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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 10, Issue 10 (January 1, 1936)

Variety In Brief

page 63

Variety In Brief

We were all thrilled recently to hear of the rail car, which, with the General Manager of Railways, Mr. Mackley, aboard, buzzed up to the Wairarapa and back in such record time. And the fact that in the near future we shall all be able to do likewise is an added thrill! The time saved by this mode of travel is a very big factor to the ordinary person like you and me, and particularly to the business man. It is very interesting, because of its vital importance to the public to read of the progress with regard to rail transport in our new little country. I saw by the paper a few days ago that Mr. T. J. Hartigan, Commissioner of Railways for New South Wales, interviewed in Auckland, said he had travelled in some of the fastest trains in the world, including the Hamburg flier, which reached a speed of a hundred miles an hour in its run from Hamburg to Berlin, and other trains on the Continent and in America which also reached a very high speed. It has been recognised that this speeding-up is necessary to keep pace with other means of transport—notably, by air. But, generally speaking, it is a rather remarkable fact that trains during the present century instead of speeding up have slowed down. Speeds in England were actually lower a couple of years ago than twenty-five years ago. The fact is, it is cheaper to run heavy, slow trains which carry a large number of people than to provide light trains which convey fewer people at a high speed. But now the era of small, fast trains seems definitely to have dawned; for these days we are all so very fast, in every way (I refer only to transport, of course!) a fact that will be brought home to us in a very striking manner when we in our remote corner of the globe are linked up with the great airways of the world. But this speeding business is not wholly to the advantage of the Railway Department, for while it is a money-saving proposition for the business man it is more costly for the former, for it costs about four times as much to travel at 100 miles an hour as it does at 50 miles per hour. Speed, whatever the conveyance, costs money. Harking back to the days when the train was a new contraption and therefore to be regarded with suspicion and distrust; when Queen Victoria travelled in state at a few miles per hour with scouts ahead to see that all was clear, the progress of transport of every description to-day provides a striking contrast to travel conditions in the early Victorian era.

—(Miss) J. Joyce Garlick.

Two dear old friends of mine, after much consideration as to how best to celebrate their golden wedding, finally decided to take a trip by rail from the Waikato to Whangarei. After a party given in their honour, the happy couple left for what proved to be one of the most enjoyable holidays they had ever spent.

On the way to Auckland (imagine their delight!) they came across an elderly man who had been not only a neighbour but also one of their best friends in the days of their early married life.

Officials took great care of the old folks during their journey up the line and down, too. Upon reaching Whangarei a married daughter, her husband and family gave the couple a royal time, and a fortnight later they stepped off the train at Frankton Junction feeling quite, quite sure they had chosen the best way possible of celebrating their golden jubilee.

—“Budgy.”