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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 6, Issue 3 (August 1, 1931)

[section]

Refrain.
Snorting through the siding, with a steamescaping din,
Rattling over crossing-loops askew, (Toot! Toot!)
Banging cars behind her (loose hooks clanking on the pin),
The Shunting Engine hits the trail anew!
(Toot! Toot!)

I.
All day long she lay—in quiet idleness, alone (Cooling from the hectic “night before”);
Fires drawn from her fire-box, feeling chilly to the bone
Silent—pulseless—midst the traffic's roar.

II.
Came the dusk. The cleaners came, to set her for her work.
Boiler filled, see kindled fire renew
All the beating life of her—that waits for Pat McGirk,
The king-pin of that hard-baked shunting crew.

III.
Pat sets lever for the yard—he presses on the steam—
Latenf life quick answers! With a cheer (and a Toot!)
Out she rolls, right joyously, to where the waving gleam
Of Shunter Joe's bright hand-lamp signals clear! (“Aint he cute?”)

IV.
Trucks to push and pull and split, cars to slip and jerk
Merchandise of every kind to haul,
Strains to bear, with slipping wheels (sanded to the work)
She answers surely every urgent call.

page 47

V.
Envies not the “Limited,” the “Fast Freight,” the “Express”—
Engines with their own hard hauls to do— (“Tootle-oo!”)
Hers the job to clear the roads, and straighten up the mess
That homing trains forever make anew. (Tootle too!)

VI.
Great the gifts that shunters need—
Clear heads, quick thoughts, fast acts—
Nerves calm, strength certain—unafraid,
With every chance to cope—
Time brief for preparation—straight
To boldly “face the facts”
Must be the gangs
Whose gay “grand slams”
Set trains, “to time,” afloat.
Snorting through the siding, with a steamescaping din,
Rattling over crossing-loops askew,
(Toot! Toot!)
Banging cars behind her (loose hooks clanking on the pin),
The Shunting Engine hits the trail anew!
(Toot! Toot!)

Platelayers At Work On The N.Z.R. (Rly. Publicity photo.) Renewing points and crossings in the Lambton Station yard, Wellington.

Platelayers At Work On The N.Z.R.
(Rly. Publicity photo.)
Renewing points and crossings in the Lambton Station yard, Wellington.