DISTRICT NEWS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 188, 15 January 1912, Page 8

DISTRICT NEWS

TOKO. (From Our Own Correspondent.) The holidays are over. Nothing out of the ordinary took place here. If it had not been for roast goose, plum puddings and Christmas cakes, we would hardly have iknown it was Xmas. At any rate, the farmers have little time to even think a/bout holidays at this time of the year, they being busy getting ground ready for turnips, and,, that over,, it is straight at haymaking. Already some nice crops of hay have, been saved. The long quietude was suddenly broken the other day, when it became known that the Public Works' ballast train had collided with a horse near the railway station and the engine had been derailed over a nasty embankment. Surely this should prove as a warning to people who are in the habit of turning stock at large on the public highways. The present case may have caused the loss of life of both the engine driver and fireman, who, in my opinion, were very lucky to get off without serious injury or loss of life. The facts are that two horses were straying m the station yards, and when the ballast train came along at about 5.30 they set off alongside the track until they came to the cattle-stop. One cleared it ail right, but the other got fast in the logs and the engine crashed into it. carrying it light across the crossing over the othej stop, and then by some means the horse got under the engine, which i was immediately derailed and ran over the embankment, burying itself deep in the soft filling. The back wheels of the engine being on the track, it was nectary to put on a large gang of men, to shift the line, it being shifted bodily five feet for a distance of about liftv yards. The whole work of shifting, ballasting and setting was completed by the time the two o'clock train from Te Wera arrived. This was very creditable work A large gang of men are now engaged in jacking the engine up. Good progiess is being made, and in the course 'of rnS ° ■ tW ° T , Should be landed on the lads again. It is not known as yet to extent the engine is damaged. eedless to say, the horse was killed outright, being literally cut to pieces that I'hTl PMt '° f the whole affair is frkiLTtletrsr^ The milk supply at the local creamerv s keeping up well so far. Although the seSon not reach that last season, there is every probability of there being a long season J Although we are well into the %w W, I would like to take this opno* s t' i Edltor ' of wishing yourself Swtir HaiW -Mito^ewsV" 6 C ° rdia% rCC, ' proCatc '