RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT ASHBURTON.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 8793, 14 May 1894, Page 6

RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT ASHBURTON.

THREE HORSES KILLED. A somewhat serious railway accident, which narrowly escaped being attended with loss of Human life, happened on Saturday evening, half a mile south of the Tinwaid Railway Station, as the North express train, going at a speed of thirty-five miles an hour, was nearing Ashburton. The first intimation the engine-driver and fireman had of anything unusual occurring was feeling a shock aud finding glass and splinters of wood whizzing about their ears, ac the same time observing that the near side of the cab of the engine had been suddenly shattered. Many of the passengers also felt a rather severe shock. The train was brought to a standstill, when it was seen that in addition to the side of the cab having been shattered a large hole had been made in the tender water-tank, and other damage had been done to the engine. On going back to the scene of the accident, it was discovered thac the train, while going at the high rate of speed above mentioned, had run into three horses and a dray, which had been in charge of Arthur Willis, son of Mr H. Willis, of Ashburton. It appeared that Willis had just come down from Mr H. H. Stephens' farm at Ruapuna, in charge of the dray and four horses, one in the shafts, two in the lead, and one tied up behind. As he was approaching the railway crossing, close to the Tinwald saleyards, the horses started off into a trot. Willis did not observe the train approaching, and, being halfway across the rails as it cauie up, the engine caught the horses and dray and lifting them into the air swung them clean round a distance of some twenty yards. Willis was thrown off the dray, and, by some miraculous piece of good fortune, escaped injury beyond being dazed for a while and sustaining a few slight bruises. One horse escaped, buo the leaders and shafter were badly mangled and died a few minutes afterwards. One shaft was cut off the dray, but beyond this it sustained but little damage. Strange to say, the engine was much more badly damaged than the dray, for on inspection ac Ashburton it vt as seen that one of the twoinch front stay-rods had been bent, the fronb of the plate damaged, the near side footplate twisted and benc into the side of the cab and a hole about eighteen inches long made in the tender water-tank. A delay of an hour and a half was caused. The loss to Mr Stephens will be very serious, amounting to fully £80. The horses killed were valuable animals, and there were three new sets of harness badly cut about. , ' ■<: