TOO FAST?

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 282, 27 November 1940, Page 8

TOO FAST?

LIMITED'S SPEED.

AFTERMATH OF SMASH

EVIDENCE AT INQUIRY.

That the Limited express travelled through Huntly at a higher speed than was the cane with usual "up" trains was the point stressed by lan Graham, a porter, stationed at Huntly, when the board of inquiry into the cause or causes of the derailment of the Wellington Auckland Limited express near Mercer on October 2S, continued its sitting in the Arbitration Court buildings this morning. The board is composed of Sir Francis Frazer, chairman, Professor S. R. Lamb, of Auckland, and Mr. F. W. Furkert, of Wellington. Counsel represented interested parties. "I made the comment to Ganjrer Wallis, That's McCnbbin. One of these days he will kill himself,' " said witness. "When going over the points at the station the train swayed a bit." Witness said that though the express was travelling faater than usual, it was not a great deal faster, as all expresses travelled through rapidly. "What caused me to say 'One of these days he will kill himself,' was the fact that there are bends in the line and facing points,'' witness went on. "My remark did not relate specially to Driver McCubbin, but to the drivers of the Limited a* a class. What made me make the remark was that I considered the Limited went through Huntly at a rather fast speed." Recofuaed Driver. '

j He added that he did not know who was driving the train when he first saw it. but he recognised the driver as the train passed through. George Paterson, a surfaceman, stationed at Huntly, said he thought the train was travelling faster than usual. "After the train had pasted I went on down to the station, where I met Ganger Wallis," witness continued. "I remarked | to him, 'McCubbin is cutting it out this morning. He must be trying to make up time.' Ganger Wallis replied to the effect that he and the porter had just been saying the same thing." Witness added that he had known Driver McCubbin quite well, but, apart from tie apparently excessive speed of the Limited on the date of the accident, he had no personal knowledge of McCubbin travelling at greater than normal speed. "I cannot estimate the speed of the train when it passed through the station," said Clarence William Barrett, a porter, stationed at Whangainarino, "but I would not like to say that it waa down to the 30 miles an hour restriction which commenced immediately ahead of the station." The *peed seemed, however, to be about usual for the Limited, he added. HigMr Than Normal. "When the train passed us I was definitely of the opinion that the speed was in excess of that normally ran by expresa trains," mid Brian Mansfield Beeebey, a surfaceman stationed at Mercer who, in company with a companion, pulled their jigger off the line to allow the Limited to pass. "There is a fairly sharp curve at the spot where we pulled off and the train travelled around this curve at what I thought to be a high rate of speed," he said. He did not consider that the train panned through Rangiriri at a epeed faster than usual, said Jim Owen Harris, porter at Rangiriri. He did not notice any dangerous movement of the engine or of the rest of the train. Police Sergeant Congratulated. I Sergeant T. Kelly, of Pukekohe, gave evidence in connection with the examination he had made of the express and the permanent way after he had been summoned by Constable Pollard, of Mercer. He said the draw-bar of the engine snapped off clean witi a email splinter on the right aide. This allowed the carriages to rush past, each carriage being lifted off the rajl on the left side until clear of the engine, when it came down again on the rails. "I looked for the possibility of an obstruction being placed on the track," said witness, "but there waa nothing to indicate any obstruction." The chairman congratulated Sergeant Kelly on the observations he had made at the scene of the accident and said he had produced an excellent statement. j Scene of Accident pescribed. { Constable F. Pollard, of Mercer, described how he was in his office when he heard a short whistle coming from the direction of the railway cutting about 200 yards from the police station. It waa accompanied by a rumbling sound. The;time was 8.13 a.m. "I thought eomething had happened to the train and immediately ran out," said witness who described the scene at the accident. He went on to gay that there was no chance of getting into the engine. He turned off what steam cooks he could see on the outside, butsubsequently found that the escaping «team was coining from where the gauge leaves the boiler. He described the removal of the bodies of the engine crew. Travelling At Normal Speed. Rupert Cecil Hayea, surfaceman, of Rangiriri, said the express seemed to be handled in a normal manner and was travelling at- the usual epeed. Edward Henry Burroughs, automatic signal maintainer at Ohinewai, gava similar evidence, and said he was satisfied that the speed restriction was being observed through the Ohinewai yards. "My impression was that on this occasion the train was travelling at the normal speed for an express train —no faeter than usual and, if anything, a shade slower," said another surfaceman, Arthur Thomas Baker. (Proceeding.) —■ - I