FROM HEAD TO TAIL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 183, 24 July 1908, Page 4

FROM HEAD TO TAIL.

BY RAIL TO AUCKLAND. PROBABLE STOPPING-PLACES. AVERAGE SPEED OF 25 MILES AN HOUR. (From Wellington Dominion.) Dr. Buck, Native Health Officer, who controls the Auckland district, has the rhetorical imagery of his race in no ordinary degree, lie likens the North Island to a stingaree with Wellington for its head (and Lake Wairarapa and Port Nicholson for the eyes), the East (.'ape and Taranaki lor the two dappers, and Auckland as the tail. It is apt, clever, and lias more in it than actually reached the ear when the simile was made at the Savage Club's special Maori korero on Saturday evening. To make the simile quite complete the stingaree must have a backbone—everything except a politician must have one—and that is being supplied in the linking no of the head and tail of the Main Trunkline, now in the dual stages of .completion. None can correctly foretell, even at this late date, with the line within four months of opening, what the effect :>f the steel connection between the head and the tail of the Island will be. WHO WILL BENEFIT? , Who is going to benefit, and who ,vill suffer! Will the big cities at either mil prosper at the expense of the sma'l towns that are cut off from connection ,vith the "backbone'''! This seems to k the popular belief, but exactly why, t is difficult to decide. New Plymouth mil Onelmnga will suffer, perhaps, from .lie loss of a proportion of the traffic if what has up till now been the quiek>st through service between Wellington ind Auckland. That it has been a smart icrvice none can deny. The sea-trip beween the Taranaki port and Auckland s vestern gate has generally been held iv travellers to be an unpleasant one, larticularly in the winter, and is one noreover that is unrelieved by anythingn the way of scenery en route. On the rip from Wellington to Christehureh ;he ragged loftiness of the Kaikouras nakes an interesting view line, and ou he East Coast the steamers travel alnost parallel to the coast; but in the ■ase of the New Plymouth-Onehuiiga ;rip, the steamer leaves at night, and n the morning has reached a point m he North Taranaki Bight out of sigv )f land and fully in the swing of the i-ieious westerly swell, which travellers know so well and loathe so heartily. )n this score the through traveller, imcss he. be a lover of the sea in all 'ts .-arving moods, will welcome the advent of the. Main Trunk railway, which tr&-,-erses a route which gives a capital idea >f characteristic scenery of the country, and which will convey him to his ileslination in comfort some hours uuiekor than is at present possible on the \\ est Coast route. STOPPING .PLACES, In the annual statement of the Minister for Railways, the Hon. Mr. Ha.lloncs said—" Many -important issues arc involved, but after mature consider ition I have conic to the conclusion that the railwav time-table must be framed )n lines that will furnish the people "f the Dominion with the most convenient and rapid means of transport betwean Auckland, the Bluff, and the importantbusiness centres of both islands lying between these points. The commercial interests of the country demand that mails should receive quick despatch, and those engaged in business pursuits in the various important centres lie given reasonable facilities for replying proinptyto over-sea communications. The distance intervening between Auckland and Invcrcargill renders night-travelling by land and sea unavoidable. It also makes the curtailment of the stoppi'igplaces of the through trains, which must in the future be regarded as essentially fast passenger and mail trains, an imperative necessity." It will be seen that the Minister is desirous of making the through journey as nearlv an "express" one as is possible with our narrow gauge and the power at his command, and goes out of his way to emphasise that the number of stopping-places must necessarily be restricted. An endeavour has been made to ascertain exactly what these stopping-places will be. An inquiry at the Railway Department elicited nothing—they liad not so far Been, definitely decided upon, but we have the opinion of an authority whose knowledge of the line and its exigencies for rapid railway operations is indisputable. Our informant considers that we would not be far out if we stated that there will l>e ten stopping-places for the through express, and that these will be as follow:

Miles jrom Coing North. Wellington, Paekakariki 27 Palmerston North 87 Marton Junction Ilti Taihape Nil Waioru 185 Ohakune 201 ',<> Waimarino 220 linurimu 227 Tainarunni 252 Frankton Junction 3-J2 Auckland 427

. .Even some of these stopping stations could l)e cut out were it not for topographical difficulties on the central section, where there must be a change, of engines made to cope with grades (such as arc presented in the ltanrinui spiral) which accounts for the number of stopping places over a comparatively slioit section of the line. The same difficulty explains the provision of a stopping place at Packakariki, which should only be made on the down journey. Our informant thinks that hi going north the "trunk express" should not stop between Wellington and Palmers lon North. The fact that Palmcrslon must be a stopping place will prevent the mail stopping at Feilding, only some twelve miles further on, whatever the progressive people of that town may think to the contrary, for it is to Palmerslon the Tfawke's Bay, Bush district, and Wairarapa people will journey (via the Mauawatu Gorge) to pick. up the through express. Marton Junction is also regarded as a certainly as that will be the nearest point for Wanganui and Taranaki people to pick up the mail train, and it is there that the mail will most probably junction with the one proceeding to New Plymouth. Assuming that there will not be more than ten stopping places, and that the average, length of each is ten minutes, one hour and forty minutes only will be accounted for, which .would be very creditable on a journey of over 400 miles, though nothing to boast about in comparison with the best fast services in America and elsewhere. The journey, the Minister says, is to be accomplished in Ifl hours, so that if two hours is docked for stoppages, an average spo?d of only 23 miles an hour would be required to cover the mileage lietween Tlmrndon Quay. Wellington, and street, Auckland, which is not asking very much of the new rolling stoA" which the Department has been preparing for the Main Trunk line for a long time past.