The elaborate system of modern train control designed for the protection of the rail travelling public, and the functioning of the emergency machinery of the railways in the event of a mishap to a train (fortunately a rare occurrence in New Zealand), is described briefly in the following article by “A.O.H.” in the “Dominion.”

Thundering wheels, a rush of air, and shrill blasts from the engine whistle screaming into the night; a line of carriages writhing behind like an illuminated centipede, and above them a trailing pennant of black smoke. The rounding of a curve, a jolting and grinding as the wheels of the engine strike a slip on the line, and sudden disaster threatens. In a flash the steam is cut off and the brakes applied, but the engine cannot right itself, and with a stagger as from a fatal thrust, it topples over, while the driver and the fireman jump for safety. The carriages remain shuddering.

The manner in which the Railways Department sets to work demonstrates the careful provision made for cases of accident. Serious disruptions of the railway service of New Zealand, although few and far between, are a contingency for which the Department has always to be fully prepared. With up and down traffic on a main line blocked, urgent measures are needed, and the breakdown service that is always ready at a moment's notice is one of the most important factors in railway transport.