The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 2, Issue 2 (June 1, 1927)
Keeping Stations Attractive
Keeping Stations Attractive.
With the approach of summer the Home railways have again inaugurated the competitions run every season for the best-kept wayside stations on their systems. There is much healthy competition among country station staffs in the endeavour to secure the cash prizes allotted to the cleanest and tidiest stations, and it is remarkable how beautiful many of the smaller stations become under the skilled attentions of the station masters and their staffs. Although in awarding the prizes marks are given for gardening and floral effects generally, much attention is paid to cleanliness and orderliness of platform and booking office equipment. It is significant, as illustrating the influence of the Home railways upon overseas railway practice, that this year one of the big Indian lines, impressed by the results achieved at Home, has introduced on its own system a similar contest for the best kept stations.
Apart from the effort of the Home railwayman in connection with the annual competition for the best kept depots, immense pride is taken by all in keeping stations, signal boxes and mess-rooms spick and span. Spotlessly clean mess-rooms, with glistening window-panes, well scrubbed floors and whitened hearthstones, are everywhere much in evidence. The Home railwayman's love of cleanliness, it may be recalled, was strikingly demonstrated to the Prince of Wales when travelling in Scotland a short time ago.
Waiting on the platform at Dunblane for his train to Perth, on a raw wet morning, the Prince was accosted by Jamie, the station porter, with the remark: “Say, mister, are you the Prince of Wales!” An answer smilingly being given in the affirmative, Namie pondered a moment, scratched his head and continued: “Weel, it's cauld standin' here. Gang awa' into the porters' room yonder. There's a guid fire burnin, and ye maun tak' a chair, but dinna put yer wet buits on the page 15 hearthstone!” Jamie, you see, took particular pride in keeping that heartstone virgin white. Even our ever popular Prince was not to be permitted to soil its pristine beauty.