TELESCOPED.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 130, 4 June 1934, Page 3

TELESCOPED.

LAST VAN ON TRAIN. STATIONARY EXPRESS HIT. OCCUPANTS ESCAPE INJURY. ] (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, Sunda v. I Two passenger trains were involved in a smash on the Sock burn railway cross- 1 1 ing, live miles south of Christchurch, < about 7.20 last evening, when the engine 2 of a train from Little River crashed c into the luggage wagon at tlio back of, J the express from lnvercargill, which' t hacl been pulled up at the crossing because of engine trouble. By a remark- t able stroke of good fortune 110 one on ' 1 the trains was seriously injured. Misty,' 1 drizzling rain was falling at tlie time. IS With a noise that was heard almost a mile away, the engine of the Little 1 River train cut through the rear van ot' j 3 the express like a knife and buried itself, the sides of the van encasing it ; , an neatly as a shed. The under carriage j { of the van was smashed into a mass of I ( broken planks, steel and iron girders I t and wheels. The rear bogie, with its j ( four wheels, although keeping to the h rails, was torn from its bearings and , forced by the cowcatcher of the engine j close up against the leading wheels, ; which left the track and ploughed into I 1 the shingltj. s Passengers on both trains were , 1 thrown l'rom then; seats 011 to the car- i riage floors, and luggage followed them..! Some passengers received shock and bad I bruises, and one had to be treated at' the Christchurch Public Hospital, but] there were 110 serious cases. 1 1 Heavy Load of Passengers. | J The express from lnvercargill, which j was drawn by two locomotives, was I carrying a heavy load of passengers. I I Engine trouble developed in the second, 1 locomotive just after passing Hornby 1: and the train was pulled up right across 11 the main south road at Sock burn. The 1 express had been stopped barely a minute when the collision occurred. 11 Eye-witnesses of the accident were amazed at the miraculous escape of the! 1 crew of the Little River engine. As the : engine ploughed into the train in front of it the fireman and driver, thrown against the controls, had only the glass windows of the cabin to protect them 1 from Hying splinters of wood and metal. The glass was cracked, but not broken. A woman passenger in the second to ' last passenger car of the express, 1 described the confusion which was caused by luggage falling from racks, two women fainting, passengers being thrown from their seats, and others who had been looking out of windows being bruised and cut as they were thrown against window frames. When tho train stopped, she said, passengers were naturally curious, and looked out of windows. She saw the Little River train approaching and watched it for some time, until she realised that it was likely to hit the express. She considered herself lucky to have withdrawn her head from the window before the impact. Misty, Drizzling Rain. Ati official of tlie Railway Department stated that normally with the express ' in the position in which it had pulled up there would lie the usual red signal against the oncoming Little Biver train and further back a caution signal against it, showing yellow. The train in any section holds signals immediately at the rear. Visibility was bad. There was a misty, drizzling rain falling and 310 moonlight, and the result was that the Little Biver train was so close to the express before the driver saw the rear lights of the van ahead that lie did not have time to pull the train up. The misty conditions would considerably shorten the range of the engine's powerful light.