MAIN TRUNK LINE.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 15339, 24 July 1915, Page 9

MAIN TRUNK LINE.

* ' ♦ * . I ' EMBANKMENT h GIVES WAY.

TRAIN PABTLY DERAILED.

NO ONE INJURED.

(press association telegram * TAUMARUNUI, July 23. Passengers by th- through Wellington ', ■ to, Auckland express, after a wait of jevcral. hour s through slips on the line, k-ft at 2.30 p.m. to-day in ono train, containing two engine.- in front, a postal van. one sleeper, eight carriages, and ' tvo luggage van-;. When two miles * north of here, the embankment gave way under the second engine. The two engines ;ind the postal van turned clean over and dropped nine feet, partly into tbo Ongaruo ltiver. Tho driver of tho leading engine applied tho brakes in good time. Tho whole pumice bank gat.- way lor fifty yards near the approach to a brid»&j .over a culvert. The train was going irom two to threo miles au hour. The driver, Peter Doyle, and the fireman, George I-ing : jumped clear from ' the first engine, and w.ero not injured. Tho fireman, A. Payne, jumped clear from tho second cngino, and escaped "'■■ •- with slight injury to a hand. The driver. AY. M. Nicholson, and District Engino?r Jeffries, r«l!od over in tho - cab of the second engine, and escaped without a scratch. Two Auckland pos- .,-• tai officials rolled over in tho van with- ■;..' out suffering injury. *;, Tho sieoping car was derailed and 7 partly rolled down tho bank. It was empty. No passengers were injured. TRAFFIC INTERRUPTED BY SLIPS. '" COMPLETE DISORGANISATION'OF • SERVICE. ll*UE*}3 ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) WELLINGTON, July-23. Tho Secretary of the General Post Office this afternoon received the following message from the Chief Postmaster at. Auckland:—Tho 12.-10 p.m. express for Wellington is cancelled. The 8.50 p.m. express for Wellington to-night is not likely to get iurtner than Frankton Junction. Tno AVellington express, due at Auckland at _".__ n.m. \osteruay, is .still at l'orootarao. Tlie passcugeis aro at Puketuui. Tne • express uuo at ..tickiand at U. 43 a.m. to-aay, and tno _xi>ie«-> due at Auckland at _.oo p.m. to-uay, aro still at 'laumaruntii. ruither sups between Te Kuiti and Puketutu aro reported. Tho line between 1c Kuiti ana Otoronanga. •is-under water in places. Yesterdays express from Auckland is still at l'o Kuiti, and thero is no present pros- . pect of getting the mail througn by road. Tho water is reported to be slightly abating. *. , A later message received from tho Taumarunui Postmaster at th© local office states;—-"No ono was injured at Taumarunui. Tho mail van is lying on its side.between two streams. It is most difficult to extricate tho train, for both engines are capsized.'" , Advices received by the Railway Department show that considerable trouble is being experienced as a result of .slips on tho Main Trunk railway line between Taihape and Te Kuiti. The D.lO p.m." train from Wellington to Auckland on.-Wednesday' night ran into a _lip at Puiitka. and was held up by another slip at Taringamutu. Tho latter slip was cleared -at 7 o'clock on Thursday night, but in the meantime a largoslip came down at Puketutu. The line was cleared there about 11 : ./clock- on Thursday night,, and the train lelt Tauiiuirunu; at midnight. imniodintoly after tho train had left Taumarunui, another slip came down, resulting in tho train being held up at: Puketutu. '-'■-■'• ! Tho 1.10 p.un train from Thorndon: , yesterday reached Taumarunui at 2 o'clock this" morning. It was still at i that station at 10 a.m.. j Tho traffic manager at Ohakuno -reported at 10 o'clock' this -morning that it rained very heavily during tho night; -''" aud that a number of slips were threatening between To Kuiti and .Taihape Tha slip at- Puketutu had been cleared several times, but continued to fall in, blocking the line. Between Otorohanga and Hangatiki tho lino was about 3ft Tinder water. Tho express from Auckland, and tho night train • from Wellington to-day wi _ be cancelled. Passengers from Wellington by tho mid-day train to-day will not get beyond Taibapo, and passcnjiers from tbo Auckland end will not, bo booked beyond Frankton. Owing to tho nature of the slip, it is impossible to tranship passengers at Puketutu. A wash-out occurred at Wangaehu, • • necessitating tho cancellation of tho , early morning trains between Marton and Wanganui. The lino was clear, how- ' ever, about niid-day to-day, and the -' New Plymouth express will not be much delayed. . Snch a condition of affairs as now exists has never previously occurred in '. the history of the Main Trunk line. In ' -the past there have he-en cases in which, otring-, to slips resulting from heavy rain, railway traffic was held up sev- ■ era} hours,' necessitating tbe use of coaches to tranship passengers, but in all rases transhipment has been practicable. In this case, owing to tho •Bafure of the di-*•<-."-* t Puketutu, tbo re.•jwrts received ;ndica+«* that transhipment is quite impossible, so that pasFenrcr*-: irnsfc remain on either side until tbe line is cleared. . Tho following statement from tho , General Manager of Railways was issued at ten o'clock to-night: — "After arranging to tranship passengers, it was found that the couth- ■ bound express could not get within two y_ - Biik-s of the north-bound train, nnd [ ■ transhipping had to be abandoned. Passengers, in the north-bound express <tre being brought Hack to Taumarunui. The Routh-bound passengers are at Okahukura. Thero is a dining-car and eighty Jtt&engers on th;* train. Passengers who reached Te Kuiti from Taumarunui this morning are still at Te Kuiti. and ; the last advice is that there is no prosP«t of getting to Frankton to-night. All trains between Taumarunui and -Frankton are suspended. Tho line south of Taumarunui is clear. Evidently "-another slip cam.3 down at Puketutu . 'after the passing of the south-bound -m l *" 1 * shutting that train in between | . Taringamutu and Puketutu."