THE THROUGH TRAIN.

Evening Star, Issue 13026, 10 August 1908, Page 3

THE THROUGH TRAIN.

»V. S. Hogg; Yaaikton, Lieutenant-com-mander C. B. M'Vay; Relief (hospital ship), Surgeon C. F. Stokes.

WELLINGTON TO AUCKLAND. NOTES BY THE WAY.

[From Ora Own Reporter.]

AUCKLAND, August 8. No hitch marred the journey of the first passenger train, between Wellington and Auckland. The weather was perfect. The train rail' fairlv well up to schedule time, and the partially-completed portions of the line were negotiated without difficulty. The passengers were not particularly" comfortable, especially during the night, but then they had the satisfaction, of feeling that they were taking part in a historic event, and that many* people who had been left at home would have been very glad to have made the journey. A man can face a whole lot of discomfort -with cheerfulness if he knows that someone else is envying him. A start was made from Wellington a few minutes after ten o'clock on Friday evening The train was a long one, but it was barely sufficient for the people who had accepted the Government's invitation to make the trip. Carriages had been reserved for the ladies, so they were as comfortable as circumstances would permit, and the men all found seats of sorts. A large crowd had assembled on the station platform, and gave a cheer as the train moved out quietly and commenced its northward run of 426 miles. The night was not enjoyable. The railway officials produced a plentiful supply oj rugs with which to supplement private stores, and there were pillows for those who had arrived at the station early and hustled. But tiie draughts were consistent. Moreover, one's neighbor generally insisted on talking, and the train went round curves in hasty and disturbing fashion. Everyone arose wlien the finst signs of dawn appeared in the sky. The train-was then climbing steadily towards the newer portions of the line, and the well-known sections bad been left behind.

Daylight came quickly, and revealed what had been noticed already by most of the pastengers that the cold was intense. The moisture" that had collected upon the windows had congealed into ice along the alls: and tiny icicles hang from the corners of the carriage roofs. Outside the hill sides were white with frost. The train had passed Taihape, and was attacking the long up-grades that have necessitated the con6truction'of the specially-designed engines of the X class with eight driving wheels, and weighing in working order 90 tons. Shortly before sunrise the train traversed the horseshoe curve near Turangarere, where the engineers had to make a deviation to as to gain a mile and a-half of extra, length, and avoid an> unreasonably heavy grade. Then Ruapshu, an awe-inspiring pile of purest white, towering far into the clear sky, came into view, to be turned into a glorious pink a few minutes later by the first lays of the sun. Ten miles further on the train stopped at Waiouru, 2,689 ft above the sea. The sun was well up by this time, and Ruapehu, clothed in snow from foothills to peak, lay right ahead, its great mass holding the eye with sometliing of fascination. Tho air was cold, but pure and invigorating ; tho ground under '.oo£ was hard with frost. Views of the shoulder of the giant Ruapehu and the tops of the sister volcanoes, Ngaruhoe and Tongariro, were sights to make glad the hearts of patriotic New Zealanders.

The Public Works Department took charge of the train at Waiouru, ajid the journey was continued with a lighter engine. The Line skirts the base of Kuapehu, and the forest country -was scon reached. A broad pass had been felled through the forest for the railway, but on either side stretched enormous stores of milling timber, with a saw-mill as the nucleus of each little settlement. The interest of the saw-millers in the progress of the train was as deep as it w-as easily understood. For years past with loyal belief in the vast potentialities of their district they have been waiting and working for the oornpletion of the line that would bring them into direct contact with Auckland and Wellington. The railway has been the centre of their hopes and am

and one behind, and the journey was recommenced. The carnages we« 60on rolling and patching in a fashion reminiscent of the sea. The rails lay ahead with : strange corves and dips, the sleepers, lightly packed with loose gravel, moved under the wheels, and the long train, viewed from the front, had the appearance >•' of a snake in pain. The little engines were accustomed to the strenuous life, r ,. and steam at" every pore, as it seemed, they took the train slowly over the halls and hollows of the new track. They drew up on the great Makatote viaduct, and"" handed over the train in good order and condition to a big brother. While the engine change was being made the passengers looked over the rail of the viaduct at water 260 ft below. Looking down the bush-clad gorge, the white top of Mount Egmont, eighty miles die- , tant, showed clear and distinct above the trees. In the other direction lay Roapehn in glorious whiteness. The next point of interest was the remarkable' Raurimu spiral at Waimarino. The line is 2,636 ft above the sea, and at Raurimu, seven miles further north, th» < elevation is only 1,922 ft. 'Seven hundred feet of this sharp rise has to be negotiated in four moles, and to have constructed the line along the most direct route would have made necessary a gradient of altogether too severe a character. The problem was solved by building Jhe line in the form, first, of a spiral," and then of a loop. The trains circle round a .till, travelling several feet over a tunnel that it will enter a little later, and then t asses within twelve chains of Raurimu, although it will traverse a loop one mile in length before it will enter the township. Northward from Raurimu the •■ line drops steadily for. twenty-six miles to Taumaranui, which is 2,341 ft nearer the sea-level than the base of the spiral huge l pumice banks. The profitable Government | saw-mill at Kakahi and great stretches of i splendid forest were features of the secI tion.

The Prime Minister was accorded an informal reception, on the station platform at Taumairanui, and in a brief speech he congratulated the district on the practical completion of the line and the enormous development that must result. " Will you take the kaiaga off the King Country?" asked a -voice from the background, producing a little laughter. The Prime Minister made a humorous retort, and cheers were given in his honor. The rest of the journey was uneventful. Some time had been lost on the new section of the line, but the special was hurried along over the later stages, and arrived in Auckland at 6.50, about half an hour late, to be received by an enthusiastic crowd. , His Excellency the Governor, who was among the crowd of expectant sightseers on the platform, said that he had not come to the station to make a speech, but to witness a very important event in the history of New Zealand. He thanked the people for their cordial reception. The Mayor (Mr Arthur Myers) extended the welcome of the city, and expressed the interest of the citizens in the establishment of overland through communication. Sir Joseph Ward thanked the mayor and citizens for* their welcome, and spoke of the importance of the railway trip as an indication of what had been already achieved and was yet to be done in opening up the country, which would develop the resources of the interior and contribute to the mercantile prosperity of the cities at either end. The journey just completed was longer by twenty-eight miles than any previous railway trip in the Dominionr It had been a severe test for the officers and staffs of the departments concerned, and the success attained was highly creditable to them. CONGRATULATORY TELEGRAMS. The following telegrams explain themselves:— The Right Hon. the Premier. On parliamentary train journey to Auckland. I am confident that I voice the sentiments of the people of DunedinVhen I tender you, on their behalf, in the absence of His Worship the Mayor, hearty congratulations on the successful completion of a great national undertaking. On account of the facilities that it will provide for the inhabitants of the two islands to become better acquainted with each other socially and politically, and to trade more advantageously with each other, the North Island Trunk Railway must make for the advancement of the material interests of all classes in the Dominion, and must assist powerfully in developing the great natural resources of the North Island. I wish you and the members of the parliamentary party an enjoyable trip and a happy time in the Northern capital. L Editor 'Evening Star.' The PrinW Mini-ter replied from Dniry, twenty-two miles from Auckland, at 5.40 this evening:— I desire to heartily congratulate the people of the Southern portion of the Dominion upon tho successful running through to-day of the first passengei tram from Wellington to Auckland. This event marks the completion of n great work, which will be the means ol adding immensely to the comfort and convenience of the travelling public, and also the furthering of the development of the commerce of the Dominion over the wide area that this important length of railwav serves. The iron link brings the ! ends of the Dominion closer together, and must add to the solidarity of M ; parte of it.—J. G. Ward.

Teacher: "How old are vou, Willie?" Willie: " I'm five at home, six at school, and four in the cars."