KELVIN GROVE SMASH

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 303, 22 September 1928, Page 10

KELVIN GROVE SMASH

DEVIATION LAID ROUND WRECKAGE TRAFFIC NORMAL BY NOON GOOD WORK BY GANGS Dominion Special Service. Palmerston North, September 21. After gangs had been working all night a temporary track was laid around the wreckage at Kelvin Grove caused by the Wanganui-Palmerston North mixed train being derailed last night, and traffic was able to proceed. By midday the train service was restored to normal, and It is considered by the district engineer that the main line will be completely repaired by to-mor-row night, conditional on it being possible to remove the derailed wagons and other debris. 'On news of the smash being received, gangs were sent from Palmerston North, Feilding, and Wanganui, a breakdown train arriving on the scene from the lastnamed place at 1.30 a.m.. and later a steam crane arrived from Kapuni. Throughout the night and early morning men worked untiringly by acetylene flares, and the deviation, for which part of the Hume Pipe Com pany’s siding was utilised, was completed at 0.30 a.m., enabling the southbound Main Trunk express to go through half an hour late. Passengers on the north-bound Limited express last night were compelled to spend the night in Palmerston North, and this morning they continued their journey on the south-bound express, which returned to Auckland, passengers on the latter train being brought in to Pal-' merston, where the carriages of the Auckland train were utilised to take them on to Wellington. The scene opposite the Hume Pipe Company’s works this morning was one of the utmost confusion, masses of twisted iron and shattered woodwork lying in all directions along the line for a distance of about 50 yards. Quantities of sugar, flour, and casein were spread In heaps every few steps, while equipment of various kinds was scattered in wild disorder. The task of clearing such. wreckage appeared to be indeed hopeless, and it is to the credit of the railway officials that they have managed to bring about a certain amount of order out of chaos in such short time. The postal authorities in Palmerston North were not slow in making arrangements to expedite the dispatching of the mails involved in the smash, and as soon as notice of the mishap had been received two motor-lor-ries, accompanied by a gang of eight men, left for Kelvin Grove. There were four vans of parcel mail on the train, including English mails from the s.s. Devon, for Wellington and the South Island, and the contents of these vans were sent forward on “Field’s” express this morning. There was also a local parcel mail from Auckland for Palmerston North, but this had to be sent on to Wellington on account of Customs requirements. Altogether, about 196 bags of mail were carried by the train, and although these were scattered in all directions only about six were badly crushed. The postal gang was working all night to get the mails clear, and their task was not an enviable one, in all the confusion. The exact damage will not be known until the mails reach their destinations. It is to the credit of the postal meh that only about two hours’ delay was caused in the arrival of the mail at the various destinations. The residents in the immediate vicinity tell an impressive story of the smash. They heard the train approaching as usual, when suddenly the air was rent with deafening sounds of tearing and smashing, followed by an eerie silence. When they arrived on the scene they found that over half of the train had been derailed, and the halflight lent emphasis to the indescribable confusion. Within a few minutes of the accident cars began to arrive at the scene, and continued to do so until well after midnight. It is considered that the only causes of the accident are that one of the truck axles was broken, or that one of the trucks left the line, and this latter theory seems to be borne out by what appear to be wheel marks along the line for some distance back. Passengers state that they did not realise that anything was amiss until they had made an inspection. They felt a slight jolting as the train was brought to a standstill by the automatic application of the Westinghouse brakes, to which it is certain they owe their lives. At midday the men from Wellington anil Wanganui returned home after they had been working continuously for 12 hours. Permanent Repairs To-day. The district engineer (Mr. H. Beasley ) stated to-night that the line would be permanently repaired to-morrow, and that the derailed wagons would be removed on Sunday. Traffic at present is'proceeding through Kelvin Grove at reduced speed, and services are suffering no disorganisation.