DERAILMENT AT ASHBURTON

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29068, 3 December 1959, Page 18

DERAILMENT AT ASHBURTON

Shunting Mishap In Yards A derailment in the Ashburton railway yards kept a gang of eight men busy for five hours yesterday before the line was finally cleared. The mishap occurred shortly after 8 a.m. during shunting. A rake of refrigerated meat waggons was being moved over a loop opposite the Post Office when apparently one of the waggons and the first set of bogies of another went along one pair of rails, while the other set and the remainder of the rake continued along the loop. One of the waggon’s bogies ploughed through sleepers and ballast to stop about six. feel away from the lines that the other bogie was. on. The large, 36 ton refrigerator car balanced at right angles between the two. About 9.45 a.m., eight workmen arrived at the scene and set to with acetylene torches to cut away a buffer that was badly twisted and could not be unhooked.

The other waggons were then removed and the gangers began the laborious task of jacking the derailed waggon. With hydraulic jacks, this was completed within an hour and the bogies were then edged back towards the lines. By 4 p.m., the waggon was again on the lines. Workmen also had to replace a damaged section of line which was ripped up and twisted when the mishap occurred. No serious damage was caused to the waggon. The derailment caused only one delay—a goods train was held up for about 15 minutes—but narrowly missed blocking the main trunk linex

Officials at the Ashburton railway station said that investigations would be made.