Opening of the Railway to Beaumont

Tuapeka Times, Volume XLV, Issue 6221, 16 December 1914, Page 3

Opening of the Railway to Beaumont

The extension of railway from Big Hill to Beaumont has been taken over by the Railway Department, and the train service to Beaumont was inaugurated yesterday. There was no official function. Neither a Minister of the Crown nor a promis nent railway official were present. A good many Lawrence residents (principally of the fair sex), however, made the journey, cordially desirous of having the honour of travelling to this rising centre by the first passenger train. The train was timed to leave Lawrence at 12.10 p.m. but owing to an unusually large amount of shunting to be done, it was half an hour later when the train steamed out. At Evans Flat, Bowlers Creek and Craigielichan more passengers (again mostly women) were picked up and the accommodation provided was fully taken up. On reaching Beaumont it was found that the residents had turned out in large numbers and as the train ran into the station it was greeted with a very hearty cheer. Owing to the the delay in leaving Lawrence the stoppage at Beaumont was necessarily short, and the visitors had no time to leave the platform where for the time there was a considerable bustle in transferring luggage and mails for up country and taking on fruit for the return journey. The precincts of the station presented a very busy appearance. On the roadway there were a number of motor cars and in the railway yards were several waggons from up country discharging wool into trucks ready for transit to Dunedin.