TRAIN ROCKED.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 301, 20 December 1937, Page 5

TRAIN ROCKED.

WOMEN SCREAMED. TERRIfIC EXPLOSIONS. LIGHTNING STRUCK RAILS. SYDNEY. Woman passengers screamed and panicked in terror when, with three terrific explosions, lightning rocked a train at Woolstonecraft. The lightning, according to eyewitnesses, appeared to strike the rails immediately behind the train. So loud were the reports that they were described as being like the roar of a eix-inch gun. Passengers said that smoke and blue flames shot through the rear carriages. The light fuses were blown, and this added to the confusion, for passengers were left in semi-darkness. The train had just picked up passengers for Sydney at Woolstonecraft and was slowly moving off. Then came the explosion, and the station staff heard women in the carriages screaming in fright. The train, however, continued on its way. Passengers said that, for a time, all was confusion. Men and women sprang to their feet. They smelled the enioke from burned-out fuses, and it was some minutes before the cooler heads succeeded in restoring quiet. The guard went through the carriages reassuring passengers. "There were three distinct explosions," said Mr. E. L. Mutton, of Grosvenor Street. Lindfield. "I thought a six-inch gun was firing, so loud were the reports. The train seemed to rock. "Nobody knew what was happening, and the women were scared. When the lights went out they jumped screaming to their feet, and it was quite a while before they could be quietened."

There were about twelve passengers [iiL-eAcb of the eight carriages, <