In a time when the whole world is busy letting other people know what each section is doing, it was no surprise to find that radio, a combined discovery and invention which permitted of the greatest sweep of thought in the fastest time to the minds of the largest audience, should have seized upon the popular imagination and become established as one of the most universal, as well as one of the most “likely to last,” of modern facilities and amenities.

It is advertising, in the widest sense, a method of letting others know what you are doing, and in this respect the New Zealand Railways Magazine conforms to the essential features of advertisement. It is the allocator to which matters of importance to all railwaymen may be referred, and the clearing-house through which the current of events in each of the branches may be switched in the desired direction. It has the advantage that can be secured by no other publication on behalf of the Railways, in that it is free to all in the Service. It is not sectional, and the purpose of its existence is to present, without offence and with the best knowledge available, matters of importance in the Railway transport world in such a way that a full understanding may be gained by those who read it.

The press of the Dominion has recognised the authenticity of the matter appearing in the Magazine, and has used it very extensively as a source of reliable information upon Railway matters. By it, and by the use that is made of it, we are able to explain our position to the public, just as the radio broadcaster does.

The Magazine is our placard of services, our bill of fare as to what we can supply to the public, and it serves as a necessary aid in explaining the importance of Railways in the affairs of the country.

When big figures are reached it is very difficult for the human mind to conceive of them with any distinctness unless graphic comparisons are prepared and presented. The fact that £5,000,000 in wages is annually spent by the staff of the Railways from their earnings is often insufficiently known and recognised by those to whom that huge spending capacity is of the utmost importance, namely, the transporting public. The Magazine helps us to bring out this and other relative facts in a way that by no other means could we so effectively or so consistently do.

Among our 19,000 employees, spread from one end of the Dominion to the other, it is a further feature of importance that we should have some means by which we can make ourselves understood amongst our-selves, and here again the Magazine becomes the common meeting ground for all.

That such means are essential for efficiency in modern business is a matter that is widely recognised. If every business with a capital of anything over £20,000,000 page 6 were listed, the number of such who issue staff magazines of their own would be so great in proportion to the total, that we could safely say “everybody's doing it.” But why are they doing it?—Coal companies, insurance companies, manufacturing companies, shipping companies, railway companies—what common object unites them all to the end that a separate staff magazine is produced by each of them? Surely it is that with the size to which such businesses have grown, the close personal touch so desirable in business becomes a physical impossibility, and some other method—the best available—has to be adopted to take its place.

So far as our Magazine is concerned, we have had, in its production, a great deal of assistance from the staff in every branch of the Service, and it is now, as much as ever, open and available for the purpose to which it was dedicated at its inception over four years ago, and with the same object in view that was explained and adopted for the Magazine, namely, “For better Service.”

Rail Travel Made Comfortable

“Comfort, like the golden sun, dispels the sullen shade with her sweet influence.” This sentiment will be endorsed by the many thousands of travellers on the New Zealand Railways who have availed themselves of the comfort provided by one of the Department's pillows before setting out on a long train journey. The system of hiring pillows to train passengers was inaugurated in 1925, since which time the innovation has proved increasingly popular with the travelling public. Confined originally to the Main Trunk Expresses in the North Island, the pillow-hiring system, by virtue of its popularity with the public, has been extended to the majority of other express services. The system is controlled by the Department's Refreshment Branch, issue of the pillows being made by the sleeping-car and train attendants. The following is a brief description of the working of the system:—On the principal station platforms, such as Auckland, Wellington, Christ-church and Dunedin, an attendant in charge of the pillows is on duty about forty-five minutes before the departure time of trains. The pillows are placed in a large hamper, suitably lined with clean sheeting and reserve stocks are stored in large canvas bags. When opened, the lid of the hamper remains in a vertical position, with the notice “Pillows for Hire, 1/- each” displayed thereon. (The attendant also announces this information as the passengers pass along the platform.)

Where sleeping-car or train attendants are provided on trains a supply of pillows for hire purposes en route is carried on the train. This provision, by obviating the necessity for providing a platform service at intermediate stations, makes for economy in the operation of the system.

Scrupulous care is taken by the Department in the matter of safeguarding the health of passengers by ensuring absolute cleanliness of all pillows issued. The pillows have really three coverings. Above the ordinary ticking is a second slip-cover of the same material, which is removed and washed regularly, and on top of this is the white pillow-slip. This is taken off and laundered at the end of each journey—an amenity much appreciated by the public.

The supply of pillows to passengers is free from any worrying restrictions. The passenger pays the modest hire charge of 1/-, is handed the pillow, uses it without check or interference in any way en route, and at the end of the journey leaves it in the car, where it is removed by the attendant and recommissioned for service.