WAIRARAPA TRAIN SERVICES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10149, 27 January 1911, Page 5

WAIRARAPA TRAIN SERVICES.

CONFERENCE IN MASTERTON. A REPRESENTATIVE GATHERING. A conference of delegates of local bodies and Chambers of Commerce of the Wairarapa, convened by the Masterton Chamber, to discuss the Wairarapa train services, was held in Masterton yesterday afternoon. There were present: Messrs F. W. Carey president of the Masterton Chamber of Commerce), A. Henderson, (Vice-Pre-sident), G. C. Summerell, J. M. Coradine (Mayor of Masterton), W. J. Welch (Chairman of the Masterton County Council), W. A. Kitchen (Carterton Chamber of Commerce), Tait (Featherston Town Board), J, A. Dudson (Mayor of Carterton), Wilkinson (Featherston County Council), F. W. Kummer (Mauriceville County), T. Moss (Eketahuna County Council), W. C. Buchanan, M.P., A. H. Herbert and J. A. Ha swell (Eketahuna Chamber of Commerce), D. P. Loasby (Mayor of Greytown), A. W. Hogg, M.P., A. L. Webster and Hayes (Greytown). Apologies for absense were received from Messrs C. E. l>aziiell (Masterton), and R. B. Ross, M.P., the latter being unable to attend in consequence of bush fires.

Mr W. C. Buchanan apologised for the: absence of the Chairman of the Featherston County Council; ;' Mr i\ W. -Carey, President; of the Masterton; Chamber' oi. was voted;to-the? chair,.and briefly.''explained the object of, the Confereriee. .The Minister for Railways,- he stated; had pledged himself to reconsider the present Wairarapa railway timetable. The service at present was a scandalous one. Before starting, it would be necessary to decide as to the voting power of the delegates present. ■• , Mr Summerell moved that each body, have- one vote, the chairman to have the casting vote. Mr Loasby held that they should no£ bother about the voting power, but should work together with a yiew to getting something done •■ from a broad standpoint; The resolution was lost and Mr Coradine moved that every delegate ha\ f e a vote. This motion was carried.

~ :: , Mr that when-the Minister made out his previous time-' ■ table, it had been published before the people interested had been consulted. He had waited upon him subsequently, • and had been promised that nothing would be done till a deputation had waited on hirau«He (the speaker) had urged that the time at, thedisposal of ' people who went from here to Wellington was top short, buthad been; in-, formed that to make an alteration in that respect would hardly be pos.sible. There was also a difficulty in regard to getting to Palmerston North - to transact business, and he suggested that the early train from Cross Creek ! leave there at 5.20. vlt could then be I timed to arrive; at Masterton ; at o'clock, leaving again at 7.15 for ' > , Wobdville,, where it would arrive at 10.15, leaving again at ;.10.30 and arriving in Palmerston Northat 11-30, ! two minutes before the arrival of the train. The stock sales at Palmerston; did not commence till 1 I v o'clock,. and that would =give people ample; time to attend and ; get; back tb^ 7 /the Wairarapa. ;■v At -present. the train ;did; not ; there 'should r dim^tyan : 1 ing this: alteration,; as the goods were so" timed that a fewininutes .one way or the other did not matter. In . regard: to the afternoon train from which at present left at 3.36,-he contended it doulo! leave at 4.7 and cross' the down train at Kaitoke without difficulty. At present there was a train .leaving Woodville at &15. i for Masterton. He held that this train: could leave at 6:50, cross the north train at Eketahuna at; 8.40 a.m., and cross the other train at Carterton..; The 4,45 a.m. train from Wellington shoujd bo reinstated.

,'Mr Carey stated that the Chamber had tabulated seven resolutions for proposal at this meeting, which were '; practically similar to Mr Buchanan's ; suggestions. He asked'that the proposals be - taken soriatim, and dealt with accordingly. "Mr Kummer moved that the first resolution jbe adopted as follows :—' the train: leaving Wellington at "-••■ 7iis:ajm.i and the.train;leaving Pal- -, "meratc-h ifoj-,; the? Wawarapa- i& 11.48 •■ Z a.m., •Wo6dville*"at 1.20 ' ,p.ih?j-- andv*" arriving at Wellington 7;40 .p.mr, are' satisfactoivy, with the exception that there is no connection with the Auckland express now arriving in Palmerston 42 minutes after the departure of the Wairarapa train. . '

The resolution''was seconded by Mr Hogg and carried.

A BUST* CLAIM. • Mr A. H. Herbert stated that the requirements of the Bush district were some what' different from those of other parts, and might clash with the time-table that had been suggested. He admitted that Masterton should be the railway centre. At the same time, it was*thought that, for the convenience of people living to the north of Masterton, it was desirable that the, last train from Wellington should go right to Woodville. There was a feeling that the:district to the north was-being estranged'frojn, Masterton, and the business of Pahiatua and other districts was gradually being diverted to Palmerston North. The people in the northern district were of opinion that a train should leave Woodville at an early hour in the morning for Wellington* returning on the same day. Mr Buchanan: At what hour do you suggest that this should leave Woodville?. Mr Herbert said he did not consider it a duty of the meeting to suggest times. Previously the train had left Woodville at an early hour, and he urged that the districts to the north should be considered. Mr D. P. Loasby (Greytown) thought .that Mr Herbert had struck a wrong note. The delegates were not present to discuss Masterton. They did not know Masterton at all in the matter. They were gathered together to suggest to the Government an improvement in the service, and no specific time-table. He gave notice to move that it be a request to the Minister that the 4.45 a.m. train from Wellington be restored. Mr Wilkinson (Featherston) suggested that the meeting be permitted at once to express an opinion concerning the early morning train-from Welluigtori. ' The Chairman said an opportunity would be afforded to discuss this point in the time-table. Mr T. Moss (Eketahuna) stated (Continued on Page 6.}

(Continued from Page 5.) that if the meeting would support the northern districts in getting an "Hy train through to Wellington, ar.-l » late train on the return, it wuu i. te conferring a great boon on o large number of settlers.

THE MORNING TRAIN. After som-little discusion, Mr A\. C Buchanan moved, "that with regard to the Wairarapa-Wellington ; morning train leaving Masterton at 7.30 a.m.. it is desired that the old time of departure. 7 a.m.. lie reverted to. and that to minimise the effect of the unavoidable delay on ".he ilimu-' taka a non-stop run he made between Upper Hutt and Wellington, and perhaps with advantage to the Department this could be a mixed heavy train. A like arrangement is suggestled with the- Wellington-Wairarap-i evening train to leave Wellington at 4.7 p.m. instead of 3.36 p.m. i>a at present." Mr Buchanan stated that he sympathised with the Eketahuna district. He thought that an early train might leave Eketahuna, say at six o'clock. There was nothing, m his opinion, to prevent the late tram going right through. Mr A. W. Hogg, M.P., suggested striking out the whole of the proposed resolutions and urging upon the Government that it should revert to the old time-table. There was practically no difference between the proposal of Mr Ross and the old time-table. The question of detail might be left to the Department. He pointed out that the Department was at present losing money on the extra trains which were being run through the. Gorge. He moved that the whole of the resolutions be deleted, and that this meeting form a deputation to the Minister, to ask that the old time-table be restored. , Mr Loasby. of Greytown, seconded the resolution of Mr Hogg. If the old time-table was .restored, the Lower Valley would be quite satisfied. Mr* Buchanan pbinted out that there was a difference between the proposal of Mr Ross and the old timetable. , Mr Herbert, of Eketahuna, moved as an amendment that, with regard to the early morning train, the Minister be asked to start a train, at some station north of Masterton, so that it would reach Masterton at 8 a.m. Mr TV Moss seconded the amendment. ' \ After some further discussion, Mr Hogg altered his resolution, to read as follows:—"That the Minister be asked to return, as far as possible, to the old time-table, and to extend the Wairarapa service northwards." Mr Buchanan pointed out that they had already passed a resolution, and this would have to be rescinded before they could deal with Mr Hogg's resolution. Mr .Dudson (Carterton) thought that all they desired was to impress upon the Minister the importance of enabling people to proceed from Cross' Creek to Palmerston North, and return on the one day, and enabling people to leave ' Eketahuna in "the morning, and return from Wellington on the same day. ■. , Mr Buchanan urged that Mr Hogg's resolution be ruled out of order. The Chairman ruled that the amend'ment of Mr Hogg was not in order. He did not know, in any case,, that they should be justified in asking for the old service.

The amendment of Mr Herbert, that a train should leave the north to connect with the train at Masterton, was carried, it being left with the Masterton Chamber to put the amendment in order. The resolution of Mr Buchanan was then also carried. >-' THE WOODVILLE SERVICE. ,• , ;' afr / Kummermoved/-'V.T^at';asit;has ( .'been 'found' that .the, present B.ls:i>m v 'Woodvitie-Wellington %aih runs .too late, we desire that this be altered, to leave Woodville not later than 7 a.m., passing through Eketahuna about 9 a.m., or, better still, that the old timetable be reverted to." Mr Henderson (Masterton) seconded the resolution, which was carried. AFTERNOON GOODS TRAIN. Mr Kitchen (Carterton) moved, "That the Department be uVged to allow the train at .present leaving Masterton for south at 5.30 p.m., to carry passengers." j Mr Tait, of Featherston, moved as an amendment that the convenience be extended to passengers leaving Woodville for the south. , After considerable discussion, Hhe ! resolution of Mr Kitchen was lost on j the voices, and the proposal to allow ( ' passengers to travel by the 5.30 p.m. , train from Masterton" was thus defeated. '','••■■. MASTERTON TO WOODVILLE, . Mr Herbert (Eketalmna) moved, "That the old 6.30 a.m. MastertonWoodville train be re-instated in lieu of the present 7.45, which will give Wairarapa- passengers a Wanganui and New Plymouth connection." Mr W. J. Welch seconded the motion . The Chairman said that this train was urgently required, to enable Masterton and Wairarapa passengers to proceed to Palmerston and catch the Wanganui train. Mr Buchanan stated that the Lower Valley interests should be considered. They should ask that the early morning train leave Cross' Creek at 5.20, so that it would reach. Masterton at about 7 a.m. He moved accordingly. Mr Dutlson seconded. v Mr Wilkinson, of Featherston, moved as an amendment that the Government be asked to restore the 1 4.45 a.m. mixed train from Wellington . He claimed that the South Wairarapa was being ignored entirely. Tlie train from Cross' Creek would not pay for axle grease. He thought if Mr Buchanan's motion was carried, the early morning train from Wellington would be jeopardised. Mr Buchanan stated that if he

thought that the early morning train from Cross' Creek would prejudice the early train from Wellington, he would not have proposed it. The amendment of Mr Buchanan was carried by eight votes to seven. EARLY WELLINGTON TRAIN.

Mr Tait then moved that the Minister be asked to restore the train leaving Wellington for Woodville at 4.45 a.m.

Mr Summerell seconded. Mr Dudson did not think they would be well-advised in asking for this train, as he did not think it would be granted. Mr Hogg emphasised the importance of the early morning train from Wellington. There was no train which was more required. Mr Buchanan agreed lvith Mr Hogg. He said the deputation might suggest that the 10.15 a.m. morning train from Wellington be abandoned in favour of the 4.4.5 a.m. goods train.

Mr Webster (Greytown) expressed surprise that the 4.45 a.m. train from Wellington did not appear upon the agenda paper. The motion of Mr Tait was carried unanimously.

A "DOG BOX" WANTED. A proposal that the present goods train leaving Masterton for north at 4 p.m. be made a passenger train, was , then considered. ! Messrs Kummer and Moss thought. j that the request should not be press- J ed.. ■. ' .. ■■] Mr Hogg pointed out that the De- i partment was averse to passengers ] travelling- by goods trains, because this would mean running to a timetable. These trains also carried explosives. The Chairman thought that Bush settlers should be given an opportunity of returning to their homes at "an, earlier hour than at present. On a division, the proposal was negatived on the voices. THE DEPUTATION, Mr Herbert moved that one representative from each township form a deputation to the Minister in support of the resolutions carried. Mr Tait thought that the delegates should be given an opportunity of consulting the local bodies they represented. /• Mr Buchanan pointed out 1 that it was desirable, to appoint a deputation at once. Mr Loasby suggested that three I delegates from the meeting would be | sufficient. The various districts had been represented, at the conference. "" I After further discussion, the reso r lution of Mr Herbert was withdrawn, and it was decided, on the motion of Mr Loasby, that a deputation of three be appointed to interview the Minister, and that the members for Masterton, Pahiatua and Wairarapa be asked to accompany the deputation. -It was decided that the Chairman ! (Mr Carey), Mr Loasby (Greytown). and Mr Ooradine (Masterton) be appointed the deputation. THANKS. On the motion of Mr Herbert, ■ a hearty vote of thanks was accorded the Masterton Chamber of Commerce for having convened the conference.; At the suggestion of Mr Summerell it was decided to ask Mr H. C. Tews-r ley, Chairman of the Wellington Chamber, to acompany the deputation. A vote of thanks to the Chairman terminated, the meeting.