DARE-DEVIL DRIVING

NZ Truth, Issue 508, 13 March 1915, Page 3

DARE-DEVIL DRIVING

Exciting Ro.orua Railway Ride

Lurid Laxity on the Line

A Terrible Might- Have -Been.

The fierce light of publicity which should heat upon all our public institutions is apparently something which Manager Hiley, of 'the New Zealand Government Railways, is not accustomed to, and. possibly, does not generally favor. Be that as it may, it occurs to this paper that General Manager Hiley ought to have it- made clear | to him that while the daily, city, and provincial newspapers might acquiesce m, a "keep-it-dark" policy, this journal does not Intend to become a party to i such tactics and.- whenever opportunity presents itself, will acquaint the public with facts connected with railway matters; more particularly when those facts are of an essentially public character. Not to beat about the bush or waste time m coming to the point, "Truth" wants to know what particular object was achieved by the railway authorities m CONCEALING FROM THE PUBLIC, aided by the Auckland, Hamilton, and. m fact, the whole of the Waikato newspapers, the facts of a somewhat sensational happening on the night of February 10 last and the eai'ly hours" of February 11. February 10 last will be recollected by the race-going public as .being the day on which the annual race meeting is held at Rotorua, and, to suit the convenience of the travelling public, special trains are provided from Auckland and from Frankton Junction to Rotorua and return. As is common with race gatherings, there was a large attendance at Rotorua and a special train was due. to leave Rotorua at 6.30 p.m.. which was due at Frankton at 11.30 p.m. "Truth" has , not gathered at what particular time THIS SPECIAL TRAIN LEFT ROTORUA,. ; but it is aware that 'the' special train arrived at Frankton somewhere. in the vicinity of one o'clock, and it is m connection with the arrival, two hours late, of that special train at-Frank-ton, that "Truth" desires to have its say and make public what the public ought to know, but which, if the railway authorities ..had their way, would not become known. "Truth" assumes that the special train left Rotorua a couple of hours or more late. Why did that train leave at such a late hour? Passengers on the train might have been impressed with the, fact that, as the special was late m leaving, the break-neck speed at which the train journeyed after leaving Rotorua was an effort to MAKE UP LOST TIME. At Matamata there was a very large number of people anxiously waiting the passing through of -the; speceial train, and their dismay can be imagined when, two hours or so after its scheduled time", it. dashed through at a rate of speed calculated to upset all existing records. Tho&e^ho waited to board this, special train-Tat M'atamata were somewhat mystified when they found that Vtjie^ train dashed through and gave -no indication of pulling up; but they were more mystified when later, the "Flying Dutchman" - steamed back. more or less slowly- and picked up the more or, less-, mystified; and. certainly, indignant waiters, who, probably, had expressed themselves In strong terms • - - <■ OTHER THAN COMPLIMENTARY of the new railway, management. : When, however, the train arrived at Morrinsville, where a connecting train was m waiting to take passengers on to Te Aroha, some inkling of something untoward having happened was given. The local constable of Morrinsville, who was a passenger on the train, having gathered by some means or other that things were not ns they! should he. on the engine, a head, made it his business to communicate what he knew (or what he surmised) to the stationmaster at Morrinsville, and. the stationmaster at Morrinsville, seeing for himself that what the constablo surmised was right, decided"" on a change In the engine cabin and. accordingly, , there was a change of flremen^Evlderi'tly it J was not considered advisable to change the driver. Perhaps it was the^caae that a substitute .wafc, 'not), handy. It was hereabouts* that ' It 'was gathered why the aristocrats m the" engine cabin j had reversed brakes after dashing through Matamata. and had gone back for the passengers. The reason for | this condescension was that the' guard of the special (and "Truth" wants to make it plain that the guard was m no way implicated) having ascertained how matters stood, got through the train to the engine, and persuaded those j m the cabin to roturn to Matuinata. As no change was decided upon' where the driver was concerned and, as while at Morrinsville he kept a very stiff upper lip. it was decided to advise i Frartkton" Junction of 'thn ''niftier ' ! EXTRAORDINARY STATE. Of / ' AFFAIRS y- i and to meet tho train and sec thnt It did not run on to Auckland' "or any other old place where it was not wanted or expected. It is almost Incredible thnt nobody m authority', at Krankton thought It worth while turning up to Inquire tin* why and wherefore of a train running a couple of hours late. The rather extraordinary — not ty say j senna tional — journey from Kotonm to Krankton. on tho nlßht of, February 10. i may hnvo since formed the subject of a railway Inquiry, but It Is- remarkable j that not only <looe tho public" know nothing <" ( f such hut those who wore chief actors In the affair. It Is said, havp not boon invited to toll what they know . of the eventful journoy. j It is just poKslbl* thai there might j have been a J FRIGHTFUL RAILWAY CALAMITY on tho lino between Morrinsville and Frankton Junction that night, and thnt the Fying Special might. have erasht-d Into tho Morrlnsvllle-Frankton "Wlldcnt" <namo Riven to a Into train from Morrlnsvillo). but, fortunately, there was no accident, and. presumably bocause thero was no accident l« the reason why tho thing has been kept quiet. There has boon shameful laxity aornewhero. prosumnbly at Rotorun, eloe why wns a fireman (to sny nothing of th« driver) permitted to have m their charge the liven of, no doubt, n couple of hundred people, when wo find that j at Morrlnsville It was considered neces- | sary to, m any rnto. change firemen I nnd to advise Frankton to koop an ?y : on things. It Is very clear that ihero J was something radically wnmir. "Truth" i would not like-" u> think thnt such ft matter ns this Is considered too trlvlni ; to be worth InveMlgatlnfr, but. it there has been no official Inquiry Into tho matter, "Truth's" tip to General-Mana-ger Hiley is to get busy.