THE START.

West Coast Times, Issue 332, 16 October 1866, Page 6

THE START.

The time now sapidly approaching for departure being intimated by the peculiar bustle of the guards about the carnage, and the nervous puffing of, the iron horse, I proceeded to occupy a seat in one' of .the compart/nents, which was exclusively occupied by about ' eight gentlemen, who were engaged (it Beemed to me) in smoking against time. Of course, through courtesy, I was asked . if I objected to t;he odour of the fragant ' weed, and of course, not/tg be' outdone in politeness, I replied that' it was an aroma above all others that I was particularly partial to. But at the same tinfe, the action of a gentleman, who after slight difficulty, succeeded in lowering both the , glass sides, to admit air, was mentally acknowledged by me as a most grateful favor. At last we started on our journey, and proceeded somewhat slowly, until we arrived at the embankment, where some' men were engaged in making repairs, and where we stopped for a very short while, to allow of the points being regulated. After all was made right, the shrill whistle of the engine warned us that once more we were ivi motion. It may, perhaps, be noticed that whilst running over the embankment it struck me that there was a slight oscillation, which ceased when WC arrived AVI fir-mar- m.ftiin<4 n.m«.. n .

that might be accounted f r by the fact that the 'embankment had not obtained its regular "set" — that , tha earth was more loose and springy than at other places. Arrived at the Mokomoko, where we stopped to take-in a supply of watery my ears were greetpd with the cry, from , some facetious wag, of — V Ladigs. and Gentlemen— Mokomoko Junction — show your tickets," and my attention was directed to'the branch line to the Mokomoko i Jetty — that monument of foolishness and inflated hopes, never ••realised. It struck me, however *that some of our merchantsare keenly alive to the advantages that will be gained by the arrival of vessels from home at the* New River, in taking first delivery of their goods, which can be very cheaply done by the aid .of this br. nch- line, as soon as the railway is open for traffic, and* which will thus avoid all the expense of commission, &c, that would Otherwise be charged. ' Again we were in motion, and proceeded slowly until we reached Ihe cutting at the Green Hills, or that portion of the line known as Ross and Aldrich's contract. Here I was struck with -the magnitude of the work accomplished. For about 400 yards the eye rests on great masses of granite each side of the line \, indeed it resembles ti perpendicular stone wall in some places, and the excavation must have given fhe contractors great difficulty to overcome; In viewing this work, I was impressed with the fetling that some day not far distant, this locality will be opened up for quarrying purposes, such as supplying the material for roadmaking, building, &c, which the facility of railway transit will greatly enhance. At this point occurred a slight contretemps. It appeared that the railway engineer had received written .authority from Messrs Dalgety, Rattray,'and Co.* to bring up the engines and carriages, or such other rolling stock as he might* require, for removal to the carriage shed at Invercargiil, and that our journey was partly for that purpose. But the persons hi charge conceived that a different interpretation ought to apply to the authority in question, and had obstructed our progress by removing <$ne of the rails. We consequently came to a dead stop, and there ensued a very ludicrous scene. The men refused to allow the train to pass, and we were all anxiously awaiting to see what would turn up. The guards in the meanwhile opened the doors, and we all got out to enjoy ourselves. His JHonor, with whom was the Provincial Treasurer, Mr Nurse, another member of the Government, and the Railway Engineer, showed the written authority to pass, but all to no avail. The men would not stir .an inch, but laughed at our dilemma, and thus, ' some thirty persons were v kept ■. nearly half-an-hour cooling themselves in the open air, a little knot gathering rbund the ■men, trying to. convince them of their error, in, not allowing the train to go through, but without result ; indeed, lam informed that v one of the.gentry offered to fight the " biggest nian in the crowd," and there was a little chaff indulged in, of showing their extraordinary development of muscle, and of walking roundT imaginary rings, and of holding imaginary bottles, &c, but all ended peaceably. The opposition offeVed was taken in very good part, and after a while his Honor, calling two gentlemen present to witness the authority under which he acted, produced the letter in question, which showed that the Government were authorised to pass along Dalgety, Rattray, and Co-.'s portion of the line, in order to bring up carriages, rolling stock, &c, and ordered the obflt^cles to ha removed. A number of men being in attendance, acting under his instructions, all things were quickly set to rights, arid we resumed our journey to the Bluff without further impediment.

On arriving, at Cumpbelltown, opposite the Eagle/ Hotel, after wandering about, inhaling the fresh sea breeze, and ruminating upon the benefit the opeiiing of the railway wilbconfer upon this pretty little town, the advantage that will he derived frbm the quick transit of merchapdise, and the opening up of the country along the line that is certain to follow, I, in company with some others, adjourned to the Eagle to refresh the inner man, and from the number who were Seated I should have imagined that both the hotels must haye'been taxed to the utmost to^ appease the hungry appetite that unexpectedly required to be attended to. At" length the .cravings of weak humanity having been duly satisfied, we were informed that the train was ready to return, and having managed to secure a seat amongst some anti-smokers 'on ' this occasion^ we were rapidly driven to town, where we arrived safely, to the mutual congratulation of all. I may, fn conclusion, mention that the journey occupied one hour and forty minutes to the Bluff, counting all stoppages, and the return trip was accomplished in one hour and twenty minutes, and that the journey was performed very easily, the running being considered by competent judges as much more favorable than was at first anticipated.

I would be wanting in justice to the Railway Engineer, Mr Paterson. if I did not mention the gratification we all experienced at the care and attention evinced by that gentleman, who rode on the engine both trips, for the safety and comfort of all the exeursiouista entrusted to his charge, and to the Assistant Engineer, Mr Simpson, who likewise did all in his power to make the journey as smooth as possible •, in fact, all the officials connectr-d with the railway department did their utmost, to make things pleasant for this — the pioneer railway trip to the Bluff. I also may mention that his Honor sustained a slfght injury to his wrist, which was caused by stumbling- over a stone as he was returning to the train,, from^having: spoken with the man in charge who opposed the progress of the engine at the Green Hills. So ends my duty of a faithful chronicler of the first excursion trip from Invercargill to the Bluff. y