“TIDE HAS TURNED”

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 237, 27 December 1927, Page 11

“TIDE HAS TURNED”

OPTIMISTIC OUTLOOK HEAVIER WOOL THIS YEAR BIG YEAR FOR RAILWAYS “The general impression among farmers and business people is that the tide has turned and that there are brighter times ahead.” M R. J. F. MACKLEY, locomotive engineer for the Auckland railways, made this observation this morning. He returned on Saturday from an official trip to the Wanganui, Napier and Wellington districts, where he has been meeting and talking with responsible citizens. “On the railways the demand for engine power was heavier than for any other year,” he said. “There has been a phenomenal amount of traffic in wool alone. Just prior to the holidays 1,000 more bales of wool left Waipukurau than for the same time last year. An average of 75 trucks of sheep a day left Otane and continued for a week. At Waipukurau 24,000 sheep were sent away in three days.” Mr. Mackley found the passenger traffic at Wellington, very heavy. On Friday morning the train to Napier was so heavy that three engines had to be used. “Within my experience,” he said, “the railways have never had such a heavy year as this.” Wanganui was busy and large amounts of sheep and wool were being transported. One of the biggest sheep-farmers in the North Island told Mr. Mackley that the fleeces from his flock averaged two and a-half pounds heavier this year than last. This, he thought, was why there bad been such a large increase in the total weight of wool carried.

“Auckland has been phenomenally busy,” said Mr. Mackley, '“in both goods and traffic. There seems to be a buoyancy now which was not apparent a month or two before the holidays. Everywhere I heard the same optimistic note —from farmers, business people and traders generally.”

Mr. Mackley also found that the general opinion among all classes was that the Railway Department, in the last two years, was giving greater consideration and was more helpful than it had been previously. Despite the fact that large numbers of people were travelling by motor-car, carrying their holiday and camping outfits with them, the railways, during the present season, had carried many more pasengers than for some time past. There had not been a hitch during the present season. Some of the trains were late, but this was principally due to the fact that passengers were carrying an enormous amount of luggage, and that some of the mechanical devices had failed.