OFF THE RAILS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 29, 4 February 1928, Page 10

OFF THE RAILS.

| MISHAP AT PUKEKOHE. ■j PORTION OF GOODS TRAIN | THREE EXPRESSES DELAYED. i ! (By Telegraph.—Owii Correspondent.' PUKEKOHE, this day. | A startling mishap to a goods trai and the continent holding up oi tlm (expresses caused the railway staff ; jPukekohe an anxious time last evei ling. A special goods train bound fro: Mercer to Auckland had been put int the lirst loop track at the railway st; jtion a few minutes before eight u'cloc I 'ol shunting operations. The train w<i jbroken, the rear portion consisting of : wagons and the guard's van, the tot; weighing about 250 ton#. 1 his part of the train was left motioi less with brakes fast 011 almost in fror of the stationmaster's oliice, while tl engine and a number of trucks wei taken 011 a shunting mission. When t! driver had reached the East Street ovei head traffic bridge he is said to liav observed that tho stationary portion c his train was running backwards. Although the Pukekohe station var appears level the approaches, both froi the north and south, arc on the up grad< Never before, however, has anything c an unusual nature occurred. ° Last liight the brakes evidently faile to function properly. No one seeme

I lllllllllltl1MIIIUHII]ltMIHIIM!ltlH||1!lt.ll!fI.I.fI*||!IHItlttlllnif llllHMllUlllHlJHUiiiniuilHHlinuiumniJut.mn to notice that thipart of the train comiincneed to nio\c backwards down the -light incline. The runaway gradually developed speed over its 400 yard? | journey until its career was halted liv ;t he Samson concrete stop block, situated just above the subway at the southern jend of the yard*. The stop block re-j-isted the force of the runaway rolling -tock to such an extent that the guard's .van and three coal-laden wagons were ithrown oil the rails and over an em-J ibankment. The van came to rest 011 a: 'wire fence and the northern wall that : supports the permanent way over the j subway. ' 1 in j A 1 ( ' xv more feet, and the van and' ee | perhaps one truck would have been j ■thrown to the roadway some 20 feet a below. The van, three wagons and thel 11- stop block were considerably de..*aged.] un!Another truck had one of its buffers to'staved in, while a few yards of the main j a- line were also thrown out of gauge so ek that repairs had to be effected before as an . r trains could go through. 23 The south-bound Limited express was .ul due to pass through Pukekohe four minutes later. The Limited was held n (up north of the scene. Nt | A repair gang was soon at work, relie! moving broken and twisted iron and r ' L , (effecting temporary repairs. The lie Limited was delayed for 4"> minutes, :r- and the ordinary Auckland-Wellington 1 ve -Main Trunk express was held up for 20 0 f minutes. The daylight Limited, bound! for Auckland was also running 101 rd | minutes late in passing through Puke-! jkohe. Coods trains were behind schedule I [c | time. 0 j- All trains are now being piloted over the danger zone. A g*ng of men commenced repair work early this morning, ; d and in a few hours through traffic was -u proceeding without interruption.