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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 12, Issue 4 (July 1, 1937)

Time's Cavalcade

Time's Cavalcade.

And so we say that our new railway station stands as a splendid monument to the might and glory of The Wheel. It might, with justice, be dedicated to the power of the flanged winged wheel. It is fitting here to quote the words of Bill E. Spokeshave, the wheel-right rhymster.

Here's to the wheel
That has brought us far,
Through ages and ages till—Here we are;
The old wagon-wheel
That crunched and growled,
The ox-cart wheel
All mud-befouled,
The post-chaise wheel
That rattled and sped,
The wheel of the coach
That lumbered ahead.
The old mill-wheel
With its mumble-rumble,
The paddle-boat wheel
With its puff-and-grumble,
The thin high wheel
Of the early bike—
The “penny-farthing,”
The ancient “trike,”
They sped us along
Till here we are
With the wheel of the train
And the motor car.

“Stepping On It.”

“Stepping On It.”

The singing wheel
Of the speeding train
With a hundred tunes
To beat on the brain,
Cantata and chorus
And rousing song,
That sings with the rails
As it speeds along.
A rat-a-tat-tat
Over stops and joints,
A clippy-clop-clop
When it meets the points,
A slow measured beat
When it takes the grade,
And a tally-ho-ho
When the pull is made;
The stout steel wheel
With the velvet grip
That cries hop-along
And trippetty-trip.
Here's to the wheel
That soothes the brain—
The friendly wheel
Of the railway train.