SERIOUS RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

Auckland Star, Volume XVI, Issue 3807, 23 October 1882, Page 2

SERIOUS RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

Eight, Persons Seriously Injured.

[BY Til/EGKAPH.- TRESS -S:-CIA7IOJJ.]

DUNEDIN, this day. The train from Dunedin to Oamaru ran off the line, at Blueskiu, on Saturday night The train comprised a six-wheel coupled "F" engine, live passenger carriages, one rradaide waggon, and biake v_n. AH the passenger carriages were crowded, and there must have been fully eighty persons on board. Among the passengers were a son of Mr Oeorge McLean, Esther and Louis McKellar, G. Charlton, D. Dunbar (Waikouaiti), liraithwaite (Shag Point) John Guy (Dunediu), Mesdamea Proctor and Duncon, Misses Aikle (2), tti A Misa Stewart (Flag .wamp). I. rjn_ er . wood was the driver in charge of ibe train" J, Hislop fireman, and A. C. Mitchell guard' At the time of tbe accident, the train' having passed Puraknranui corner ana cliffs, was nearing Wuitati station, when oa rounding a sharp curve, some 50 yards on the Dunedin side of the bridge that spans tho Waitaki stream, the engine was running, with steam shut off, at the rale of jl2 to 14 miles an hour, which rate cannot :it is said, be exceeded ou that part of the line, when shopping has to be mads at Waitat i station. Some persons assart that at this time tbe ordinary amount of speed wa« greutly exceeded, while, on the contrary others say they observed tho train at. noticed that it was going more slowly than usual. When a short distance from the bridge, the engine, horn some unknown cause, jumped r.ff the Hue in the catting, and after running a shoit distance on tho sleepers, it was brought up by the left bank cutting, Tbe result was peculiar,. and showed the extieme violenc? of the co.cuss.n The wajjgou next tbo engine was tbrowii off the hue and fell on its eidc, lying at right angles to the engine, and completely blocking the opening on one side of the engine, Tbe cab couplings of the fir.t two ' carriages snapped to pieces, the Brst carriage not being cap-ized, but it also w.nt across the line in front of the pl-tform,«triki_g tbe cab of the engine with great violence. Mr Dunbar, farmer, Waikouaiti, who was standing on this platform, fell between it and the engine and sustained serious injanes to his legs. This carriage was left a complete wreck.iis windows were shattered it was wrenched from its bogie, and its front part crushed to piecee.tbe fore part of the next carriagehaving broken through it. The second carnage was also materially damaged, its fore part broken iv the collision with the second and its windows shattered. The other two carriage, and van left the line, but were not damaged beyond a little rough jolting. Nothing un-u-ual was experienced by the occupants, Those who saw the wreck agreed that tho escape of the passengers was astonishing. Windows were smashed, the strongest woodwork: broken into splinters, and ironwork aud couplings broken as if they were pieces of hoop-iron. When the engine came to a standstill, the opening to the cab was closed by the waggon which fell over to the right of it, and the other was partly closed by the bank, The engineer and fireman managed to pop throu.ht be -pertare left and to gain safely the bank on their left-hand side. Their escape was most snrprising. They can thei-scves g.ve no very clear account of it as soon. As the engine struck the ba.k, a_d nothing could be done by them, the fireman jumped through the opening referred to, Which was on bin side of the engine; the driver was about to leap the other way in the manner do. scribed, and he instantly followed tbo hteman. 'ibe collision of the carriage with the engine drove the section of the back port of tbo cab almost to the furnace door. The other carriages were damaged ia the manner described- doubled across the line, so that the train closed up almost in the manner of a concertina. Those only who were in the tv. o front carriages were injured, and ot thefe only eight at all seriously. Dunbar was found jammed between the engine and the front of the first carriage. He could not be extricated till tome ironwork of the engine cab had be«n cut away. On being removed, it was found that both his legs were severely injured, but a* he had been to Dunedin for medicine for his father, who was not expected to live, he insisted on being taken home, and nccordingly went on with the express to Wait kouaiti. J,.bn Guy, emplojed in the Dunedin goods sheds, received a nasty cut on the head and one or two severe bruiees. Mrs Jane Findlayson (of Hlueskin) and her son were bruised and cut, but not seriously, and Mrs Proctor (also of Blue, skin) suffered a good deal trom the shock, while many other passengers Bust-4ned slight cuts ana bruises, inflicted chiefly in m*k.ln- their escape from the carriages The accident could not have occurred in any place where the consequence, were likely to be less serious, for on either side of the line at the spot where the train left the rail, there was a bank of clay several feet high. Had the train proceeded a few yards further in the direction of the slatiou, the psrriages would have shot over the bridge into the Waitaki River, aadthe consequences would have been calamitous So far, nothiog which would .uggest the" cause of the accident has transpired. «-no _..*_*_ n_?? w. 0_; esca Pcs io connection with the affair is that of Mrs Stewart, who was standing by therailwayfpnceat .bespat where the accidont occurred looking for her husband expected in thq train. ' She states that while looking at the passing train she saw a wagon jump off the rails, and atonce Bhe rushed home, a little distance away, and had hardly left her stand' poitt when one of tho carriages was thrown on to the very spot where, a few seconds before, she was standing. Mrs Stewart states that the waggon was the first to leave tie rails, but she musth«ve been so engaged watching' the tram passing that she did not see the engiue when it Bret left the track, A_pn« of men wa* at once told oft to clear the,lino, »nd worked without int ermissipu from abput 5.30 pm.to 8 a.m. During the whole of that time their labor was continued without refreshment of any kind. Traffic was resumed this mprning.