MAIN TRUNK SLIP

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 86, Issue 228, 28 September 1942, Page 4

MAIN TRUNK SLIP

DELAY TO AUCKLAND EXPRESS NO SERIOUS DAMAGE (P.A.) Auckland. Sept. 27. Passengers on the express which left Wellington on Friday afternoon for Auckland had a tiring trip, lasting over 23 hours. A little south of Waimiha. a station between Taumarunui and Te Kuiti at 3.30 a.m. on Saturday, a slip occurred a short time before the express reached Waimiha, and the train ploughed its way well into a huge pile of mud and rubble which had been washed down by the recent heavy rains. No serious damage was caused to the locomotive or any of the carriages and there was no derailment. A relief train was despatched as soon as possible from Frankton Junction, and passengers and luggage were transhipped in the early morning. However, it was 5.50 a.m. before a relief express left Waimiha. The passengers were again transhipped at Frankton Junction and after a clear run through it eventually arrived in Auckland at 2.20 p.m. The express was also slightly delayed on the line as far as Paekakariki owing to power failures in the Wellington district. The passengers were shaken when the train entered the slip, and mud was spattered over a few of the carriages. On Saturday afternoon the passage was cleared through the slip.