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Otago Witness, Issue 3889, 25 September 1928, Page 29

A meeting held at the Auckland Town Hall Concert Chamber one evening recently had a unique termination (states the Star). The last speaker took the platform somewhere in the vicinity of 10.30, at 10.45 he was warming up to his subpect, at 11.0 he was delivering a verbal Niagara, and at 11.15 he was still going well. By this time the audience was restless, and some who had visions of missing the last tram for home were beginning to steal silently away. Possibly the custodian of the building thought of Tennyson’s famous brook. The sidelights of the building began to go out in rotation, and the main electric cluster began to flicker in ominous fashion. There were calls of “ ’Arf a mo’! ” and “ Give us a chance, digger! ” There was a scramble for hats and coats, and 'the audience “ stood not on the order of their going,” but departed swiftly. It is proposed to place dining cars on night Limited express trains between Auckland and Wellington for the purpose of serving breakfast on those trains (says an exchange). A suitable design is being prepared for the cars, which will embody the latest practice. Dining cars were originally placed on the Napier-Welling-ten, Auckland-Thames. yVellington-Ncw Plymouth trains, and the Auckland-Roto-rua and Christchurch-Invercargill express trains. With the advent of improved facilities which provided for dining and refreshment rooms being remodelled at Frankton Junction, Maungaturoto, Marton Junction, Waipukurau, Woodville, Otira, and Oamaru, the dining cars went out of existence, as it was considered the expense of running them was not warranted. Some tens of thousands of pounds were involved in the changeover, and various express trains’ time tables had to be revised so as to provide longer stops thafl usual—