TRAINS COLLIDE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 66, Issue 269, 26 August 1946, Page 2

TRAINS COLLIDE

ACCIDENT NEAR AUCKLAND ELEVEN PERSONS INJURED (P.A.) AUCKLAND, Aug. 25. When two suburban trains met head-on at the Papatoetoe railway station at noon on Saturday, 11 persons were injured and both trains were extensively damaged.

The train bound for Papakura on the down main track struck, a train on the eastern side of the station with such force that the stationary train, which was waiting to leave for Auckland, was driven back about 15 yards. The first two of the southbound train were partly telescoped and the interior of each carriage, for a distance of about 12 feet, was tilled with heaps of wreckage. The driver and fireman of the stationary locomotive probably would have lost their lives had they not leapt out just before the crash, as the rear of the engine was pushed about two leot info the cab when the chassis and other steelwork were buckled by the impact. A guard’s van immediately behind the engine of the standing train mounted the floor of the engines 7 coal bunker and the back platform of the first carriage was lifted on to the platform of the second car.

Of the 11 people taken to the Auckland Hospital, only four were admitted and the rest were discharged after treatment in the casualty department. None of those in hospital is in a> serious condition. Nine of the injured were passengers in the two forward * carriages of the southbound train and the other two were the engine-driver and fireman, who escaped with only minor injuries. None Seriously Hurt Only about 20 passengers were travelling in these two carriages and there were few people in the other three carriages. About 40 people were in the six carriages of the stationary train. None was seriously hurt although many of the people in both trains were bruised and received cuts from flying glass and smashed woodwork. They were able to go home after receiving medical atention at the railway station. Those taken to the Auckland Hospital were: William Henry Gallagher, aged 59, carpenter, of Papatoetoe; spinal injuries. N George Teriaki, aged 15, of Paerata; fractiired spine and lacerations to the forehead. Mrs Inez Ruby Williams, Hamilton; injuries to the back and lacerations to the left leg. Donovan John Whale, aged 31, married, timber yard foreman, of Papatoetoe; concussion and fractured nose.

The crash occurred just as the Wel-lington-Auckland relief express, which was running late, went past the station. The stationary suburban train of six carriages and van was drawn up alongside the platform on the down main line so that the track would be clear for the express. It was scheduled to leave for Auckland a few minutes after the crash occurred and most of the passengers had taken their seats. Several of the passengers in the Papakura train, who were leaving it at Papatoetoe, were standing in the carriages or walking toward the doors. Almost Deafening Crash The trains collided with a violent crash, the sound, which was almost deafening to the few bystanders on the platform, was heard in many parts of the town and brought a large crowd to the station within a few minutes. Two Papatoetoe doctors, Dr. T. E. Caffell and Dr. F. N. Sharpe, arrived at the station within a few minutes and attended to the victims on the platform and in their surgeries until the arrival of three ambulances from Auckland. One of the ambulances brought Dr. Robert Holmden and Mr Barclay Innes, senior surgical officer, from the Auckland Hospital, where preparations were made for receiving the injured people as soon as news of the accident was telephoned. After inspecting the wrecked carriages, Mr Innes said he could not understand how anyone had come out alive from the telescoped cars, as seats and racks had been smashed to pieces. He considered it was a miracle that no one was killed. He paid a tribute to the prompt work of the local doctors, who had considerably reduced the task of the Auckland party. \ The Railway Department’s district traffic manager (Mr F. Gembitsky) arrived at the station soon after the accident to make a preliminary investigation. He stated that the cause of the accident would be the subject of an immediate inquiry. He expressed sympathy, on behalf of the department, to those who had been injured.