LATE HOMECOMING

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 27, 27 October 1942, Page 4

LATE HOMECOMING

Heavily Laden Trains From Trentham SEVERE CONGESTION OF TRAFFIC The large attendance at the Trentham races yesterday led to considerable congestion and delay to railway traffic returning to Wellington after the racing was concluded. One of the largest crowds Trentham has known provided, yi the absence of the normal heavy motor-vehicle .traffic, a difficult problem for the railways. When the last race train had left, very heavily laden with passengers, there were still several hundred race-goers-awaiting transport. They found .accommodation on the Wairarapa express, normally due in Wellington shortly after 6 p.m. Last night the express arrived about four hours late, Wairarapa passengers having had a very long time in their seats; Though many racegoers were inclined to complain of the delay and: blame the Railways Department, the majority accepted it as a matter of course for wartime, realizing the difficulties facing the department. A railway officer said last night that rumours that a broken axle on one of the trains had been the cause of delay were unfounded. It was, he. said, simply the heavy traffic and heavy loading of the trains which had been the cause.