ENGINES COLLIDE.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16654, 15 October 1919, Page 4

ENGINES COLLIDE.

. BLOCKAGE AT LIN WOOD. A rather startling accident, fortunately unattendad ivith injury to life, occurred at about 7 a.m. yesterday near Wilson's road. Linwood, two engines collk'iing and being derailed. A Baldwin engine left the /mgine yards to take tiio 7.20 a.m. Ashbnrton train, and was proceeding along tho east side just as an A.B. engiuo wns moving along the rails on the west side. . Noticing that the ti'gnals were set against him, the driver of the first eugiuo stopped suddenly at the Wilson's road crossing. Tho -driver of the other eiifjine_, however, failed to observe the signal, and his locomotive keening-straight en collided with the Baldwin engine, the buffer striking tho tender about the centre. Tho impact was sufficient to cause the derailment of both .engines, the Baldwin falling on the east side of tho mils and the A.B. on.the west. Tho had the under-franle of I,hc tender damaged, and the buffer on the A.B. engine was also cons'.derabb" knocked about. Soon after the accident occurred, gangs of men were detailed to sot about getting tho lines cleared and tho engines back on the rails: It was a job of snnie considerable difficulty, owing to tho weight of tho engines and the method ungloved: to move them. However. by means of jacks, the}' wero eventually placed on tho rails, and by about 11 -0 the lines ivero again clear. Naturally, occurring where it did, tho collision caused a lot of delay to the train services, as at such an early hour only a f<*iv engines had left the yards, and while tho locomotives wero in the way 4 no others could move out on to the main lines. In ("he case of tho Lyttelton services, little or no delny was en'ised, as tho engine had already got clear. To enable outgoing trains to keep up their running, however, it was found necessary to tako the engines oif tiio incoming trains. The various services were considerably interfered with. Tho 7.20 train to iiangiora was caucelled because 110 locomotive -was available.' The train usually leaving for Ashburton at 7.25 a.m.- did not' depart until 9.32, and the-8.20 train for Southbridge was delayed until J0.2-7. Tho train for Arthur's Pass was delayed from 5.30 to 0.20, and that for Culverden from 8.55 to 10.15. Even after these delays it was found necessary to utilise small engines, mostly shunters, to maintain tho running. Tho ferry train from Lyttelton was drawn by a shunter taken from the port railway yards. The accident caused inconvenience in another connexion, as it was the means of preventing access to tho railway coal dump. Most of tho Department's coal is stacked in the vards, that on hand at tho Cltrisbchurch station being used principally bv shunters. It had been the intention of'tho authorities to replenish the coal at Christchurch yesterday morning, but tho accident prevented the train from getting t" or from the main dumns. However, the Department managed *t<> get enough coal together to mainla.in the services until the line -was clear.