gradually they brightened, the pall lifted, and glinting streaks of saffron stole out to cheer the drenched world. The dripping pines rose bleak and black against a patch of strangely brilliant blue, stretched out gold-touched arms to the radiance beyond. And then the eternal promise of the heavens arched the sky, and the fluttering storom-pennants faded down the horizon. With brightening sky came the choiring of birds. Pure and free and clear the song of the lark and thrush and deep-throated call of the tui sounded a pæan of joy from the feathered world, for to the birds the day of rain is ever but a passing shadow.
The voices of running water mingled in a song of quaint and quiet beauty. Far away sounded the boom of the flooded creek, all its music blent now in a full, steady overtone, which dominated, without drowning, all the lesser voices—the drip, drip, of water from the trees, the music of a thousand tiny rivulets splashing, rippling, gurgling, trickling, and then the myriad tiny voices of Mother Earth herself as the water drained and soaked its way through the grass deep into the ground, the curious sibilant whisper of parched soil drinking its fill.
And now a touch of travel with the party that accompanied T.R.H. the Duke and Duchess of York.
A group of little children, standing, hand-in-hand in a sodden field under a leaden sky, cheering as the Royal train thunders by; a slim figure stooping to lay a bouquet of flowers at the foot of a tall white cenotaph; the sound of a thousand voices raised in hymn of thanksgiving as a soldiers’ memorial is unveiled in the sunny beauty of a peerless autumn morning; the blaze of a great campfire sending out warm and cheering welcome to the Royal travellers at the end of a long, tiring, journey—these are just afew fleeting impressions of the first days of the tour of the Duke and Duchess of York through the Auckland province.
From the moment the great engine, emblazoned with the Royal coat-of-arms, drew slowly away from the crowds at Auckland station, one knew that this train journey was to be something different. All the fittings, the woodwork finishing, shone with a rare and speckless lustre. Not one of the windows stuck, and one could even go out on the platform and stand there without acquiring a light finish of coal dust and grime. The dining-car was an interesting reminder of other days, but never was ordinary dining-car replete with such fascinating pile of silver teapots and jugs, such dainty silver wall-vases, filled with flowers and maidenhair fern. This train must live up to Royal standard, and it did, with never a jar nor a jolt, and a freedom from the oftrepeated “Tickets, please!” that became almost uncanny as the hours sped by. Grey hours they were in the world outside, with drizzle of rain that turned to a steady downpour as we reached journey's end at Roto-rua. on the first day of the Royal Tour. But nothing could have dampened the enthusiasm of thousands of men, women and children who gathered at wayside stations and by the side of the country roads, waiting patiently for that great moment when Royalty should pass. Some of them stood for many hours in the rain, but who cared about a little weariness or discomfort when awaiting a moment that would bring a joy of remembrance to last all through a lifetime?
It is indeed pleasing to note that although the book is but recently off the press, a second edition has been called for, the first having been completely sold out within a fortnight of its appearance on the book-stalls.
A book of this kind is a tribute to New Zealand authorship, and it is particularly pleasing that throughout her writing Miss Morton has found all the colour she needed without drawing upon other countries to supply her with subjects.
“Along the Road” is printed by the Unity Press Ltd., Auckland.
* * *
“Sonny New Zealand”
The other publication, entitled “Sonny New Zealand,” is written and illustrated by George Meek and Leo Fanning, and printed by Messrs. Coulls, Somerville and Wilkie Ltd…. This is a book that the young folks will delight in, and is particularly suited as a presentation volume during the Christmas season. It is assured of a ready welcome from all lovers of New Zealand, for, in verses that come trippingly from the tongue, is told the whole story of New Zealand history, with all the romantic and memorable touches that go to make the colour of our land. Each page is cleverly illustrated to picture the phases of New Zealand history or legends dealt with — the rhymes fit the story, and the story is told by the picture—a pleasant kind of mnemonic that makes the geography, history and legends of our homeland stick in the memory without effort. The book serves to depict in tabloid form, and in a manner to please children and grown-ups too, the whole story, charm and romance of New Zealand. It is a new conception, designed to “place New Zealand on the map” in a realistic, attractive way. All concerned, authors, printers and publishers alike, are to be congratulated on this fine addition to New Zealand's own set of Christmas publications for 1928.
* * *
“The Wanganui River winds through miles of verdant banks”
“Where tree-ferns stand like sentinels in splendid serried ranks….”
—From “Sonny New Zealand.”
Miss Elsie K. Morton
By Those who Like Us
The following is a copy of a letter of appreciation received by the Stationmaster, Lambton, from the Matron of the Red Cross Home, Hobson St., Wellington:—
One of my patients has recently been for a holiday to his home at Eketahuna and also to Dannevirke. Being a spinal case, he was only able to travel in a cot in the van of the train.
On his return here on 5th September, he told me how very kindly and courteously he had been treated by all the railway officials. Wherever he went it was the same. He was very struck by, and deeply appreciative of, the real kindness shown him.
I would like so much to thank all those officials on my own and my patient's behalf, for their kindness, and to assure them that their attentions added greatly to his comfort and to his enjoyment of his little holiday.
* * *
Appreciation of the Department's efforts to please passengers travelling on the Limited, is expressed in the following letter from Mr. W. H. Atkin, Auckland, to the Stationmaster, Auckland:—
I have just returned from a business trip to Wellington and back. It is some years since I travelled on the rail to Wellington and I feel that it is only my duty to express appreciation of the many improvements that have been introduced for the comfort of travellers.
In the old days one Was disturbed at all hours to have one's ticket punched. This method no longer exists. I was asked if I was going right through, and having replied in the affirmative my ticket was punched and I did not see the guards again until the end of the journey.
The De Luxe Sleeper is a boon, and worth double the ordinary sleeper, the wash basin with hot and cold water (the latter must be a boon to the ladies), fan and ventilators and curtains on windows, and the hot pipes for cold weather, being especially noteworthy features. Then the cup of tea provided in the sleeper at certain stations is much to be preferred to the rush at the refreshment counters. I thoroughly appreciated the voluntary efforts of train attendants (brushing boots, etc.) to make the trip into a pleasurable journey.
* * *
From Mr. G. J. Fitzpatrick, Feilding, to the General Manager of Railways, Wellington:—
Were I an ordinary passenger on our railways (which I am not), and had I a grievance (which I have not), I would probably either rush into print or send you a nasty letter.
My object is a pleasant one. Travelling with my wife by the “down” New Plymouth express yesterday afternoon, I had difficulty in securing seats as I had not booked ahead. I made my difficulty known, and was treated with conspicuous courtesy by the guard. I desire with respect to place my appreciation on record.
The guard had probably never seen me before. He does not know my name. I ascertained his name was Marshall. If you have any way of informing your officers that their kind assistance is recognised, please let Mr. Marshall know I am obliged to him.
* * *
In reference to a request made to the Department by the Kawakawa Chamber of Commerce for a timetable alteration affecting the train service at Kawakawa, the Secretary of the Kawakawa Chamber of Commerce writes to the General Manager of Railways in the following appreciative terms:—
I have been instructed by my Chamber to convey to you their very sincere thanks for the attention you paid to their request for an alteration in the railway timetable as it affects Kawakawa.
We thank you for the courteous treatment we received from your staff and yourself, and are pleased that we had the privilege of making your acquaintance.
We are naturally pleased that you decided, after putting the case on its merits, to reinstate the Saturday train, and sincerely trust for our mutual benefit that it will be a success.
How To Conduct Them
The following extracts are taken from a publication issued by the National Safety Council of America and will, no doubt, be found of interest in regard to the work of our own Safety Committees:—
“There are all sorts of safety committee meetings—some of them are like funerals, some merely debating societies, some are very effective. If they are too “dead” they bury the enthusiasm of the safety movement under the sod; if they are debating societies, they bury it under an avalanche of words; if they are effective, they put the red blood of success into every artery of safety work. A “dead” committee can't have a “live” meeting; a thoughtless committee can't have an intelligent meeting.
A rapid-fire, aggressive, enthusiastic meeting can be produced only by men who believe in the work they are doing, and who are determined to make it a success.
Officialism and red-tape must be put in the background and co-operation must stand out as predominant. The chairman must exercise a fine discretion in curbing unprofitable discussion on the one hand, without, on the other, discouraging freedom of action along lines properly within the scope of the committee.
The chairman is the key to the situation. He can either make or ruin the success of the meeting. If he can impress the men with his sincerity of purpose, that he is heart and soul with them in the fight against avoidable accidents, that, in fact, he is the best “safety man” on the committee; if he will greet the members cordially, make them feel at home, exercise friendly tact in drawing out the best that is in them, and thus create an environment of good fellowship and co-operation in the humane work that is set before him, he will do more than any other man can do to make the meetings interesting and profitable. If, on the other hand, he is cold and indifferent, narrow in his views, official in his bearing and unresponsive to the suggestions offered, he can “kill” the meetings and with them the vital spark of the whole safety movement.
The presiding officer should prepare the programme or, at least, sketch out the salient points for discussion. He should so sub-divide his subjects as to draw into the discussion all the men attending, and should also encourage them to accept responsibility in making the meetings and the safety work successful.
For seaside or tennis wear the slip-on jumper with the French scarf of spotted crepe-de-chine, and the little pleated skirt (as illustrated) will be found most useful.
* * *
Christmas time is vacation time in this fair land of ours, and to the woman, travelling apparel and other requisites are interwoven with vacation plans.
One of the first things to decide in planning a holiday is not what is to be taken in the way of luggage, but what can be left behind. The new smart luggage certainly does its share to ensure comfort in travel. The new wardrobe box which has superseded the round hat box is a triumph of ingenuity for space and convenience. Six frocks may be tucked into it (first adjusting them on the hangers which are hung on an adjustable rod in the lid) in addition to hats, shoes, etc.
Another factor which tends to make travel more comfortable and attractive as compared with former days is the simplicity which characterises our modern clothes. They are now so simply made that they take a minimum of space, and the result is that the woman on vacation may be smarlty frocked at all hours of the day.
The straight one-piece tailored frocks take but a few inches of space in the travelling bag, and the slim fitting sweater with the soft silk skirt (now much in vogue), is easy to carry, besides being a smart and useful wardrobe.
* * *
Take an equal quantity of prunes, figs and dried apricots soaked overnight. The next day cook until they are soft. Then put into pyrex dish while very hot, and pour a sponge mixture over them. Cook in oven until sponge is cooked, and serve either hot or cold, with liquid cream—for preference.
* * *
Ring, Christmas bells, the story repeat, Tell of the Star that led to His feet; Show us the shepherds kneeling with kings, While high in the heavens the first Carol rings, Through the tumults of time the great words stand still:
“Peace be on earth, to men good will.” Ring till our hearts in its concord abound, Ring till the whole world is swayed by its sound.
Ring, Christmas bells, ring clear and sweet, Learned and unlearned, we kneel at His feet. Shine, herald Star, from God's innermost deep. Banish hate's spectres that stalk in our sleep. Sing, bright seraphs, as at the Child's birth: “Good will to men, peace be on earth.” Ring out, O Carol, our false gods confound, Ring till the world's King in triumph is crowned.
—Alma Adams Wiley.
* * *
One ounce gelatine, 1 dessertspoon sugar, 5 drops essence of vanilla, lemon, cloves, and almond, or 1 desertspoon wine or brandy, 3 cups milk, 1 cup water.
Pour the cup of water over the gelatine, then heat it till it is thoroughly melted. Add the sugar and essences of wine or brandy. Stir well, and in two minutes add the milk. The milk must not be heated. This jelly sets quickly and is excellent for children and invalids.
* * *
Two tablespoons granulated gelatine, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 small cup sherry or madeira, or half cup port, half large cup cold water, 1 ½ large cups boiling water, half small cup orange juice.
Soak the gelatine in cold water for ten minutes, then pour over the boiling water and mix till well dissolved. Add the other ingredients, put into mould. The proportions of wine may be altered if the jelly is wanted more or less winey.
Traffic and Stores Branches
Arthur, J. A., to Stationmaster, Gr. 3, Taumarunui.
Barker, J., to Relieving Officer, Gr. 4, Auckland.
Brice, C. C., to Shift Clerk, Gr. 6, Woodville.
Brittenden, E. S., to Outdoor Assistant Traffic Manager, Gr. 1, Dunedin.
Curry, J., to Relieving Officer, Gr. 5, Ohakune Junction.
Hobson, H. P., to Passenger Foreman, Gr. 5, Lambton.
James, E. H., to Shift Engineer, Gr. 5, Otira.
Peat, H. W., to Workshop Foreman, Gr. 5, Addington.
Smith, J. W. M., to Chief Clerk, Gr. 1, G.S.T.O., Head Office, Wellington.
Stirling, R. J. A., to Train Running Officer, Gr. 4, District Traffic Manager's Office, Dunedin.
Thomas, C. W., to Station Clerk, Gr. 5, Westport.
Thomson, W., to Assistant Stationmaster, Gr. 5, Auckland.
Turner, C. E., to Clerk, Gr. 7, Dargaville.
Worthington, T. E., to Whangamomona.
Hill, C. V., to Oamaru.
Jago, W. C., to Wellington Goods.
McMurtrie, A. T., to Gore.
Maintenance Branch.
Carroll, J. H., to Whangarei.
Hanrahan, W. F., to Dunedin.
Shepherd, G. E., to Newmarket.
Adams, D. J., to Kaitoke.
Alcock, A., to Evans Flat.
Barnard, T., to Otoko.
Cheer, A. W., to Tokomaru.
Gray, G. S., to Waikohu.
Keane, T. D., to Matawai.
Murphy, G., to Plimmerton.
O'Connor, T., to Poerua.
Ross, H., to Waiouru.
Struthers, A. F., to Waiotira.
Wright, H. V. A. A., to Te Kawa.
Locomotive Branch.
Shannon, F. T., to Gr. 1, Middleton.
Cloherty, P., to Rangataua.
Suggestions and Inventions.
Commendations.
Anderson, S. C. R., Storeman, Linwood.— Suggestion re recovery of tools, etc., lost from engines.
Burns, J. R. O., Clerk, Locomotive Foreman's Office, Dunedin.—Suggestion re addition to locomotive course of examinations.
Cochrane, R., Ganger, Waitati.—Suggestion re bolts used in railway sleepers.
Stent, R. C., Storeman, Dunedin Passenger.— Suggestion re checking of luggage to Stewart Island.