Killed in a Hallway Tunnel.

Cromwell Argus, Volume XXVII, Issue 1375, 3 September 1895, Page 3

Killed in a Hallway Tunnel.

A body, supposed to be that of a laboring man named Thompson, residing at Abbotsford or Green Island, was found in the Chain Hills railway tunnel at an early hour one morning last week. The features were unrecognisable, and the;, body was cut to pieces. On being interviewed by the police, Peter Bardman, guard of the goods traiu which left Dunedin for Mosgiel at twenty minutes past ten the night before the accident, stated that when in the Chain Hills tunnel, two miles from Mosgiel, he felt the van give a jar. He reported the matter to the driver, who said he neither felt nor heard anything unusual. On the return journey, however, the driver (Charles Hollo) noticed a jerk when in the tunnel. He thought it was a stone, as he had felt the same before, but subsequently discovered that the brass cock of the right front cylinder was broken off. Mounted-constable Boddami on ex : ’ amining the engine, found blood stains on the right driving wheel, pieces of flesh on the brake gear, and some brown hair and threads of tweed adhering to the right-hand step of the locomotive. Later. The body has since been identified as that of George Thompson, a married man, aged, .43 years, with a large family, residing at Abbotsford. It appears that it was customary for him to walk through the tunnel.