LUXURY TRAVEL

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 542, 20 December 1928, Page 1

LUXURY TRAVEL

Horses Worth £30,000 Arrive for Races BY EXPRESS FROM SOUTH'” Pounding along at a fast clip, but as smoothly as the throttle hand of a skilled engineer could make it, the special racehorse express from Wellington to Ellerslie passed through the outlying suburbs of Auckland shortly before 11.30 o’clock this morning. As the train, with its single passenger car and 14 box-like vans, drew in at the Ellerslie station and came gently to a standstill, the driver smiled with mingled satisfaction and relief. It had been a responsible job. Fifty aristocratic horses of a total value of about £30,000 were housed in the special, and an over-heavy jolt might have resulted in serious damage to the equine travellers. NINETEEN-HOUR TRIP At 3.30 p.m. yesterday the train left Wellington, packed with one of the biggest racing consignments sent up the North Island for many a day. Trainers, jockeys and their luggage vrere in a first-class car at the rear, and a small army of stable boys was distributed along the line of horseboxes. The journey was a successful and uneventful one, although tiring for the passengers, who wiled away the time with cards, tobacco, stories, snatches of sleep—and cards. Stops were frequent, for many Southbound trains had to be passed, but for the most part, these were welcomed as fresh water was needed for the horses. This sort of work kept the stable boys busy, and they were able to stretch their cramped legs. A railway horse-box demonstrates man’s consideration for his best animal friend—at the expense of himself. The accommodation for the horses is nothing short of luxurious, but the space for the attendants —well, it’s all in the life of the stable boy. IN THE BOXES The larger boxes have stalls for four horses, with two small compartments in the centre, each fitted with wide apertures through which the animals can be fed, watered and watched. The smaller each contain two horses and a single compartment. Each stall is padded on all sides and well ventilated. Hay and sawdust lies thick on the floor. There is no space to spare, but that is an advantage as iits occupant cannot harm itself by leaping about. “Snug as a pea in its pod,” said one trainer as he stood on the Ellerslie platform this morning and watched anxiously as his impatient ward pranced into the sunshine. But the stable boys are obliged to grin and bear it. They have two wooden seats in a space that would break the heart of the most moderate cat-swinger, and this has to be shared with bulging sacks, buckets and general luggage. With two men in each compartment it is pleasant enough for a short journey, but when three share the space all the way from "Wellington ! LONG NIGHT’S WORK Yes. When the winner is flashing past the post at Ellerslie on Boxing Day, give a thought and thanks to the boys who worked last night soothing their charges to placid contentment. Eager owners and racing enthusiasts waited at the station for the arrival of the express, which was shunted immediately to a side track, where the unloading operations were carried out. The horses left the boxes in apparently excellent condition, and were ridden at once to the various headquarters- _ __