Two attempts to harm train

Palmerston North, March 9: What appears to have been a dastardly attempt to wreck the north-bound Limited Express was made last night, when an obstruction consisting of beams from cattle stops was placed across the metals at the crossings at the Terrace End and Kelvin Grove, the former being a suburb of, and the latter three miles distant from, Palmerston North. In the case of  Terrace End one beam had been wrenched from the stop and placed on the rails.

It was shattered by the bogey wheels of the engine. At Kelvin Grove four beams were on the line, one of which was thrown clear, while the other three were smashed. On the second occasion the train stopped, but resumed its journey, and the incident was reported at Feilding.

Gangers were immediately sent to the crossings concerned, and the police were advised. This morning Senior Detective Quirke was investigating the matter, but the perpetrator or perpetrators are as yet unknown. No doubt the attempt was aimed particularly at the Limited, for at the Terrace End the Main Trunk and Napier lines are side by side, and the beams were placed only on  the former. A train passed over the line half an hour before, when the latter was clear.

Expo clocks second million

The New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition is now in a proud position. It has broken all the attendance records for exhibitions in this country, and yesterday the two-millionth visitor passed through the gates. It was a significant occasion, for it spelt success with a capital S. It looked at first as if rain was going to dampen the proceedings, but fortunately it held off and the evening was calm and clear. The two-millionth visitor, a lady who hails from Timaru, entered at 6.49pm, and when the gates closed the total was 2,009,259, making 21,172 for the day.

Buses will not run on rails

The Railway Department is calling for tenders for motor buses for use in various parts of New Zealand. It is officially explained (reports our Wellington correspondent) that the buses are needed to replace the mixed trains on branch lines so that the department will be able to confine the train services to roads, and therefore will not have to maintain the tracks to such a high standard,  while the operating costs will also be reduced. The motor buses will not use the rails, but will be road-running vehicles. These buses are being purchased immediately to run at Christchurch, Oamaru and Dunedin. 

Cook Strait phone cable arrives

The new telephonic cable that is to span Cook Strait arrived in Wellington from England on Monday. The new cable is to be laid between Lyall Bay and Blind River, near Seddon in Marlborough. The marvel of this four-core continuous-loading cable is that three conversations (engaging six persons) and three Morse messages, may be sent over the cable at one and the same time, without 

the slightest risk of interference one with the other, and yet the cable is only a two-pair one; that is to say, there are only four copper wires running through the heart of the cable. The deep sea length is one and three-quarter inches in diameter, whilst the shore ends are two inches in diameter, and the armouring proportionately heavier in the shore ends than the deep sea portions of  the cable. Extra strength is required in the cable as it reaches the shore owing to the greater action of tides and surf. — ODT, 10.3.1926