The National Transport System.

The necessity for efficient, safe and economical transport increases in proportion to the growth of the country. In the beginning the early settlers were faced with the primary consideration of their own immediate needs—clothing, shelter and food for themselves and their families. However, as the years passed and towns sprang up, the people turned their minds to commerce in its true sense—the interchange of commodities. The city man manufactured, while the man on the land produced, and a want of each other's wares was felt. Also, the opportunity of trading with other lands arose, if the products could be conveyed to the ports. The New Zealand Railways were proved in the past and will continue to prove in the future a highly efficient means of interchange and conveyance of goods.

Since its institution the Railways Department has remained true to its slogan—“Safety—Economy—Comfort.” It is ever ready to meet the occasion, no matter how exacting the demands.

Farmer and manufacturer, both large and small, appreciate the superiority of transport by rail. The page 25 motor van, admirable as it undoubtedly is for town transport, is far too expensive a proposition for transport on a larger scale. The capacity of even an out-size in motor vans is very limited, and therefore a fleet of them is required. As well as the initial outlay, it is a physical impossibility for this fleet of vans to be cheaper per running mile than rail. In 1927 the charge for one ton of goods for a distance of one mile was less than 21/2d. Moreover, the climate of New Zealand scarcely expedites transport by road. For certain periods of the year some of the main roads are in such a condition as to render them extremely dangerous for heavily laden vans, while the railway continues to offer

The Saturday Rush.
A busy scene on the Lambton Station, Wellington, New Zealand.

smooth, safe transport. Throughout the entire year the lines are watched by gangs of men whose sole duty is the care of the iron tracks.

To passengers the New Zealand Railways offer the maximum of comfort at the minimum of expenditure. There is a glamour in travelling by rail—the hurried farewells on the smoky platform—through the carriage window glimpses of the city disappearing into the haze of the distance—above the last tapering streaks of the sunset the evening star gleaming—and then the soft velvet of a starry night—while there is always present the exhilaration of the smooth speed of the great train as it flashes past fields of crops and slows to some sleepy, dimly-lit wayside station. The railroad holds a magic spell, and whosoever travels by rail must fall victim to it.

Indeed, those who have not travelled by rail know not what they have missed, for the smooth comfort and quiet efficiency of the railroad brightens the most tedious journey.