Heavy Influx Of Visitors By Rail

Northern Advocate, 18 April 1938, Page 3

Heavy Influx Of Visitors By Rail

The rail service has brought a fairly heavy influx of visitors to Whangarei from southern areas for the holiday period, and special arrangements have had to bo made b> the Railways Department to handle the additional traffic. The Auckland-Opua express on Thursday was a heavy train, carrying a considerably heavier complement of passengers than it did the same day last Easter, and of these a large number detrained at Whanga-

There was also a fairly full list of passengers on the Thursday night train from Auckland, A relief express which arrived from Auckland during the afternoon carried only a small number.

The only trains running on Friday were the through expresses, and that from Auckland early in the afternoon consisted of 10 well-laden cars and necessitated the use of an extra locomotive. Normal services ran on Saturday and, although the down express from Opua to Auckland was only mod-erately-patronised when it passed through Whangarei the up-train was very heavy.

There were three extra cars on the southern express when it left Whangarei on Thursday morning, while the night express left with eight cars and a full complement of passengers.

In addition to the ordinary expresses. a relief train is being run in each direction between Whangarei and Auckland today and tomorrow, and it. is expected that all trains will be well loaded.

Many Travel To-day

Although a .special passenger train from the North had passed through halt ati hour before, there were 20!) through travellers on the express which pulled into Whangarei this j morning. They included -10 who j had been attending the Plymouth j Brethren Convention at Kaikolie. At j Whangarei several additional carriages including one especially reserved for the contingent of returned soldiers, | were added, making the complete train the longest express which has left the North, in recent years. |

ft comprised 12 cars and two vans drawn by two AB engines. Five hundred people were aboard when the train pulled out a few minutes late. Usually at Easter goods traffic is almost suspended, but there has been an unusual demand for r o 1 1 i n g stock this year, necessitating the running cf several goods specials. This is quite unprecedented on the Northern line.