OPENING OF THE RAILWAY TO NGARUAWAHIA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIV, Issue 4912, 14 August 1877, Page 2

OPENING OF THE RAILWAY TO NGARUAWAHIA.

YESTERDiY being the time appointed f or the formal opening of the line of the Waikato Railway between Mercer and Newcastl» (Ngaruawahia)', and the manager, Mr. Mai". Donald, and the railway _ officials havin-. arranged for providing trains for the r.ul,i£ convenience, a considerable number availed themselves of theopportunity offeredof seoint'ue country through which the line passes, u, all about 100 people got into the train of [i carriages, with three engines attached ; ' ~V Auckland railway station. Aβ the F, \ proceeded on its journey to Mercer, pa BS .-..,. , gers, or as we might more properly denora?. nate them, excursionists, were picked m, ; n l;irgc numbers, so that by the time the t;-,,; ;) reached Mercer it was crowded. Amo u •-.- the railway officials were Mr. Stewart, ,\;<. fcricfc engineer, .Mr. A. V. M;icdor?aH (^ (!l . cl 'j manager), ilr. Clark (tralKo clerk), : ,[.; Mr. Elliott (foreman). Mr. Fallon, the c ~,. tractor, who has just completed this ..v tension, was also present. At Merew ,v r ,. available seat in the train was filU- !. .../; the engines proceeded on their way, inn-,, .', fit Newcastle station in good time, iJ. line was found to be in satisfactory or,■._■•■ . and the settlers showed the interesr, ■.v;.i ; 'J they felt in the important event of t:.. ; opening" of a railway line fchrouyli t.:-,-. : r district by erecting a triumphal arch ~•.-,...• the Taupari Bridge, and by welcoming f-,, »roiips of excursionists by loud ; , : , their ariival at the terminus. At the regulated hour, which only all.v,v_--l ii stay of about fifty minutes in X fc Mi; i;i . wahia, one of the engines was ,i ; . snatched back to Auckland with al,-,, ;: a third of the carriages ; but ! u order to afford further time to those who desired it, the remainder of the earrings with tho necessary eDgines were dot.-.liT-.-.l until considerably after 3 o'clock. .The latt-.r arrived in Auckland shortly after 9 and those who returned seemed highly "ratified by the trip afforded them, as well as by the courtesy of the railwiy officials. h\ future the trains will ran to Newcastle, according to the time-tables arranged. '1 [ ia last train leaving Newcastle yesterday was of course a special train, bul; in future t'ia trains will leave Newcastle at 6 a.m. and at 1.30 p.m., and on Tuesdays, Thursdays, mid Saturdays a goods' train with a passenger car attached, will le.ive is'ewcastle at 7 a.m.