At New Plymouth.

The New Plymouth station was decorated by the railway staff and as the ribbon was cut by Mrs. E. R. C. Gilmour, Mayoress, the streamlined car moved away to the cheers and clapping of spectators numbering many hundreds. In addition to the Hon. H. G. R. Mason, Minister of Justice, and Mr. G. H. Mackley, General Manager of Railways, and his party, there were many passengers from New Plymouth. All seats available were booked, some of the travellers having arranged to join at Stratford and Hawera.

Addressing the gathering at New Plymouth, Mr. Mason said it was an occasion of historic importance. He apologised for the absence of the Minister of Railways, Hon. D. G. Sullivan. Mr. Sullivan had taken the keenest interest in the developments of railcar operation in New Zealand since he assumed the portfolio of Railways in 1935, and had given particular attention to the Department's problems in the Wanganui-Taranaki district, this involving not only the designing and construction of a suitable type of railcar for the 251 miles between New Plymouth and Wellington, but also the arrangement of a time table satisfactory to the largest number of potential users.

Mr. Sullivan wished him again to express his appreciation of the interest and assistance of local bodies, chambers of commerce and Parliamentary representatives in the electorates most closely concerned in reaching uniformity

Before the departure of the mobile broadcasting unit, 5ZB, from Wellington on 4th April. (From left): Announcer, Bob Pollard (broadcasting the farewell ceremony), the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, Minister of Railways, Mr. Beau Shiel, Acting-Controller of the National Commercial Broadcasting Service, the Hon. F. Jones, Minister of Broadcasting, and Mr. G. H. Mackley, General Manager of the New Zealand Railways.

in the choice of the timetable for railcars on this run.

Mr. Mason was sure that the General Manager and the responsible staff were equally pleased that the outcome of their efforts in the design, construction, and scheduling of the railcars for the New Plymouth service had been such as to give general satisfaction to the public. Mr. Mackley had been indefatigable in his efforts.

At Stratford a number of people gathered at the station to watch the car's arrival and departure. One man boarded the car for the journey south. On Saturday evening, on the way to New Plymouth, Mr. Mackley was met at Stratford by the Mayor and Mayoress, Mr. and Mrs. Percy Thomson.

On arrival at Hawera the railcar was greeted by a large crowd which page 62 packed the entire station platform. With the Mayor, Mr. J. E. Campbell, were Messrs. E. K. Cameron, President of the Hawera Chamber of Commerce, J. B. Murdoch, Chairman of the Hawera County Council, and H. Thrush, a member of the Hawera Borough Council.

Gratification with the highly successful inauguration of the Taranaki-Wellington railcar service was expressed by Mr. G. H. Mackley on his arrival at Wellington after the first run of the service. In spite of two unavoidable delays the car easily maintained its schedule and reached Wellington ahead of time. The car picked up the ten minutes it was late in leaving New Plymouth before it reached Aramoho. There was a slight delay at Palmerston North. The car was full all the way and the passengers said they were thrilled with the run, concluded Mr. Mackley. They were surprised at the comfort and cleanliness of the car and the excellence of the fittings.