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.
“So fresh, so pure, the woods, the sky, the air,
It seem'd a place where angels might repair,
And tune their harps beneath those tranquil shades,
To morning songs or moonlight serenades.”
(Govt. Publicity Photo.)
The head of beautiful Lake Te Anau, South Island, New Zealand. (Reached by rail and motor from Invercargill or Dunedin.)
The New Zealand
Railways
Magazine
Railways
Magazine
“For Better Service”
Published by the
New Zealand Government Railways Department
Vol. 3. No. 12.
Wellington,
New Zealand
April1, 1929
With so many means available for the transport of passengers and commodities, the Railways everywhere are setting new standards in courtesy towards their patrons.
But courtesy should not be dependent for its finest flowering upon the vagaries of competition. It is the best habit to have for making life easy. “Manners,” said Emerson, “aid our dealing and conversation, as a railway aids travelling, by getting rid of all avoidable obstructions of the road, and leaving nothing to be conquered but pure space.”
Do we live up to Emerson's fine conception? Is there nothing to conquer in travelling by rail but pure space? Whatever may be the mechanical imperfections that sometimes bring a touch of irksomeness to any journey, there is no doubt that courtesy exhibited by the train and station staffs will help to smooth the road and ease the mind of every traveller. From the general public have come many indications that the attitude of our New Zealand railwaymen towards them is frankly helpful, and is enriched by that costless courtesy which is the index of well-balanced and properly educated minds.
But occasionally we hear of mistakes by members that do harm to the service as a whole. Any enquiry by one of the public, even if it appears to be superfluous or unrelated to the enquirer's ostensible business, deserves to be answered with patience and understanding. This not only produces a pleased client but assists the individual railwayman to a greater enjoyment of his job and a higher capacity for it.
To be witty at the expense of a client is about the most foolish mistake any employee can make. What we sometimes regard as the “colossal ignorance” of the public in regard to things that are common knowledge to railwaymen often affords opportunity for a smart shot that will bring a laugh from the bystanders and make the enquirer uncomfortable. Such wit, being divorced from courtesy, always does harm and sometimes brings sudden reprisals seriously detrimental to the Department's business.
Our own lack of knowledge regarding the details of other businesses, sciences, and arts, should be a warning against discourtesies of this type, but apart from the possibility of an interchange of snubs that the same attitude adopted by all classes would produce, the main consideration should be for one's own character, which suffers from every self-engendered discourtesy. The Prince of Wales travelling
Everyone has not the ready tongue that can soothe the ruffled customer; all are not gifted with a disarming smile or a personal magnetism that draws the bitterness out of justifiable complaint; but all have it in their power to listen carefully, reply considerately, and act generously in those little courtesies of business life that, taking their rise in a fellow feeling for the rest of humanity, find their highest—because most practical—expression in the methods adopted in dealing with the vital daily personal contacts and problems of modern transport.
All Safe And Well.
Great relief was occasioned throughout the Empire by the news that the aeroplane Canberra had located the Southern Cross and its intrepid crew, safe and sound, after being lost for eleven days in north-western Australia.
The first Garratt locomotive, recently assembled at the Hutt Valley Workshops, is now in the Ohakune District. Trials have been personally conducted by Mr. G. S. Lynde, Chief Mechanical Engineer. The latest report shews that a load of 464 tons was carried by goods train from Taumarunui to Taihape. The Owhango bank was negotiated in 22 minutes (six miles of one in fifty grade). The Raurimu spiral was ascended in 27 minutes—(7 miles of one in fifty). The weather conditions were the worst possible, a light drizzling rain falling throughout the journey. Despite the greasy rail, no slipping occurred, and the times put up easily eclipse ordinary goods traffic times.
It is interesting to note that the “X” locomotive (our largest goods engine) has a schedule load of 300 tons over the steepest part of this section. Mr. Lynde reports that on each test a dynamometer car is attached immediately behind the Garratt, and the drawbar pull exerted is being carefully watched. He proposes putting a heavier load on before finally deciding upon the schedule for this particular type of locomotive.
A Good Period.
Although the full figures relating to railway finance for the year ended 31st March are not yet available, I have pleasure in announcing a record four weeks' traffic during the period ending 2nd March and a gratifying further improvement as indicated by the preliminary returns for the remainder of March.
The trend of traffic generally led me to anticipate, in a message published some months back, that our revenue for the year would end up well, but the figures are definitely better than expected. A notable feature is that the improvement applies to all classes of traffic and to all sections of the line.
I desire to record my special appreciation of the efforts of all concerned in the production of such a splendid result.
The general trend of passenger traffic since 1911 has been definitely downward, and the greatest efforts have been put forth in an endeavour to check this tendency. Better rolling-stock, improved timetables, more attention to passengers, extended excursions, personal cavassing, and specialised publicity are among the methods that have been applied to popularise rail travel, and we are now able to record an increase in passenger journeys during the four weeks to 2nd March of 336,000. This is equivalent to an increase of 12% on the number carried during the corresponding period last year. While the principal increase was in season tickets, the improvement in ordinary passengers was substantial.
The quantity of goods and livestock carried was 769,649 tons and the goods revenue £484,000, representing increases of 20 per cent. and 16.35 per cent. respectively over last year's figures. This easily constitutes a record for the Dominion.
The most noteworthy increases were in butter (100 per cent.) cheese (30 per cent.); grain (32 per cent.); wool (22 per cent.); agricultural lime (20 per cent.); fertilizers (78 per cent.); sheep (9 per cent.); coal (10 per cent.); road metal (80 per cent.); benzine (58 per cent.); cement (38 per cent.); motor vehicles (92 per cent.); general cargo ex ships (27 per cent.); and native timber (19 per cent.).
The improvement in the output of native timber after a depression extending over the last two years is a hopeful sign of recovery in one of New Zealand's most important industries.
The handling of such a large increase in traffic at the busiest season of the year threw a very heavy strain on the resources of the Department. The difficulties were accentuated by the simultaneous arrival at several of our ports of many large vessels with bulk cargoes of products such as coal, phosphates and slag. Practically all these cargoes were dependent on railway facilities for quick despatch.
At times like this there is need for a maximum of operating efficiency, and even with that it would not be sound economics to have so plentiful a supply of rolling-stock that every demand for wagons could be met immediately in such abnormal circumstances. A survey of the month's work shews that the railways met the demand in a manner that no other form of transport could hope to equal. There were, however, occasions on which it was found impossible to supply all orders for empty wagons in full without some measure of delay. The majority of our customers fully realised the position and co-operated with us in our efforts to ensure speedy transit and prompt discharge to the traffic. For this co-operation I desire to express the thanks of the Department and trust that the same spirit will be further extended at peak times of traffic handling. With the opportunity which the new workshops will afford for faster progress in the new wagon building programme, our equipment position next season should be very much better.
General Manager
Locomotive Progress In New Zealand.
The Minister of Railways, Hon. W. B. Taverner, and the General Manager, Mr. H. H. Sterling, inspected the Garratt locomotive during the course of its preliminary trials in Wellington.
Ken Alexander
It is sad to reflect that we have planted a farewell kiss on Summer's freckled nose and have bidden her God-speed on her journey by Time's express to the top of the earth. As the train disappears round the first bend of winter, we stand forlorn and forsaken on Time's railway platform and drop a tear for the departed hoyden.
“Ah, Summer, Summer; you have in many ways proved a faithless jade. You played us false when we trusted to your constancy, you frowned when we looked for a smile, you swept into a fury of unpropitiousness when all we asked for was sunny calm, you let us down when we trusted to your graciousness, you jumped the rails, developed hot-boxes, ignored the signals, swept past without collecting the tablet, and generally broke the time-table, but, despite your vagaries, we cannot but forgive you. Ah, fickle wench!
“But we will be watching and waiting for you next December or January or February— —whenever you choose to return. Time will have soothed the sting of your capriciousness. We will deceive ourselves, as we have done so often before, into the belief that next year you will be a good Summer.
“Meanwhile, on the roof of the world April awaits you. The March hare (as hare-brained in April as in March) the mad hatter, the April fool with straw in his hair and a careless look in his eye, the spring poet, the tailor and cutter, and Time's traffic superintendent will present you with the freedom of the northern hemisphere. But we whom you have jilted are moved to lamentatious poesy.”
The Old Lad.
But in spite of Summer's fickleness we have followed the sun by rail, followed our noses by foot, followed our inclinations by instinct, and pursued the elusive joy bacteria on land and sea. We have gladly suffered mal - de - mer, mal-de-mosquito, miserere - de - bunion, hors-de-combat (meaning of course, coming a crash on the “favourite”) and solar-proboscis (which as you know is Esperanto or Costa Rica for a sun-burnt boko), and now all that remains for us is to stoke up our meerschaums, place our feet on the mantel-piece—one on each side of the eight-day clock—toast ourselves in the regions of the far-south, and reconstruct the happy past in the glowing embers of the fire.
A picture forms itself in my mind: I am floating up the pellucid reaches of Queen Charlotte Sounds. By a process of mental calesthenics I am immediately reminded of the Old Lad. The denuded hills are miraculously clothed in billowing forest—towering rimus and totaras thrust their dark heads above the tangled verdure, clots of rata bloom punctuate the mass with vivid splashes of vermillion, like blood flecks on a dead pigeon's breast. I see a white sail scudding before a fresh breeze, I see a monstrous raft of logs drifting with the tide, and dark figures straining at long sweeps to to keep it in the fairway. I pass a solitary shack on a flax-studded promontory and my jaded nerves are lulled by the detached peace of these lonely stretches, undisturbed by pulsing propellers, palpitating pistons, and the multitudinous yelps, squalls, and shrieks which accompany the devastating charge of hectic progress.
I see the Old Lad in the pride of his virile youth—narrow of girth, thick of chest and neck, slim of thigh and calf, with a pair of “moleskins” covering (but not concealing) the slim symmetry of his lower limbs. I admire the calm confidence in his blue eyes, the uncomscious strength in his physical poise. I am back in the “seventies.” I compare him with the Old Lad of to-day—a man four-score, legs slightly bowed, feet planted firmly on the ground, knotted hands, twisted fingers, bristling white whiskers, and fierce blue eyes which are a poor subterfuge to conceal a sympathetic nature. I detect the ghost of his youth in his voice—a hint of waning strength, and it fills me with something like sadness, for the Old Lad is eighty as years count. Nevertheless he still lives in the days of his youth, his eye still twinkles when he recounts the deviltries of his
One story the Old Lad likes to tell is that of Bushfire and the Flying Scotsman.
The Old Lad had a brother named Dougald, until a badly felled tree severed their relationship and converted Dougald from an entity to for about half a mile unless they were prepared to swim out for them when the tide rose.
Dougald owned a horse which he called Bushfire, because once he was induced to break into motion he was difficult to stop. Dougald objected on principle to pulling boats through mud. “A man's not a blanky ‘orse,” he was wont to remark. Out of these few words sprang his great idea—to utilise Bushfire in the interests of the conservation of human energy.
He constructed rope harness and hitched the snorting Bushfire to the boat. He mounted and gave the horse a smack on the rump. Bushfire a memory. Dougald was a man who believed that the human mind was created first and that the body grew on it afterwards, like a fungus. One department of his fancy factory was labelled, Development Of Devices for Conserving Physical Energy—Private. His sole objection to going to sleep was the energy entailed in waking up again, and if he could have devised a means of being married without expending the energy necessary to effect a wedding he would not have died a bachelor.
He lashed out with both hind feet and made for the distant bush.
In the absence of roads most of the travelling in the Sounds was done by boat. The tide ran out so far that boatmen landing at low water were obliged to pull their crafts over the mud moved a few paces, snorted and looked back at the boat with a hint of indignation in his eye. Dougald kicked him in the ribs and roared “Gerrup!” Bushfire's earls lay back, he lashed out with both hind feet and made for the distant bush. The boat followed in a series of rabbit-like leaps. With the hollow thuds of the bounding boat pursuing him, Bushfire broke from a trot to a canter and from a canter into a wild gallop. Midway up the mud-flat the ship struck a rock and, with a splintering crash, the bottom dissolved partnership with the gunwales. Dougald shot a horrified glance to the rear, sawed at the reins and roared “Whoa!” but Bushfire was as easily stopped as a Garratt
When the outfit disappeared among the trees all that remained of the boat was the gunwale, which encouraged the illusion of a huge wooden horse-collar. The Old Lad had followed as closely as his sprinting powers permitted and finally assisted in extricating the pioneer of the flying-boat from the wreckage of his great conception, and in hunting the maddened Bushfire through seven miles of dense bush.
“An' that,” remarks the Old Lad, every time he completes the story, “is how my brother Dougald became known as the “Flying Scotsman.”
The Old Lad is a cornucopia of rambling retrospect. His sense of humour has never become muscle-bound through over-exertion in the exercise of earnestness. His opinion of life might be expressed in the following lines:—
The March Hare, the Mad Hatter, the April Fool, the Spring Poet, the Tailor and Cutter, and Time's Traffic Superintendent.
Smile.
“Dull would he be of soul who could pass by A sight so touching in its majesty.”
—Wordsworth.
(Govt. Publicity Photo.)
A picturesque scene on Twilight Beach, North Auckland, New Zealand, shewing Cape Maria Van Diemen in the background.
Some Auckland owners of trotters got all that was due to them last Saturday, when four members of the light-harness tribe were dispatched to the Waikato meeting by motor-van, which broke down and caused the pacers to miss important engagements (says the “N.Z. Sportsman”). With a good railway service and all modern appliances at their disposal, the owners were foolish in not making full use of the State transport service. Motor-vans are alright in their way, but the “iron-horse for the racehorse” should be the axiom every time. The letters N.Z.R. represent the acme of safety and comfort and—don't forget—you, I and all of us are the registered holders of that popular trade-mark.
* * *
Railway news at the moment appears crammed full with reports of the activities of the “Iron Way” off the railway itself. On top of the interest now being taken in road transport, comes evidence that the Home railways are now contemplating important activities in the air. They consider it essential to meet the competition of the air carriers at an early stage of aviation's growth (writes our special London Correspondent). It is recognised on every hand that in delaying their action in connection with road transport, the Home railways lost much valuable business which might have been retained had an energetic campaign against the road competitors been launched some years ago. This time the railways of Britain do not intend to be caught napping, and are performing the wisest of actions in tackling, in energetic fashion, at this early stage, the problem of aerial competition.
Government permission is now being sought by each of the four Home railway groups to provide and operate aircraft of their own for the transport of all kinds of traffic; to establish and maintain aerodromes at selected points; and to enter into working arrangements, as may seem desirable, with outside air carriers. It is unlikely at the outset that any of the Home railways will acquire aircraft of their own. For the time being, attention will doubtless be concentrated upon entering into friendly working arrangements with existing air carriers.
Sensational non-stop runs made last summer by the Home Railways have not, after all, become a permanent feature of the passenger time-table. During the summer tourist season, the traffic between London and Scotland is exceptionally heavy, and there is much competition between the L.M. and S. and L. and N.E. systems for this valuable business, which is worked out of the Euston and King's Cross terminals in London respectively. The practice of non-stop running, although proving an immense asset in the attraction of summer tourist travel, has apparently been found a somewhat costly and impracticable affair for working during the slack winter season.
With the introduction of the winter bookings, the “Flying Scotsman” train between King's Cross and Edinburgh ceased to be a non-stop limited, and commenced to call at four intermediate points. On the L.M. and S. route to the north, calls for passengers are made at three intermediate points by the summer non-stop “Royal Scot.” Con-currently with the cessation of the non-stop Anglo-Scottish runs, the Great Western “Cornish Riviera Limited” ceased to be a non-stop as between Paddington station, London and Plymouth, and a stop was introduced at Exeter, giving fast service to the winter holiday resort of Torquay and sunny South Devon generally.
* * *
In a recent reference to the safety of rail travel in Britain, Mr. J. H. Follows, Vice-President, L.M. & S. Railway, said that a passenger (on British railways), making two journeys a day, would have to travel 50,000 years, according to the law of averages, before meeting his chance of being killed.
The activity of the Home Railways in the operation of road motor services, and the famous new Underground Station at Piccadilly Circus, are discussed by our special London Correspondent, in his current letter. He also makes interesting reference to European Railway development and to the notable part played by the Railways in the recent speedy transport across Europe of the Prince of Wales, and to the Channel Tunnel project.
In previous letters appearing in these pages the need for railways to embark upon a bold road transport policy has been discussed. Rail and road transport are complementary one to the other, and there is no agency better equipped to carry on the business of road transport than the railway. Through failure to tackle the road competition question promptly and in bold fashion much valuable ground has been lost in Britain, but during the past few weeks the Home railways have sprung into the arena, and new road services, operated by the group lines, are now being introduced in all directions.
Apart from putting on the road a large number of passenger-carrying vehicles of their own, the Home railways have recently acquired important interests in municipal and privately-owned motor omnibus services, which should prove of especial value. One of the most ambitious of these combinations is that effected between the London and North Eastern, and London, Midland and Scottish lines, and the Municipality of Sheffield. Under this fusion, provision is made for the joint operation of road transport services over a very extensive stretch of territory surrounding the great steel centre. The arrangement does not cover short distance travel within the boundaries of the city of Sheffield, but provides for a railway interest in all routes outside the city boundary. In the case of routes extending over short distances beyond the boundary, the motor omnibus services continue to be operated by the municipal authorities, but are controlled by a joint committee of municipal and railway officers, and the vehicles used bear the names of all three parties. The services are being arranged in such a way as to give the same co-ordination between the railway system and the road services, as would omnibus services operated by the railways on the same routes, independently of the municipality. On the longer runs, which comprise the road services between Sheffield and the towns of Bakewell, Barnsley, Buxton, Doncaster and Huddersfield, the railways alone will be concerned in the provision of passenger transport. The agreement is for ten years, and will thereafter be terminable by twelve months' notice on either side.
Further west, the L.M. and S. Railway has taken over from the Rochdale municipality the omnibus service between Rochdale and Halifax, a distance of eighteen miles, and is making twelve trips daily in each direction, between the two points. In Wales, the Great Western line has recently acquired a 50 per cent. interest in a large road carrying concern operating motor omnibus services in and around Cardiff, Bridgend
The admirable improvement works carried out on the Italian State Railways in recent years have previously been the subject of comment in these pages. Details have now been circulated of what ranks as one of the most important works included in the Italian railway improvement plan, viz., the reconstruction of the main passenger station at Milan. These details afford striking evidence of the ambitious fashion in which the Rome authorities are tackling the problem of railway rehabilitation.
Solving The Road Competition Problem.
One of the fleet of luxurious sixteen-seater motor cars operated by the Swiss Federal Railways, on organised sight-seeing tours, ascending the Grimsell Pass.
The new Milan terminal building will consist of a couple of lateral wings each 500ft. long and 33ft. wide, with a connecting portion, the whole forming roughly a horse-shoe. An arcaded carriage drive will run the full length of the depot at the front, and from this will be reached the imposing booking-hall, 210ft. in length and 110ft. in width. From the booking-hall two wide staircases will give access to the departure platforms, placed some 25ft. above street level. The main circulating area is to be 610ft. long and 73ft. wide. There will be 26 platform lines within the depot, and each line will be equipped with a 24ft. passenger platform and a service platform 13ft. wide. The lengths of the platforms will vary from 1,000 to 1,100ft. The service platforms are quite an innovation. They are intended to facilitate the handling of luggage and postal business, and are quite distinct from the passenger platforms proper. On completion, the new Milan depot will rank as one of the largest and best equipped passenger stations in Europe.
The fame of the London underground railway system is already far-spread, but now this important transportation undertaking has again come into the limelight as the owner of the largest underground station in the world. This enormous depot is the new Piccadilly Circus
The main circulating area is only a few feet below the surface, and is fed by six subways. It is almost circular in shape, being an ellipse about 155ft. by 144ft., with a height of 9ft. Forty-two feet beneath the main hall is a lower hall, connection with which is afforded by means of five escalators. From this lower hall further flights of escalators, and stairs and passages, give access to the two railways beneath, each of which is at a different level. The lower hall comprises four arched bays and is 90ft. long by 32ft. wide. For the casual visitor greatest interest is attached to the main circulating area and booking hall. All around the hall there have been set up brilliantly illuminated showcases, occupied by the merchandise of the leading London stores. The floor of the hall is paved with large white tiles, and the ceiling of white fibrous plaster is divided into rectangular coffers. On the inner sides of the head-wall are oil-paintings of especial charm. The central compartment contains a map of the world, showing in a distinctive colour the British Empire, with the names of the capitals of the various Dominions and Colonies inscribed. Flanking the map are smaller panels bearing pictures illustrating the activities of the Underground in the sphere of urban and suburban transport. The lower hall has walls of silver-grey tiles with mauve borders, divided into poster panels, edged with blue. Lighting is effected by concealed electric lamps. The whole effect of the interior decoration is especially pleasing, and reflects the greatest credit upon the Underground authorities and all concerned in the design and construction of the station.
The World'S Biggest Underground Station.
General view of the circulating area of the new Piccadilly Circus Station in London.
From time to time many spectacular railway journeys have been performed by individual globe-trotters, but there is probably no single journey which has attracted such widespread attention as the flight of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, from Central Africa to London, last December. The railways concerned were the State Railways of Italy, the Swiss Federal Railways, the Est and Nord Railways of France, and the Southern Railway of England. Thanks to the co-operation of these railways with the British Navy, the journey time was cut from twelve to nine and a half days, and the train conveying the Royal traveller from Brindisi to Boulogne, created a new speed record in European passenger train working. H.M.S. “Enterprise” left Dar-es-Salaam at 10 a.m. on December 2nd, and Suez was reached on December 7th. The H.M.S. “Enterprise” picked up the Prince once more at Port Said the following day, and Brindisi was reached at noon on December 10th. At 12.30 p.m. the special train placed at the Royal traveller's disposal by the Italian Government, left Brindisi, and the 640 mile run to Chiasso, on the Swiss frontier, was accomplished in a little over sixteen hours. From Chiasso, the Swiss Federal Railways took charge as far as Basle, and the 464 mile run from Basle to Boulogne was accomplished in record time. The Southern Railway cross-channel steamer and train journey was performed equally speedily, and the carrying out of the whole movement from Dar-es-Salaam is
Apropos of fast running to and from the Continent, it is interesting to note that, despite the opposition which has always existed to the construction of a channel tunnel, proposals are now on foot for the construction of a high-speed, broad-gauge railway, linking London with Paris, and including in its make-up a two-track tunnel beneath the Channel. The railway would be 7ft. gauge throughout, and this would involve the building of entirely new tracks on both sides of the water, these tracks presumably taking the place of the existing rail routes between London and the English southern coast, and Paris and the northern seabord of France. In all, the railway would be some 253 miles in length, and the method of haulage would be by means of electric motors having a gyroscopic action. The total cost of the proposed railway is said to be in the neighbourhood of £189,000,000, and this fact alone would seem to condemn the scheme at the outset. Admirable facilities for movement between London and Paris are already provided by the Southern Railway of England and the French Northern system, and, although the author of the scheme states that the Northern Railway would actually benefit by the project, it is difficult to follow his line of reasoning; and the Southern Railway of England may certainly be expected vigorously to oppose any plan such as this.
Railways As Dock-Owners.
Five Atlantic liners berthed in the Southern Railway Docks at Southampton.
For the transport of miscellaneous traffic by passenger train, there is a big field in which the car designer may exercise his ingenuity and produce an all-purpose vehicle capable of meeting the hundred-and-one needs of to-day. A most interesting type of van recently produced by the London and North Eastern line admirably solves this problem. This van, 45ft. 8in. over buffers, carries a load of 12 tons, and has a tare weight of 21 ¾ tons. It is fitted with Westinghouse, vacuum, and hand brakes. The floor is of steel, and the body of composite construction, with lower panels of steel. The van has folding and falling doors at each end for the admittance of wheeled vehicles, aeroplanes, theatrical scenery, and other bulky traffics. For the reception of mails, parcels, and small packages generally, hinged shelves are arranged in tiers along each side, these shelves folding back flush with the interior walls when not in use. Two pairs of folding doors with ordinary drop windows are placed at each side of the car.
“…
Dimpling, the water falls, with here and there A glossy fly skimming in circlets gay …”
—James Grahame.
(Govt. Publicity Photo.)
The picturesque Waitakere Falls, Auckland, New Zealand.
(Written for the “N.Z. Railways Magazine” by
James Cowan
“The Puriri Trees are Laughing with Joy”
“ K A kata nga puriri o Taiamai.” It is a beautiful and meaningful expression of the Maori. An ancient proverbial saying of the Bay of Islands tribes, it is literally: “The puriri trees of Taiamai are laughing,” but to the native mind it holds more than that. It symbolises delight, the joy and gladness aroused by pleasing news. It signifies the smiling face of Nature on a summer day, when all seems to go well with the world. It is a greeting, a phrase of congratulation, a term used in honour of a welcome guest.
A giant kauri in Trounson National Park, North Auckland.
It was used lately in a message of felicitation from a Ngapuhi chief of Waimate to the first Maori Bishop of New Zealand, the Right Rev. F. A. Bennett. This note, published in a little Maori newspaper, “Te Toa Takitini,” sent one's memories back to the good north land, where the folk-saying originated. It is a tuneful and poetic expression; there is music in the name “Taiamai” when pronounced rightly, with the stress on the middle “a.”
You will not find Taiamai on the maps, which is a pity, for the name deserves preservation, if only for its euphony. It is applied generally by the Ngapuhi people to the country around the present township of Ohaeawai (which really should be called Taiamai) and the lands between the old mission station of Waimate and Lake Omapere. This is the most beautiful part of the North of New Zealand, a land of warm volcanic soil. Like the Tamaki isthmus, the plain on which Auckland is built, the plains of Taiamai are embossed with extinct volcanic cones swelling up gracefully from the levels. Some of these hills are grassed; others are dark with shrubs and fern and groves of the ancient puriri trees. Nearly every hill was a fortified hold of the long-gone warriors, and in the mysterious caverns of some of the cratercupped little mountains there rest the bones of immemorial dead. There stretches the good, easily-worked soil, in sheltered valleys, and watered by many clear springs and streams. The great central saucer of this region is filled by the waters of a beautiful lake, Omapere. English and Maori farmers live on its shores. A land perfectly formed for the comfortable home of a man is pleasant Taiamai.
The puriri is the forest glory of the land. The kauri is a thing of grandeur; the pohutukawa is a coast-edging of loveliness, but the puriri is the most plentiful and the most friendly of all trees. It grows everywhere. It shades the Maori dwellings; it gives a park-like aspect to the cultivated lands; it spreads itself in the most fantastic of branch-shapes. It is a living emblem of strength, durability, imperishable qualities. Nowhere is the puriri more abundant or more splendid in its dimensions than in this heart of the Ngapuhi country. There are great clumps of it in the old battlefield at Ohaeawai (half-way between the present township of that name and Koikohe); there is one huge battered veteran standing there, near the Maori church, on the site of the Ngapuhi stockade of 1845, which had its uppermost boughs shattered by a round of shot from British artillery.
This heart of the North was the cradle of British civilisation in New Zealand. Here the pioneer English missionaries established their missions, and Waimate was a green and beautiful oasis in the wilderness of forest and fern a century ago. The Maoris learned to grow wheat and became acquainted with other peaceful industries long before the British flag was hoisted over New Zealand by virtue of the
puriri. The mission churches of Waimate and Pakaraka lift their spires above the oaks and elms, and in the pretty churchyards there are memorials to missionary and lay pioneers, and to the Maori chiefs and warriors of the past.
Railway connection between Auckland city and the North makes it easy to visit this district, where climate and soil combine to form a most desirable land for work and for sheer pleasure of living. You travel almost as far as Kaikohe on your way to the Bay of Islands, with its famous fishing; the break-off to the coast takes you to Opua, a deep-water port a few miles from Russell, the olden whaleship resort Kororareka. Inland, if you keep on to Kaikohe and the Omapere country, there are some places of peculiar interest. One is Ngawha, a Rotorua in miniature, with its boiling springs, hot medicinal baths (all in the open at present), and boiling mud pools. The Maori for generations have taken their sick people, especially rheumatic sufferers, to Ngawha for the healing that its hot sulphur waters hold. There, too, are cinnabar deposits, and mineralogists are much interested in the possibilities of their development. There are many sources of wealth in this North New Zealand as yet almost untouched.
The Famous Fishing Grounds Of Northern New Zealand.
A typical shoal of fish to be seen throughout the year off Cape Brett.
“I think that the farmers of the district should be very pleased indeed to hear that the Railway Department has arranged to carry fat stock to Wellington four days a week, and to land it there the morning following loading,” said Mr. W. R. Anderson, of Utiku, in the course of a recent conversation with a reporter of the Taihape “Daily Times.”
Mr. Anderson said that, previously, fat stock was often on the line for forty-eight hours before being landed in Wellington, and the effects of this long journey on fat lambs, that had perhaps just come off the mothers, was most harmful. It was only on Monday morning that he himself had had some fat lambs trucked at Karioi, and was very disgusted when he was informed, on inquiry, that the lambs would not reach Wellington until Wednesday morning—in other words, after a period of forty-eight hours.
Coloured Posters by students of New Zealand Art Schools in Railways Poster Competition.
The change had been brought about largely through the representation of Messrs. T. Duncan and J. Webb, who had gone as a deputation to Wellington, and had interviewed the railway authorities. The train, so Mr. Anderson said, would leave Ohakune at 3 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of each week, and would arrive in Wellington on the following mornings respectively.
“It was hoped,” Mr. Anderson said, “that the farmers of the district would loyally support the train, and thus encourage the authorities to continue to run it.”
“This special train service means a big thing to the farmers of the district and many of us hope that the farmers will do all they can to reward the Railway authorities for their enterprise and consideration,” concluded Mr. Anderson.
Modern Railway Construction.
The construction work on the railway deviation from Wellington to Tawa Flat is proceeding apace, the most modern methods of tunnelling and railway engineering being employed.
A Story of Pioneer Railway Enterprise
In a thesis written for the degree of Master of Arts in History, Mr. G. A. Mill, B.A., recently presented a history of the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company (1882–1909) in which he described the manner in which a group of plucky and patriotic Wellington citizens took in hand the construction of a railway, and how they succeeded in making a payable proposition of a venture which, at times, was regarded by their contemporaries as a forlorn hope. In the following article will be found some extracts from Mr. Mills' valuable treatise.
In 1878 the region between Wellington and the tiny hamlet of Palmerston North was a wilderness of forest and flax and swamp lands, a veritable terra incognita. That was the day when wool values determined the prosperity or otherwise of New Zealand. Refrigeration was then a “newfangled notion.” The adventurers who desired to venture abroad to Foxton journeyed in an eight-horse coach which travelled along the beach, two wheels in the sea, in ten mile stages. The advocates of a railway into this wilderness were regarded by many people in those days as harmless eccentrics, but the idea, having taken root, was carefully nurtured by enthusiasts who lived to see the realisation of their dreams and to hear the acclamations of the local populace.
New Zealand Railways Head Office Staff, 1899.
Back row: (left to right): A. J. Will, W. H. Johnstone, F. S. Pope, J. E. Widdop, W. H. Gifford. Front row: E. J. Andrews: R. W. McVilly, W. S. Ridler, S. S. Millington, Donald Sinclair, J. D. Nash.
When it was first proposed to build a railway from the city most people favoured a line through the Hutt Valley. When this line had been completed the question arose as to whether the Wairarapa or the Manawatu systems should next be undertaken. Persistent agitation triumphed, and that unique piece of construction, the Rimutaka Incline, came into existence. Between 1875–80 the building of a railway between Wanganui, Palmerston North and Foxton, the introduction of Scandanavian settlers and the judicious sale of land demonstrated to all the wonderful potentialities of the northern parts of the Manawatu and districts farther up the coast. About this time people began to think of a main line of railway to connect Wellington with Auckland.
The tremendous cost of working the Rimutaka Incline (the five miles were counted as ten for the purposes of charges and fares) and the limited number of trains worked, as well as the extra amount of time occupied on the journey, definitely ruled out the proposal that the main trunk should follow the Wairarapa route. The Manawatu Gorge was at that time considered
The man who seems to have taken an early active interest in the project was Mr. James Wallace, a grocer of Lambton Quay, Wellington, who owned land in the Porirua and Upper Manawatu Districts. He travelled between his various interests fairly frequently and seems to have been one of the first to realise the importance and possibilities of the district. Before 1870 he had interested several, including Mr. E. G. Wakefield, in the route. Later he brought the proposal before the Hon. Mr. Macandrew, Public Works Minister of the Grey Ministry (1877–9) with the result that in the Public Works estimates of 1878 proposals were brought down for a line through the district. Speaking on the question the Minister said: “In addition to the area of 300,000 acres of Maori land, 180,000 of which have been under negotiation for some time, the line will render available for settlement 100,000 acres now in the hands of the Crown; and there can be no doubt that taken together the lands will eventually realise an amount which will go far towards covering the cost of the proposed railway. I think Parliament and the people will agree with me that the sooner the connection is made the better it will be for the country.” The Minister had surveyors out, also. There were three alternate routes, and the difficulty was to find one which in every respect was suitable. By the time the House met to receive his statement in 1879 Macandrew was able to report the expenditure of £1,500 on surveys and preliminary work. For six miles, near Wellington, the line had been located and pegged ready for the letting of contracts. Contracts let included £9,000 for rolling stock from England, £4,700 for miscellaneous plant, and £805 for construction. Preliminary surveys had covered 23 miles of the Wellington end and 8 miles between Foxton and Levin.
On The Northern Section.
(Photo—G. W. Millward.)
A mixed train at Helensville Station.
It was hoped to have 1,000,000 acres available for settlement when the line had reached the Manawatu. The plan was to reserve to the Crown the increase in value due to the railway, utilising such profits to pay for the line. However, in October, 1879, Sir George Grey's ministry was defeated on a motion of censure alleging extravagant and imprudent expenditure, and Sir John Hall became Premier, pledged to prudence and economy.
Train services in New Zealand were reduced by 370,000 train miles and the speeds also cut down. Pessimism reigned. Few believed that any of the existing lines would return even interest charges, while all agreed that money had been frittered away without adequate return in many small undertakings.
So a Commission was set up to report on the proposed line. After a flying trip through the country they returned and condemned it by bell, book and candle, on the grounds that the proposal was premature, the country it would open up was still in the bands of the native owners, and that the value of the land that would be served was greatly over-rated. They advised that the expenditure at the Wellington end be at once stopped and the labour employed thereon transferred to the Masterton and Mauriceville section.
The Commission's report had one important effect. Whereas previously there had been general lassitude towards the project, now public opinion became animated in its favour. Deputations waited on Ministers, meetings were held, articles and letters appeared in the press. All extolled the advantages of the line and spoke candidly of the iniquitous short-sightedness of the Commissioners.
Mr. John Plimmer, “the Father of Wellington,” at once threw his hat into the ring. He advocated the formation of a company and expressed the conviction that there would be few people in Wellington or on the West Coast who would not take shares in it. The agitation took a practical form at a meeting of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce on 29th September, 1880, when Mr. W. T. L. Travers brought down a series of resolutions in favour of a private company to carry on the work and inviting neighbouring districts to participate in the movement. Mr. Plimmer, in speaking to the motion, gave the views of many of the business men:
All Ready For A Good Day'S Sport.
(Photo—L. Hinge.)
Race Day at the Hutt Park, Wellington.
“I know we can save some hundreds of thousands of pounds per year in what can be produced in the district if the West Coast line is completed. If the theory is put into proper form I am willing to take up £1,000 worth of shares. If I lose that thousand and the railway is made I will gain £5,000; if the railway is not made I will lose £5,000.”
On his motion the meeting carried a resolution in favour of the formation of a company. The Committee appointed composed Messrs. Travers, Levin, Johnston, Moorhouse, Jas. Wallace, Shannon, Brandon, M.H.R., Hutchison, M.H.R., George, Greenfield, Woodward, A. Young, Plimmer, J. H. Wallace, Hon. P. Buckley, and Dr. Grace; Mr. J. Wallace acting as secretary.
Here in such cautious beginnings we see success for the Company to be formed by these business people of substance and note. The committee set to work at once. Their first step was to deputationise the Government in an endeavour to persuade them to continue the line, but with no success. Negotiations were then entered into to discover what concessions the Government would offer. The result was that the Government offered to give to a company all the work done, rights over land, all rolling stock, plant or materials on the spot or on the water, together with the right to reclaim a piece of land between Pipitea and Kaiwarra with the spoil from the tunnels, etc., to serve as a station site.
The proposals which the Company in its turn brought before the Government were three in number. The first was that the Government should guarantee a reasonable amount of interest on the capital with a view to tempting the British investor. Next it was proposed that the Crown lands through which the line would pass should be charged with the cost of the railway, thus purchasing the line for the country. Thirdly they desired that the Company should receive a grant, about 100,000 acres of Crown land along the route. The proposals of the Committee were refused, and late in December all the city had guessed that the Committee had turned down as insufficient all the proposals of the Government.
Christchurch-Lyttelton Electrification.
One of the Rotary Convertors at the traction sub-station at Woolston. On the right are the automatic control panels, and in the background the D.C. 1,500 volt switchgear.
(To becontinued.)
—Emerson: translated from old French.
Scarcely anything in the recent history of Canterbury and the West Coast is more encouraging than the steady increase in the traffic carried through the Otira Tunnel (says the Christ-church “Sun”). The figures recently published in Christchurch show in the clearest possible way how great a necessity it is that the Tunnel satisfies, and how it has opened the way to progress on both coasts, and accelerated it; and the steadiness and the rate of the increase, taken together, are the best of indications for the future. The same set of facts, by the way, may be commended to the appetite and digestion of the grumbling critics who never tired of condemning the tunnel scheme, who even counselled the Government to down tools, cut losses, and leave the Alps half-bored, and who have looked but sourly on the operation of the line since the tunnel link completed it.
It is interesting to note that, when the monthly figures and total figures for the years 1924 to 1928 are studied, the marked yearly increase is produced, not by heavy fluctuations with a credit balance, but by steadily maintained monthly increases. Thus, the yearly figures, in hundreds of thousands of tons, for the last five years, are 302, 355, 422, 450, 537; and, if we take the totals for any one month, say June, in each of those years, they are, in tens of thousands, 25, 35, 38, 39, 56. For November, again, they are 26, 28, 31, 39, 49. Only once or twice does a monthly figure show a drop from the figure for the same month of the previous year. The increases, month by month, from 1924 to 1928, have, roughly, doubled the tonnage carried.
On The Canterbury Side Of The Otira Tunnel.
A striking view of Broken River as seen from No. 13 tunnel, Midland Line, South Island.
It is worth remembering, also, that this has been achieved in spite of a long and fairly severe depression in New Zealand, from which neither Canterbury nor the West Coast has escaped.
On the contrary, in fact; for one of the most severely depressed industries has been sawmilling, a staple industry on the West Coast. Yet, though many mills have worked short time, or been closed for considerable periods, the increase of the tunnel traffic has not even faltered. A revival of the timber will push it still more vigorously ahead. Canterbury and the West Coast may congratulate themselves on their possessing this channel by which prosperity flows from each to the other, and on which they must look, this year and through a long future, as a connection indispensable to them, and as one of the most valuable commercial and transport connections in the Dominion.
A Popular Railway Picnic Resort
(Photos by P. J. Rodgers, Petone.)
On Saturday, 23rd February, the annual picnic of the combined staffs of Lower Hutt Workshops and the Maintenance Shops at Kaiwarra, drew a record attendance of members and their friends to Maidstone Park—Wellington's beautiful rail-served picnic ground. The picnic arrangements were in the hands of a large and capable committee, to whose energetic work the success of the outing was, in a large measure, due. A feature of the day was a free distribution of toys and sweets to the children, to whom the outing proved a memorable one… The views shew: (top) the picnickers at Maidstone Park, and (bottom) Petone Railway Station before the departure of the special picnic train.
During a recent school picnic to the world-famed Otira Gorge, the following impression was gained by two young pupils of the Marist Brothers' School, Christchurch.
To relieve the mind and body from the monotony of every-day life, everyone, whether young or old, requires a day's outing occasionally.
On The Way To Otira.
Sloven's Creek Viaduct, near Avoca, on the Midland Line, South Island.
A year of school work with tests and home-work is not always relished by the average school boy, but when, on condition that he makes good progress, he is offered a picnic, he settles down to honest hard work.
The Marist Brothers' school boys in Christchurch were overjoyed when their generous teachers informed them that arrangements had been made with the Railway Department for a picnic to Otira, at a ridiculously low charge. After a very stormy night the morning broke fine, and long before the time of departure had arrived, the railway station platform was a mass of smiling faces, all looking forward to a great day.
On that memorable morning, at 8.20 a.m., the Otira excursion train, bearing its happy quota of cheering children, and the writers of this brief article, steamed out of the Christchurch station. Although at the outset the sky did not give indications of a very favourable day, it did not in any way dampen our ardour, and, as we reached the more open country, the sun shone brightly. At almost every country station we could see small groups of well-wishers who cheered us on our way.
At Springfield station, sandwiches and steaming hot tea were partaken of. After refreshment we resumed our journey, and the countryside began to unfold to us the glories of Nature. It was not long before we had a grand view of the famous Waimakariri, while the many tunnels en route caused a lot of interest and merriment to the young people. As the locomotive puffed on over great
From then on, till the train steamed into Arthur's Pass, there were many exclamations about the wonderful mountain scenery along this line of railway.
At the latter station we were welcomed by a shower of rain, and for those who were somewhat faint-hearted about taking the popular walk over the Gorge, the bad weather served as a good excuse to remain in the carriages. However, the more stout-hearted, and there were many, the majority being boys, accompanied by their teachers, set off on that famous walk over the “Hill.”
Before we had travelled very far the rain ceased, so with lighter hearts we trudged along, viewing the ever-changing scenery and looking with wonderment at the various shrubs and trees, peculiar to the Gorge. The mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, and streams all presented a beautiful scene.
“The Scenery Of A Fairy Dream.”
Lake Mapourika, West Coast, South Island, with Franz Josef Glacier mirrored in its crystal waters.
What a wonderful day it was, as we tramped on through the bush, gathering ferns and flowers, or listening to our little feathered songsters, chief among which was the “mocking bird,” and it was with feelings of regret that we made our exit from the mountains.
Arriving at Otira station without mishap we joined those who had trained through the tunnel. Our praise of the magnificent scenery which they had missed must have left them envious.
At about 4.30 p.m. we left Otira, and made merry on our homeward journey, once more enjoying the thrills of passing through the tunnels.
All too soon Christchurch station was reached, and, although everybody was happy, the boys, at least, were showing signs of weariness. Needless to say, all tracks led to our respective homes, where we retired early to recall and enjoy again the incidents of a perfect day's outing.
The Piccadilly Theatre—tucked away in that narrow street dominated by the huge mass of the Regent Palace Hotel—is showing a complete programme of talking films. Last night I had my first experience of “seehearing” —if one may coin such a word. The programme was divided into two parts, the first part being a sort of acclimatizing process—like going slowly in for a swim from the feet upwards. The system is the “Vitaphone,” which, I understand, makes a disc record synchronize with the picture. At any rate the familiar schh - h - h— was plainly audible.
At Maidstone Park, Upper Hutt.
Maintenance Branch team, winners of the Tug-of-War, at Railway Picnic, 1929.
The first item consisted of a film of a number of young women, with very shapely extremities, blowing a fanfare of trumpets. This was perfectly meaningless, and rather noisy. However, it showed that the apparatus was working all right. One thing did rather surprise me, and that was, that the trumpets did not sound anything like as “brassy” as one would have expected. They were sort of muffled, as though the advice to “put a sock in it” had been literally carried out.
The first film was followed by a picture of an orchestra in full blast, and showed the perfection of the synchronization of movement and sound. Here again the brass was pleasantly muffled, while the strings and wood-winds were mellow and full of colour. After this Mr. Charles Hackett sang, “Questa o quella,” followed by “La Donna e mobile” from Rigoletto. These were both good, well photographed and as resonant as a first class gramophone. Here one could begin to see the technique of the “Talkies,” or rather, the effort made in trying to make the performers appear real.
Living, as we do, in three dimensions, and also possessing the faculty of perspective vision, it is obviously impossible to make anything appear real in only two dimensions. The illusion of a third dimension, therefore, can only be suggested by vivid contrast between the moving figure and the background. This was done—rather crudely, I thought—by exaggerating the animation of the performer, and dressing him, or her, in a costume that tended to focus the eye. In fact, if the performer was singing, talking, laughing, screaming, or playing a portable instrument, he or she did sing, talk, laugh, scream, or play with a vehemence that didn't let you forget it—if your eyesight was all right.
The next item was a gent with a mandolin. He had jet black hair that positively glittered with oil. He certainly could produce every variety of sound from the most delicate “plonk” with his thumb, to a crashing chord-like tripping over a harp. Following this came a very animated young woman who sang with great vigour. Unfortunately she gesticulated to such an extent in the “close-ups” that her hands appeared, on the screen, to be about a foot and a half long.
The next item was a little play in which not more than two people appeared together at any one time. (We were now in, up to about the middle.) The play—as a play—was excellent. It was short and snappy, human without being mushy, no sob-stuff, humorous and ended up
The Vitaphone being a triumph of “God's own country,” naturally employs “God's own actors,” talking “God's own ‘slanguage.'” In an ordinary film this does not worry you, because when you see the performers doing a lot of mouthing you don't bother about what they're saying, and if you can't grasp the story from the action the screen usually helps in clear print, as, for example:
“The roseate gleam of early dawn lit the white mantle of the snows upon the mountain top, and Angela knew that her night of trail was o'er,'” or “Say kid, you'd better put crape in your hair; your brain's dead.”
On The Western Side Of The Southern Alps.
(Photo. J. McAllister)
The Greymouth-Christchurch Express.
And you know exactly where you are.
Again, with the ordinary film, if you only just go in for four penn'orth of hot hands you can shut your eyes, and everything's dead! Conversely, if you've lost the drums of both ears, but have reasonable eye-sight, you can have a very jolly evening. Not so with the “Talkies.” If you suddenly shut both eyes, the voice that you had quite persuaded yourself was coming from the mouth you were watching, sounds as if it was under your chair. And if you put your fingers in your ears you can't follow anything. This makes the show rather tiring, as you have to keep two senses screwed up and working the whole time. For even with the two characters speaking alternately, you can't sense which one it is without concentrating. Mind you, the voices are loud—in proportion to the speakers, who appear about eight feet high—and an eight-foot American bass or baritone twang is some sound; believe me, kid.
This leads to another problem. A pretty face hasn't always a pretty voice (I am thinking of peacocks in the monsoon). So if the “Talkies” become really popular. Britishers should score.
The first half of the programme finished up with Martinelli—the great Italian dramatic tenor—singing “Vesti la guibba” from Pagliacci. This was magnificent, and when he ceased and bowed to the audience there was a frenzy of clapping, fair proof that the crowd was carried away.
The second half of the programme consisted of the first all-talking film to be screened—“The Terror,” by Edgar Wallace. As a film I thought it was sheer “tripe.” As a novelty it was interesting.
I won't bore you with a description of the plot, which was of the lonely-inn-full-of-secret-passages - and - underground - vaults - the - size - of - St. Paul's - complete - with - organ
The drop curtain was of black velvet with a sort of illuminated white horror. Very effective—and it didn't speak, thank goodness!
The film starts with a gent, in evening dress, cloak and mask, who “talks” in a deep American bass voice—all that dreadful piffle about: “This is the first all-talking film in the world. Produced by Warner Brothers,” photographed by some-one-else, directed by so-and-so, scenario by Flapdoodle, and all that heartbreaking stuff that you can miss—in an ordinary picture—by shutting your eyes.
The second shock was seeing a close-up of the outside of a prison with the following on a brass plate:—Governor of His Majesty's Prison, London (England).
As I said before, the story is “tripe”—but some of the noises are excellent.
Screams (there was a lot of screaming) were first class, the film showing you one of those “very close-ups,” where the face rushed into the camera, all quivering Also when Ferdinand comes in with a bag of golf clubs which rattle in a most realistic manner. Here again—though we were now right under, head and all —the effort of straining the ears for the words and the search for the speaker was most tiring.
In The Marlborough Sounds.
S.S. “Tamahine” unloading at Picton Wharf.
As a novelty it was a good show, and may find a permanent place in the amusements of the public. However, I always like to feel that the kinema is the deaf man's kinema, and should remain as such. If I want to hear people talk, then give me real flesh and blood, not a something in two dimensions, with a voice that comes at you as though reflected from a flat surface.
“The wide-awake railway administrators are studying the public's convenience as never before and increased railway revenue must inevitably result,” writes “Quest” in the “New Zealand Sportsman.” He attributes the increased attendances of the public at recent meetings to this cause. “For instance,” he continues, “Wellington patrons at the Wanganui races last week were able to return home a few hours after the races. This was effected by the Department holding up the Napier-Wellington express at Palmerston till the arrival of the ‘special' from Wanganui.”
Our Motor Gransport Fleet
The Railway buses arrive at Government House, Wellington.
In The Grounds At Government House.
Good work was done by the Department's fleet of buses which were recently requisitioned for the transport of members of the Lower Hutt Branch of the League of Mothers to a function at Government House, Wellington. Writing to the Railway Bus Manager on behalf of the Committee of the League, Mrs. E. Dawson expressed appreciation for “the excellent and complete arrangement made for our transport.”
Multiple-Trip and Family Concessions
Lunch Hampers, Pillows And Dust Coats
Under the above headings the “Levin Chronicle” gives particulars taken from a speech delivered by Mr. S. R. Stedman, the local Stationmaster, to the Lunch Club.
Among other matters, Mr. Stedman mentioned that a bearer ticket for twelve trips could be bought, for cash at a saving of 12 ½ per cent., and a twenty-trip ticket at a saving of 20 per cent. The latter would entitle the holder to ten return trips to Wellington. These tickets were unrestricted as to the period for which they could be used, and were transferable.
Taking The Fright Out Of Freight.
A portion of the Railway Department's display in the Transportation Pageant, held recently in Wellington.
Family tickets offered another great advantage. Second - class “family return tickets” would be issued at three times the adult return fare for distances of not less than twenty miles, and the number of children in any family who might travel on one such ticket was unlimited. The children must be under sixteen years of age and be accompanied by at least one of their parents.
The checking of luggage was another boon to the traveller, who, provided that he held a passenger ticket and paid a small checking fee, was relieved of the trouble of looking after his effects.
Luncheon hampers were now available at Marton and Frankton Junctions, and a lady with children, travelling on the Main Trunk, might notify an attendant on the train that she wanted lunch brought to her, and for 3/-, this service would be rendered. The privileges would be increasingly availed of as they became more widely known. At the refreshment rooms a remarkably good meal was provided for 2/6.
Another convenience for Main Trunk travellers had been established by the provision of pillows, which could be hired at 1/- each. Dust-coats were lent at the same charge on the Rotorua line, Main Trunk, and certain branches. Hat bags for ladies' use on the dusty sections of line were provided free.
“If you have not had the pleasure of travelling in a sleeping compartment,” said Mr. Stedman, “I would advise you to do so.” The speaker also mentioned that outside the ticket office of every station was placed a framed schedule, showing thte fares to all the principal stations in New Zealand. Nevertheless, people kept on coming to the office to inquire about fares. He added that if any person had any complaint against the railways, he or she should not hesitate to go to the station-master personally. There were many features of the system that were not understood by the public, but the officials would be only too pleased to make the position clear.
Action similar to that taken by Mr. Stedman should do much to make more fully known details of the many advantages our Department gives to its clients.
Before communities could grow, before industries could be established, the railroads had to be built. It is to their everlasting credit that they never failed.—From the “Railway Gazette,” London.
Olive Scandlyn
“Well I never!” grumbled the Jack-in-the-box. “Just look at this!”
He dived down into the bottom of the box, and brought to light a tiny grey mouse.
“I was just wondering why my springs wouldn't work properly. Run away, you naughty little thing!”
A Maid Of Honour.
Miss Mona Clark (Railways), Maid of Honour to Cleopatra (Transportation Queen), who was voted the winner of the Queen Carnival held in Wellington in aid of the Dominion War Memorial and Museum.
“Oh, please, Jack-in-the-box, won't you let me stay with you?” pleaded the little mouse. “I don't take up much room, and I am so afraid to go on the floor, because the big black cat is there.” The poor little thing shivered, and crept up closer to Jack, whose ill-humour vanished.
“Oh, you dear little thing! Do you need a home as badly as all that? I am very sorry, because you can't stay in my box for my springs won't work properly. Then the shopman wouldn't be able to sell me. Not that I want to be sold! I rather like it here. I wonder what I can do for you.”
He thought hard for a while, and then called the other toys who were sleeping in their boxes.
“Toys! Come here, I want you!”
Out they scrambled from their boxes, and came over onto the table where the Jack-in-the-box was standing.
“What is the matter, Jack?” asked the toy soldier; “what can I do for you?”
Jack leaned over and picked up the little mouse.
“This little fellow is wanting a home ever so badly. Will somebody adopt him, please? He can't go in my box, you see, because my springs won't work properly.” He glanced anxiously around at the assembled toys, who all seemed to be thinking deeply.
“I'm sorry,” sighed the baby doll; “I'd like to have him in my box, but there really isn't room.”
“And there's no room in mine, either,” cried the monkey sadly.
The little mouse clasped his hands together tightly.
“Oh, won't somebody take me, please? I'm only a little mouse.”
Suddenly the teddy bear clapped her hands.
“I knoww,” she cried joyfully. “We'll make a nest for him right at the top of the shelf. We can all spare a piece of tissue paper from our boxes!”
“Hurray!” cheered Jack; “I'll make the nest for you!”
“And I'll climb up to the shelf with it!” shouted the monkey. “I'm a good climber.”
Such a busy time followed! And such a heap of tissue paper was found! The little baby mouse was so excited; he kept jumping about and falling head over heels, and that made the busy toys laugh merrily at him.
Then when the nest was made, the little mouse was carefully placed in it. So cosy he looked, and so very pleased with himself!
After a while the monkey took him ever so carefully in one hand and climbed with him up to the high shelf, where he placed the little mouse in the darkest corner.
“Hurray!” cheered all the toys together. “You have a home of your own now little baby mouse!”
Rodan Hathaway
“If I had money, I'd travel!”
How many times is this said during a lifetime? How many times have you, yourself said it; and when you say it, what visions pass through your mind?”
The Sunny Southern Lakes.
Queenstown, on beautiful Lake Wakatipu, South Island, New Zealand.
Venice—gleaming waterways and glinting sunshine — and evening, calm and peaceful, gondolas gliding through the darkness, and the soft voices of the boatmen, drifting dreamily along. Is it Venice that calls you?
Or America? The Modern World? Land of electric buttons and dollar bills. Cabarets, roadhouses, theatre, hustle, bustle, and ever and eternally, the Mighty Dollar! Does America appeal?
Perhaps Paris, the “gay Paris” of the popular ragtime, or the picturesque France of the peasant tale. France has a mighty appeal to many — France, which, but a few years ago, stood for horror, bloodshed and tears, but which has ever stood for glory — France is a beckoning hand too.
Switzerland, Holland, Germany! All delightful places to be explored. China and Japan! Fascinating and alluring. Hawaii! Romantic and mysterious.
So many lands, so many calls.
And the strongest call of all, is that of the Old Country. England's appeal is irresistible.
And what of New Zealand?
Does she attract? Do we know her so well that we can afford to leave her for foreign ports?
New Zealanders! Do you know your own country?
There are so many people in the world who have never heard of New Zealand so many who have only heard, and know no more. Every day inquiries are coming to New Zealand from overseas. This shows more and more how little people know of the Dominion.
“Do we speak English?”
“Are we all Natives?”
“Have we any schools here?”
One large manufacturing firm on the Continent, actually sent samples of soft goods to their New Zealand agent, with the suggestion that they might do to clothe the natives!
New Zealanders! The world is asking: “Is New Zealand civilised?”
What a challenge to ignore!
Literature is prepared, films are made, agents are appointed, all with one aim — that of proclaiming New Zealand to the World; but all that is not enough. The Dominion wants every New Zealander to help in this great work. Everyone of us should be eager to know New Zealand, and help others to know it.
“If I had money I'd travel,” must be altered to, “When I have money, I'll travel New Zealand,” and “I have money, so I'll see my own country!”
Publicity, like Charity, begins at home.
See New Zealand, and know about it,—then tell others.
Know Rotorua, Waitomo Caves, Tongariro National Park, Mount Egmont, the Southern Lakes, Milford Sound, Mount Cook, Franz Josef, and the hundreds of marvellous places New Zealand has in store to surprise you.
Learn about the sport the Dominion can offer. Experience the thrills of swordfishing, of deerstalking, troutfishing, and all the other wondrous attractions that are found in our happy Islands.
With the travel facilities that are now at hand every New Zealander should know his own country.
The New Zealand Railways provide every opportunity for cheap travel, and endeavour in every possible way to allow you to see and know New Zealand.
With the many advantages which the Railways offer, who would not travel?
When you know New Zealand, then travel to foreign ports, and “tell the World!”
Don't sit back and let others do all the work, don't listen while people ask, “Are New Zealanders civilised?” Get up and hustle; make New Zealand a place on the map, something to go and see.
We have the goods, why not help to advertise them?
Modern Railway Publicity Methods.
Window Display in the Railway Central Booking Office at Auckland.
In this, the second instalment of his article on “The Inauguration of the Australian Railways,” Mr. Vogel concludes his interesting account of pioneer railway construction in New South Wales.
The opening up of the extensive coal measures at Newcastle, a seaport sixty miles north of Sydney, and the increasing settlement of the fertile Hunter River Valley, were factors of major importance in the early railway history of Australia. Lack of cheap and reliable communication here (as elsewhere) was proving a serious drawback to development, for the average cost of cartage was two shillings per ton mile, and the time of delivery uncertain.
At Maidstone Park, Upper Hutt.
Dancers at a recent Railway Picnic.
Undaunted by the difficulties experienced by the Sydney Railway Company (referred to in my previous article), a movement for the construction of a railway between Newcastle and Maitland, a town on the Hunter River, twenty miles inland, was taken up with a view to securing a portion of the northern district trade. This would be carried by rail to Newcastle, and thence by large ships to Sydney, instead of being collected by small craft on the lower Hunter River, and conveyed by them to Sydney.
This movement took definite shape at a meeting help in April, 1853, when a committee was appointed, and the proposed capital of £100,000 was subscribed for the construction of the railway. The Government was asked to grant concessions similar to those granted the Sydney Railway Company.
After the passing of an Act, in October, 1853, incorporating the “Hunter River Railway Company,” the Government, granted land to be used for railway purposes only, financial aid, and, also, permission to bring to the Colony 500 railway labourers. (These labourers had to repay £13 of their passage money, but their families were brought out free.)
However, this company soon experienced the same difficulties as the Sydney company, and the Government, recognising that the colonists would not advance and funds for railway purposes unless the Government guaranteed interest and also capital in excess of that subscribed by private individuals, decided to acquire this company's property also, the purchase price being the amount of paid-up capital only, viz., £54,337.
The company's engineer, Mr. Wallace, resigned in February, 1852, and was succeeded by
Efficient Rail Tractor In Use At Putaruru, North Island, New Zealand.
Besides slipping and ricking up wagons, this machine can haul a load of 216 tons. Note front and rear footplates and sandbox.
Mr. Whitton strongly opposed these proposals, pointing out that there were many grades of 1 in 8 on the western road, and that, under such conditions, traffic could not be worked satisfactorily. He recommended that a railway, worked by steam locomotives, should be built over the Blue Mountains.
The Governor-General combated this proposal, and, in support of his views, stated that a company of sappers and miners of the Royal Engineers, under the direction of Captain Hawkins, R.E., had made careful surveys, and had proved that a railway, as suggested by Mr. Whitton, was thoroughly impacticable.
The question remained in abeyance for some time, as Mr. Whitton hoped to convince Sir William Denison's successor, Sir John Young, of the superiority of his proposal to construct a 4ft. 8 ½in. gauge steam railway across the mountains.
At that time it was generally considered that such a railway could not be constructed over the rugged ridges of the dividing range, excepting at exorbitant cost, but, on that point, Mr. Whitton's opinions could not be shaken.
In 1860 he submitted proposals for the extension of the western line, at £25,211 per mile, across the Blue Mountains to Bathurst, and of the southern line, at £18,760 per mile, from Picton to Goulburn. These were to be first class railways, with the best permanent way and the easiest curves and gradients.
The Government, however, rejected these proposals as being too costly, maintaining that the resources of the colony would not justify such heavy expenditure, and decided that means for cheaper transport facilities be devised. In consequence the construction of horse-tramways and cheap narrow-gauge railways received very strong support.
In 1861, the Governor-General, Sir John Young, directed Captain Ward, R.E., to mark out a line from Picton to Goulburn, a distance of 81 miles, that should cost no more than £300,000 and be adapted to carry locomotive engines of 13 tons weight, including water. Moreover, the gradients were not to be steeper than 1 in 20, and the curves not sharper than 200 yards in radius, excepting in positions where it may appear to be more economical to surmount slopes by horse traction, stationary engines, or zig-zags.
Mr. Whitton strongly opposed this latter proposal, and conclusively proved that the suggested amount was totally inadequate to construct any description of railway which would be serviceable to the colony. Nevertheless, in order to satisfy the demand for cheap railways, he revised his previous estimates for first-class lines and submitted, although very reluctantly, greatly reduced plans and estimates for cheaper construction.
Mr. Whitton favoured the Irish gauge, 5ft. 3in., and desired to make the New South Wales gauge conform to that of the neighbouring colonies of Victoria and South Australia, but, as the 4ft. 8 ½in. gauge was favoured locally, he accepted the situation, and, subsequently, fought most strenuously for its retention. It is due entirely to his determined resistance, that the State was spared from having different gauges thrust upon it.
So convincing was Mr. Whitton's report that Parliament approved of his proposals, and he successfully carried the railways not only to Goulburn and over the Blue Mountains to Bathurst, but also to the northern railway extension.
When the extension of the railway from Goulburn to the Victorian border, and that from Bathurst towards the Western Plains was considered, great efforts were made for the adoption of cheap narrow gauge railways and two-feet horse-tramways, and with a view to ascertaining the best means of facilitating inland traffic, a Parliamentary Select Committee was appointed in 1870 to report upon the question. After taking a great deal of evidence, the Committee recommended that the Main Trunk lines should not be continued beyond Goulburn, Bathurst and Murrurundi in the north. Beyond these towns 3ft gauge railways, laid with 5lbs, rails, were to be constructed at an estimated cost of £1,000 per mile.
(Photo. W. W. Stewart.)
Broad Gauge locomotive, built by Slaughter, Grunning and Co., and used on the Bluff-Invercargill-Winton line, Southland, New Zealand. Cylinders, 15in. × 22in.; diameter driving wheels, 5ft.
Fortunately, New South Wales had in Mr. Whitton, Engineer-in-Chief for Railways, a gentleman of ability, indomitable perseverance, and unquestionable integrity. He fought very stubbornly against the recommended break of gauge in New South Wales and the adoption of cheap and inferior railways.
Mr. Whitton had the trial surveys revised, with the result that, by modifying earth and structural works, the estimates for the construction of the extensions beyond the towns named, could be reduced to £7,000 per mile for railways built to the 4ft. 8 ½in. gauge and laid with 70lbs. rails. The Government approved of the proposal, and the mistake of narrow gauge railways of very inferior construction was finally averted.
Railway construction proceeded very slowly during the first twenty years, only 473 miles being opened for traffic in 1875.
On the occasion of the opening of the line to Bathurst, in 1876, the then Governor, Sir H. Robinson, delivered a stirring speech on the necessity of extending the railways into the interior. As a result of this, greater activity was displayed in railway construction, and, during the following ten years, not less than 1,259 miles were opened for traffic.
The connection of the New South Wales railways system with that of Victoria was effected in June, 1883, and that between New South Wales and Queensland in January, 1888.
A Study in Contrasts
The machine shop at the old workshops, Petone. The defective lighting caused by overhead shafting, and the congested condition of the workshops are well illustrated in the above photograph.
(Photos, A. P. Godher.)
The heavy machine shop at the new workshops in the Hutt Valley. In this building there is ample floor space. The absence of overhead belting assists in the splendid lighting of these shops.
In the handling of small packages of all descriptions, many ingenious appliances are nowadays pressed into service at railway passenger and goods stations. At Home it is the rule to employ the most modern machinery at all points, and especially is this the case at the railway-owned docks which abound around the coast.
One of the most extensive installations of labour-saving machinery is found at the Southampton Docks of the Southern Railway. At this point, an enormous overseas traffic is handled, and eight years ago there was begun the modernisation of the equipment of the port. Included in this modernisation was the introduction of a fleet of electric trucks for use in connection with the loading and discharging of all types of cargoes. At the present time, the Elwell-Parker electric elevating platform truck is favoured, some fifty-two trucks of this make being in daily service. The truck has a capacity of two tons, and is equipped with Edison batteries of 21 cells, 225 ampere hours, of sufficient capacity to supply power for eight working hours with an hour's boosting charge during the day. The steel truck platform is some 6ft. 8in. long and 3ft. 3in. wide, wooden stillages 7ft. in length and 4ft. 3in. wide being employed. The platform is 11in. from the ground when lowered ready to pick up the tray, which is then electrically elevated some 4 ½ inches higher above ground, thus becoming ready for the movement of the load to any point. As indicating the utility of trucks such as these, one has the statement of officials on the spot that the average saving in labour is equivalent to five men for each electric truck. In addition, through the use of this equipment, loading and unloading operations at the port have been considerably speeded up.
At the First National Conference on Street and Highway Safety in America, the Hon. H. Hoover told delegates that, in 1924, street and crossing accidents were responsible for 22,600 deaths and 678,000 serious personal injuries, or a loss by death each year equalling one-third of the American losses by death in the World War, and 2 ½ times as many casualties as all those suffered by the American forces.
Revision and Consolidation of Rules and Instructions
General Manager'S Decision
A Necessary work which the General Manager of Railways (Mr. H. H. Sterling) has given instruction to have put in hand immediately is the revision and rearrangement of all the rule books, code books, instructions and supplementary advices to staff now in existence.
Mr. G. T. Wilson (late Chief Clerk of the Commercial Branch), has been entrusted with this work, which is a very heavy one and is expected to take many months before it can be completed.
The present books of instructions comprise a working timetable (containing, in addition to the operating schedule for the running of all trains in the various districts, numerous instructions bearing upon detailed work in connection with train running); an appendix to working timetables containing a miscellaneous assortment of instructions bearing upon train working and also special sections on the operation of electric lock and block, tablet working, ambulance instructions, etc.; a special booklet containing Westinghouse Brake instructions; a rule book for the general guidance of all members of the Service; a local circular book containing matters which have come under the notice of various District Officers from time to time, as being those upon which special instructions to the staff are advisable in order to make clear points arising out of the general instructions, and also bearing upon Tariff matters; the Tariff itself, a necessarily complex compilation containing regulations relating to all the general and local rates applying throughout the Dominion to every kind of commodity carried upon the Railway; and other separate booklets bearing upon such subjects as the regulations governing staff matters and employment, the through-booking of goods between the Islands, etc.
No general revision of the kind has been put through during the last twenty years, and the result is, that with the many innovations introduced in recent times, the need for such revision has become pressing. Already certain general proposals in regard to the manner in which the work will be carried out are assuming shape. For instance, a book to be entitled, “The Operating Book of the New Zealand Railways,” will probably be issued. This will contain all the rules bearing on general operating, including tablet instructions, Westinghouse Brake instructions, automatic signalling, electric lock and block methods, etc. The “Appendix to Working Timetable” and local instruction circular book may be done away with, the “regulations” being enlarged to include all necessary general matter transferred from the rule book. A “Traffic Code of Instructions Book” will be specially prepared for the use of those employed in the Traffic Department of the Railways. This will contain extraneous matter from the Working Timetable and the Appendix to Working Timetable. The Working Timetable will thus be relieved of much matter not directly relating to train arrangements.
It is also intended to issue a circular from Head Office at frequent intervals to include amendments to all instruction books such as Tariff Rulings and other new instructions of a permanent nature. This will relieve the district local circulars of much of their present loading and be available for preservation in a more permanent form than is possible under present methods.
The through-booking pamphlet will be enlarged to combine all particulars relating to the through services arranged by the Department whether by road, rail or sea. This book will be particularly valuable in view of the constantly extending operation of the Department in the direction of co-ordinated services.
“
Dipp'd in the hues of sunset, wreath'd in zones, The clouds are resting on their mountain thrones…”
—Montgomery.
(Govt. Publicity Photo.)
Sunset on the Waiau River, Lake Manapouri, South Island, New Zealand.
At the present moment the world is undoubtedly suffering from an excess of transport facilities, which are naturally fighting each other for business.
According to orthodox theory, this should make for cheapness of carriage, because everybody has to cut costs in order to show profits, but in ordinary commercial conditions not all the factors are taken into account.
When we say that motor transport is cheaper than rail we do not include in the former bill the amount spent out of taxation on making and repairing the roads, or the compensation paid out of local rates for widening streets, and so on.
From the immediate business angle of course, which takes short views, there is no particular reason why we should; the cashier is concerned with the bill, and no more than the bill. But in any scientific analysis of costs these factors could no more be left out than the cost of the hangars out of an air company's balance-sheet. And if they were included it might not be found that the motor had cheapened transport much.
Moreover, a surplus of available transport means waste-idle machines, labour paid without full yield, empty coaches; the industry appears to be running to maximum, but it is really tending more towards minimum efficiency. Somebody has to pay the eventual losses.
These methods, of course, cannot go on forever. Sooner or later somebody else whispers the magic word rationalisation. Rival boards no longer bite thumbs at each other, but meet and even dine. The superfluous tissue is cut out, and health is restored.
It is fairly evident that something of that kind will be the outcome of the present traffic fight. Competition seldom lasts long after two sides have taken each other's measure; it is too expensive.
The transport trade is probably not ready yet for rationalisation. It is still in too fluid a state, and there are unexplored possibilities of developing traffic. But when railways and motors have fully ascertained each other's strong and weak points, and have sized up how much the air is likely to count commercially, there will be a short pause for breath and the parties will come to terms. And in the concordat that follows, the railways, as the larger and more effectively organised industry, will probably be the dominant partner.—A. Wyatt Tilby, in “The Evening Standard.”
Standardising Signs
The Department has adopted a scheme to standardise all signs erected at road crossings over railway lines throughout New Zealand. It is expected that they will be erected by June 1, when the Railways Amendment Act, 1928, comes into force.
The signs are to be made more prominent and several new ones, particularly one for crossings which are considered dangerous, will make their appearance along the main highways.
Awaiting The “Right Away.”
Driver J. White, Reefton.
Two of the signs will be erected by local bodies and the others by the Railway Department.
The ordinary crossing sign will be erected on roads crossing railways about 300 to 350 yards away from the crossing. This is just the ordinary sign with “Railway Crossing” in 10-inch lettering.
The second will be erected for crossings over railways on side roads where the crossing is less than 300 yards from the main road. It consists of the same design as that mentioned above, but will have a smaller notice below on which will be the words “On Side Road.”
The third sign will be a hexagon-shaped board, coloured a bright yellow, on which will be the words “Compulsory Stop.” It will be erected at all level-crossings where road traffic is required to stop.
The fourth, the ordinary stop sign, is to be altered. The word “Stop” will be painted out and the word “Railway” will be substituted.
The yellow compulsory stop sign will be crected from 20 to 50 feet away from crossings where automatic alarms are not installed, but where it is considered desirable to stop road traffic to make sure that everything is clear before such traffic crosses the rails.
Section 9 of the Railways Amendment Act, 1928, reads as follows:—
(1) Every person driving a motor-vehicle on any road or street shall, when approaching a railway crossing, reduce speed when within 100 yards of the crossing to a rate not exceeding 15 m.p.h. and shall not increase speed until after he has crossed the railway. It shall be his duty to keep a vigilant look-out for approaching trains and he shall not attempt to cross until the line is clear.
(2) If at any such crossing there is a “compulsory” stop sign erected in accordance with the regulations under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1924, or by the railway authorities, it shall be the duty of the person driving any motor vehicle to stop at such signs for such time as may be necessary to make adequate observations to ascertain whether or not the line is clear.
(3) Every person who fails to comply with the requirements of this section of the Act, or who crosses, or attempts to cross, any railway line while the same is not clear, commits an offence and is liable to a fine of £10.
These regulations will come into force on June 1 and by that time the Department and the local bodies concerned will have the new and revised signs in position.
The signs will have general application throughout the whole Dominion.
Excursion To Peel, Forest
Peel Forest, situated on the lower slopes of Little Mount Peel (4,283ft.), at an altitude of 1,600ft, above sea level, is one of Canterbury's most delightful picnic resorts. The forest contains over 1,200 acres of native bush, through which have been cut some eight and a half miles of tracks, providing the visitor with walks of rare beauty and charm. The following account of a combined rail and motor excursion to this forest retreat, recently arranged by the Railway Department, is taken from the “Lyttclton Times.”
The Railway Department has shown commendable enterprise in organising excursions at cheap fares, and in extending its activities in this direction by arranging trips from Christchurch to Peel Forest and Timaru it is opening up what should become very popular picnic resorts with large numbers of city residents who otherwise would be unable to visit these places. Yesterday when a combined excursion to Peel Forest and Timaru was held, four hundred people made the trip, and as they were favoured with perfect weather conditions, except for a summer storm of brief duration, a thoroughly enjoyable time was spent by all.
A waterfall at Mitchells, West Coast, South Island
The great majority of the excursionists went to Timaru, but fifty-two left the train at Rangitata and travelled a further distance of fifteen miles to Peel Forest in service cars. This charming picnic resort, with its magnificent native bush reserve, has in the past been off the beaten track for most city dwellers, but now that the Railway Department has brought it within reach of people of moderate means it should prove very popular with excursionists. There is an area of 1,200 acres of native bush, most of which is in a wonderfully well - preserved state, and the Peel Forest Road Board has catered for the wants of visitors by providing a large shelter shed with fireplaces and conveniences. This shed afforded protection for the party during a rain and hailstorm late yesterday afternoon. Fortunately most of the members of the party had returned from their walking tours when the storm broke, and, as it lasted less than half-an-hour, it really proved rather a pleasant interlude. After the storm cleared, the sun shone out brightly, and the conditions again became perfect.
A representative of the Railway Department, who travelled with the party, conducted many of the excursionists on a delightful walking tour through the reserve, a distance of about six miles being covered under pleasant and easy conditions. The scenery throughout the reserve is particularly
The Department arranged with the motor proprietor, Mr. C. W. M'Kenzie, to have hot water, tea, milk and sugar provided free for the excursionists on their arrival at Peel Forest, this thoughtful action being very greatly appreciated. On reaching the reserve the excursionists had their lunch in delightful surroundings, and were freed from the trouble of preparing their own tea.
The return trip to the railway was made via Mount Peel Station (the property of Lieut.-Commander Dennistoun), and the pretty own of Geraldine, the train connection being made at Orari. The trip was particularly interesting owing to the charming variety of the scenery. A halt was made at Mount Peel Station, where the excursionists were shown a giant totara tree, which has a girth of 34 feet. It is estimated to be about 300 years old. There were many other magnificent native trees in the areas of bush visited during the day.
“… Listen! All the birds are singing in leafy galleries.”
(Photo, W. Kelleher.)
Charming Bland's Bush, Peel Forest, Canterbury, South Island.
Under favourable weather conditions such as were experienced yesterday Peel Forest is one of the most delightful spots in Canterbury for picnicking. It has already become very popular with motoring and camping parties, and now that the Railway Department has initiated cheap excursions it should greatly increase in favour. The number of excursionists who can be taken on the combined railway and motor trip is limited to 100, and the road journey is made in a fleet of comfortable pneumatic-tyred vehicles.
Wit and Humour
A woman who had'nt time to get her ticket, asked a porter to get it for her. Just as the train was moving off, the porter ran along the platform. “Here's your ticket, ma'am,” he gasped. “It cost three and tuppence.”
“Here's three shillings, my good man,” said the flustered woman leaning out of the carriage window. “Keep the tuppence for yourself.”
Trials Of The Road.
Dear Old Lady (victim of motor hold-up) : “What a lovely lot of hot water you've got. Would you shew me the tap so that I can fill my hot water bag.”
* * *
Mother (in train): “Tommy, if you are not a good boy I shall smack you.”
Tommy: “You slap me, and I'll tell the guard my real age.”
* * *
Robinson—“I met my wife in a very funny way—I ran over her in my car and later married he.”
Brown — “If everybody had to do that there wouldn't be so much reckless driving.”
* * *
An old Scotch lady looked out of the carriage window as the train drew into the station, and, hailing a little boy, said: “Little boy, are you good?”
“Yes'm.”
“Parents living?”
“Yes'm.”
“Go to Sunday school?”
“Yes'm.”
“Then I think I can trust you. Run with this penny and get me a bun, and remember, God sees you!”
She: “Don't you think sheep are the most stupid creatures living?”
He (absently): “Yes, my lamb.”
* * *
Of all the felt I ever felt, I never felt a piece of felt that felt the same as that felt when first I felt the felt of that felt hat.
* * *
Smith, who had gone to the shop that sold everything, happened to notice, while the assistant was serving him, a sovereign lying on the floor near his foot—a whole, round, golden sovereign!
Quivering with excitement and glancing cautiously around to see that no one was watching him, he dropped, quite accidentally, of course, one of his gloves on top of the coin. Then, bending, he proceeded to pick up his glove; but the sovereign did not accompany it. The elusive coin still remained where it was upon the floor. He made a second attempt to get hold of it, but with the same result.
Then, just as he was contemplating the wisdom of a third endeavour, a shopwalker came up to him and said:
“Good evening, sir! May I be allowed to show you a bottle of our famous liquid glue? No doubt, you are aware of its sticking powers”
Smith's reply is not recorded.
The frock and coat to match, suitable for autumn wear, requires 2 ½ yards of 54-inch tweed for the coat and 4 1/8 yards 54-inch material for the frock and the coat lining.
* * *
Silk will look like new after being washed if a teaspoonful of methylated spirits is added to each pint of rinsing water.
Pen nibs and sewing needles that refuse to work well should be burnt in the flame of a match for a few seconds.
A damp woollen cloth will pick up small pieces of broken glass.
Flannels will not shrink if washed in lukewarm water and borax.
Tea stains on cups and teapots can be removed easily with a little salt.
Eucalyptus oil can be used to clean soiled velvet. It should be rubbed on gently with a clean piece of muslin.
Slits in the cover of a black umbrella can be repaired from the inside with strips of black court plaster.
Mix starch with soapy water. This will prevent the iron sticking, and will give the linen a better gloss.
Onion juice, rubbed in immediately, will often remove scorch marks from clothes.
Vinegar will remove most stains from the hands.
An excellent polish for furniture is made by mixing together equal parts of boiled linseed oil, vinegar, and methylated spirits.
* * *
Put half an ounce of powdered gelatine in a stewpan with one pint of water, three ounces of sugar, and the grated rind and juice of one lemon; stir over the fire until the mixture reaches simmering point. Have ready in a basin the well-beaten yolks of four eggs, and add them to the contents of the stewpan. Stir over the fire for a few seconds, but do not let the mixture boil. When nearly cold strain into a mould previously rinsed in cold water.
If required for an invalid set in little moulds, in order that it may be served conveniently in small quantities.
* * *
¼ cupful of Shortening
¼ cupful of Brown Sugar
1 ¼ cupfuls of Self Raising Flour
1 teaspoonful of Ginger
¼ teaspoonful of Cinnamon
¼ teaspoonful of Salt
½ cupful of Golden Syrup
1 Egg
½ teaspoonful of Soda
¼ cupful of Milk
Banana shortcake is not unusual, but banana gingerbread shortcake is.
Cream the fat, sift in the sugar gradually, then part of the mixed and sifted dry ingredients. Then beat in the golden syrup, blended with the well-beaten egg and with the milk in which the soda has been dissolved. The rest of the dry ingredients may then be added and the mixture poured into a well greased layer-cake pan and baked in a moderate oven for about 25 minutes. When done and cool, cut a square for each individual. Split them and on the under half place sliced bananas, cover and garnish with whipped cream. This gingerbread keeps well.
* * *
Put 4 lbs. of tomatoes, 2 onions, 1 teaspoon salt, peppercorns and sugar, and a little thyme into a pot with 2 quarts of water. Boil rapidly for 1 ½ hours and then rub through a colander. Bottle and seal while hot. This soup keeps all the year. When needed, heat the desired quantity, add two cups of milk, a lump of butter the size of walnut, and thicken with a tablespoon of flour.
“… All that expands the spirit, yet appals,
Gather round these Summits, as to show
How earth may pierce to Heaven, yet leave
vain man below.”—Byron.
(Govt. Publicity Photo.)
A shoulder of Mt. Earnslaw, Southern Alps, South Island, New Zealand.
By Those Who Like Us
From Mr. W. Vickers, Chairman of the Board, Midhirst Co-operative Dairy Company, Ltd., Midhirst, to the General Manager of Railways, Wellington:—
My Board, at their monthly meeting, held this day, have received by report that the extension to the Midhirst station goods shed is now complete, and have, by resolution, placed on record their appreciation of your Department's assistance in the matter of securing increased and more satisfactory shed accommodation.
With the increase of our inward and outward freights, the benefits derived from this extension have already been felt.
* * *
From Mr. W. F. O'Donnell, Managing Secretary of the Auckland Agricultural and Pastoral Association, to the District Traffic Manager, Auckland.
At a meeting of our Council held last Friday, a very prominent exhibitor at our Show brought up the matter of the great care and efficiency with which the officials of the Railway Department handled the stock at our recent fixture. It must be a great satisfaction to you, as it is to us, to find exhibitors willing to give evidence of the very fine arrangements made in their interests.
In the particular case mentioned, it was reported that the man in charge of the stock train South, accompanied the stock on the return from the Show on Saturday evening, arriving at Frankton Junction at 4.30 a.m.
He notified all owners whose stock was not met on arrival of the special train, and was most attentive to the stock. In one case he actually visited the home of one exhibitor on Saturday afternoon to make sure that the stock had not been left at the station.
I am instructed, therefore, to send a a letter of thanks to yourself and your staff for the very excellent manner in which all arrangements were carried out. The work of the officials at the Remuera and City stations is deserving of the very highest praise.
* * *
From Mr. C. F. Thomas, Secretary, The McDonald Ice Cream Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Hamilton, to the District Traffic Manager, Auckland:—
We desire to express our most sincere thanks for the manner in which the railway staff at Hamilton and Frankton stations handled our product during the Christmas and New Year rush. We fully realise the extra load imposed on the staff during that period.
We would also like to pay a tribute to the working of the railway system during that period, and would state that not one of our customers was held up for supplies.
Our thanks are due to the staff above mentioned, and also the guards and other transport staff operating throughout this district.
* * *
From James H. Duncan, Manager H. L. Tapley and Co., Ltd., Dunedin, to the Station-master, Port Chalmers:—
We wish to put on record our appreciation of the manner in which the Railway Department assisted us to give the S.S. “Pareora” prompt despatch. Loading operations occupied only 15 hours, which makes it clear that all concerned did their utmost to assist us in giving the boat the despatch she received. The vessel was loaded with approximately 7,000 bales of wool.
We specially desire to thank Mr. Thorne for his good work on the wharf in keeping the task going, but, at the same time, we realise that all members of your staff gave the greatest assistance in this respect.
Gilland
One of the most important branches of the great engineering industry of our time, and one destined to play an increasingly important part in the future, is that branch which has to do with sheet metal working.
Before the Great War this work had become an essential factor in practically every branch of the metal trade, and, during the war, suddenly sprung into greater prominence, but, since then, owing to the lack of skilled tradesmen, its progress has been seriously handicapped.
To-day, more than ever, the sheet metal working trade offers unusual opportunities to young men who possess the necessary training. The work is interesting, is not detrimental to health, nor is it dangerous. Moreover, the wages paid to competent men compare favourably with other skilled trades.
The greater part of the world's iron tonnage is rolled into sheets and sold to manufacturers, for sheet metal possesses qualities that make it the principal material for numerous products used in the home, office and factory, on the farm, in railroads, rolling stock, automobiles and ships.
Then again, the enforcement of stringent fire laws is necessitating the replacement of wood by sheet metal in many structures. Not only is sheet metal more economical, fireproof, lighter in weight, and more durable than wood, but the finished product presents a pleasing appearance.
Building ten second-class cars at the Department's Workshops in Auckland.
Railway and shipyard managements, as well as the makers of automobiles, aeroplanes and trucks, metal furniture, ceiling, and roofing manufacturers, are now looking to technical schools for assistance in the training of apprentices.
Sheet metal is intimately connected with the building trade, and the amount expended for cornice work, ornamental ceilings, and ventilators, etc., is rapidly increasing.
Sheet metal is taking the place of wood in much of the new work being done by the Railway Department, and this trade will be one of the most important in connection with the building of carriages, ‘bus bodies and office furniture.
This brief outline of the sheet metal working industry shows a wide field of opportunity for the apprentice in sheet metal working as well as for the tinsmith—who was wont to complain that, owing to the introduction of modern methods which produce rapidly, and in greater quantities, the tinware he formerly turned out with great skill by hand, his trade is now of less importance.
Sheet metal working is not the vocation of a “jack-of-all-trades,” but an art that, if once acquired and followed with an ambition that does not die on the threshold, will develop trained workers fully qualified to solve the sheet metal problems arising in every shop.
Traffic and Stores Branches.
Clark, F. G., to Train Running Officer, Gr. 5, D.T.M.O., Christchurch.
Dickson, L., to Assistant Goods Clerk, Gr. 6, New Plymouth.
Fletcher, P. E., to Chief Clerk, Gr. 3, D.E.O., Invercargill.
Howard, C. C., to Train Running Officer, Gr. 5, D.T.M.O., Ohakune.
Harrison, T. H. A., to Guard, Dunedin Passenger.
Gaskin, J., to Shunter, Wellington Goods.
O'Man, L. M., to Shunter, Wellington Goods.
Phillip, A., to Leading Storeman, Stores Shippers, Wellington.
Bell, J. B., to Stores Shippers, Wellington.
Berry, G., to Storeman and Acting Overhead Crane Driver, Stores Shippers, Wellington.
Bold, C., to Storeman, Petone.
Brook, E. G., to Storeman, Addington.
Clapham, J. J., to Storeman, Petone.
Frampton, A. B., to Storeman, Invercargill.
Hart, P., to Storeman, Addington.
Llynn, D. A., to Storeman, Petone.
McBride, M., to Storeman, Greymouth.
McGreevy, J., to Stores, Westport.
McNaught, H. R. W., to Storeman, Stores Shippers, Wellington.
Millward, L. D., to Storeman, Eastown.
O'Halloran, C. G. R., to Storeman, Addington.
Powell, D. C., to Newmarket.
Race, G. L., to Storeman, Hillside.
Richardson, J. W., to Petone.
Ross, L. R., to Petone.
Ross, W., to Storeman, Hillside.
Rutherford, P. A., to Storeman, Newmarket.
Thompson, A. T., to Storeman, Newmarket.
Yearbury, S. L., to Storeman, Newmarket.
Young, W., to Petone.
Locomotive Branch.
Baird, G. E., to General Foreman, Gr. 2, Hillside.
Barnett, H. F., to Wagon Shop Foreman, Gr. 5, Lower Hutt.
Crawford, W. C. D., to Loco. Foreman, Gr. 3, Taihape.
Freeborn, W. G., to Boiler Foreman Inspector, Gr. 3, Lower Hutt.
Slowley, J. M., to Foreman Machine Shop, Gr. 3, Hillside.
Maintenance Branch.
Gangers to Inspectors of Permanent Way.
Bland, J., to Gr. 6, Rangiora.
Collett, A. G., to Gr. 6, Ashburton.
A rather interesting article on the above subject, which has been extracted from a Safety publication, is given below:—
“I am more powerful than the combined armies of the world.
“I have destroyed more men than all the wars of the nations.
“I am more deadly than bullets, and I have wrecked more homes than the mightiest of siege guns.
“I steal millions of pounds each year.
“I spare no one, and I find my victims among the rich and poor alike, the young and old, the strong and weak. Widows and orphans know me.
“I loom up to such proportions that I cast my shadow over every field of labour, from the turning of the grindstone to the moving of every railway train.
“I massacre thousands upon thousands of wage earners a year.
“I lurk in unseen places and do most of my work silently. You are warned against me but you heed not.
“I am relentless.
“I am everywhere—in the house, on the streets, in the factory, at the railway crossings, and on the sea.
“I destroy, crush and maim; I give nothing, but take all.
“I am your worst enemy.
“ I Am Carelessness.”
There must be freedom of discussion and evidence of integrity of purpose. There can be no successful safety meetings if a policy of repression or avoidance is in evidence as to matters which are proper subjects for discussion. Free exchange of opinion must be encouraged. Reports of the accidents of the previous month should be read and analysed.
The life-blood of the whole safety organisation flows out from these committee meetings. Their interest must be maintained if there is to be efficiency all along the line. Its members must be made to feel the weight of the responsibility which is their's; that, if they shirk that responsibility or fail to measure up to the demands of their high calling, if they are unwilling to be prophets of the new faith and to stand for a time as sentinels to point the way of safety, then they should make way for others who have a clearer vision, warmer hearts, and stronger and more willing hands for the work which is set before them.”