MAIN TRUNK SMASH.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume VI, Issue 1643, 21 May 1919, Page 8

MAIN TRUNK SMASH.

SEARCHING FOR THE CAUSE. EXPERIMENTS WITH BRAKES. [Special to Tito Sun.] TAIHAPE. May 20. Efforts are being made to elucidate, if possible, the mystery surrounding the train disaster on the Main Trunk line. Experts fail to account for the failure of the air brakes. At the request of Taihape railway employees, the Westinghouse brake on the derailed engine was sealed by .the coroner soon after the accident. The brake was brought into Taihape and tested in the presence of departmental officials, the coroner and representatives of the men. The test was carried out under the supervision of Mr Pearson, Chief Mechanical Engineer, and the result of the test was to make the failure of the brakes on the night of the accident more inexplicable than ever. A running test is to be made under conditions somewhat similar to those obtaining when the accident occurred. The brake is to be applied to a train running between Ohakune and Taihape, which will travel the same grades. Mr Pearson expressed his intention to travel on the engine making the test.