Excursion Train Last To Use Foxton Line

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28951, 20 July 1959, Page 10

Excursion Train Last To Use Foxton Line

(New Zealand Press Association)

PALMERSTON NORTH, July 19. The Foxton branch line, the oldest railway in the Wellington province, which began as a tramway in 1873, was closed with due ceremony on Saturday. More than 200 people travelled from Palmerston North to Foxton and back on a special last excursion organised by the Wellington branch of the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society, and at Foxton a coffin was solemnly carried on to the platform On Tuesday, an engine will go along the line to collect the remaining trucks, and then the rails will be torn up. The ’ Government has closed the branch because it has been operating at a financial loss. At the head of the special excursion was an “A” class locomotive. No. 601, built at Thames in 1914. In its heyday, this veteran engine proudly hauled some of the, principal express trains on the Main Trunk.

With the passing of years the old engine was relegated to menial tasks. Then members of the Locomotive Society took it in hand and scraped the grime from its exterior and polished its dome Looking spick and span again, it hauled the special train which last November commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of the liquidation of the Manawatu Railway Company.

On the footplate for the final journey was the driver, Mr Sam Whittingham, of Palmerston North, who has spent 35 years on the railway service and now often drives the Limited express. Like the rest of the train crew—the fireman, Mr Peter Gundersen. and the guard, Mr J. T. Tidey—he gave his services free for the day for the good of the cause. After finishing with the excursion Mr Tidey had to take over his normal duties on the Auckland express. As the train pulled- out of Palmerston North station detonators exploded under the wheels, and 601, with its whistle frequently blowing gaily, worked the train up to a smart pace on the straight to Longburn. A procession of cars on the parallel road kept pace with the train and everywhere people came to their garden gates to wave. At each stop along the line, a crowd had gathered to wave farewell.

As the train passed through Foxton township the engine whistled lustily and in reply a factory sounded its siren and motorists blew their car horns. At Foxton station, a crowd of about 1000 was waiting to greet the train. At their head was the stationmaster, Mr C. J. Johnstone, who will stay for another fortnight to clear up the final bookwork. Then he will shut the office for the last time and move to Gisborne

The Mayor of Foxton (Mr E. Field) said it was with mixed feelings that older people who knew the part that the railways had played in the development of the Manawatu saw the end of the

line. He considered that the authorities had adopted a defeatist attitude. Foxton had lost its shipping, it had lost its railway station, and now it had lost its railway. In spite of these losses, Roxton would not despair. Railway enthusiasts who made the journey included groups from Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin and Christchurch.