HYDE RAIL DISASTER

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 97, 20 January 1944, Page 5

HYDE RAIL DISASTER

Driver’s Conduct Found To

Be Effective Cause

INQUIRY BOARD’S REPORT

The hoard set up to inquire into thederailment of the Cromwell-Dunedin passenger train pt Hyde on June -, 1943, has found that the engine-drnet was guilty of a serious, dereliction of duty and that his conduct was the causa causans (effective cause) of Jie derailment. The hoard’s report states further that live facts all indicated that the guard’s condition was not normal and that his judgment and alertness had been impaired. If the guard had been fully alert and alive to Ins responsibility he might have averted disaster. It did not consider that there had been any dereliction of duty on the fireman's part that contributed to the derailment. • Twenty-one passengers were kuieu ana 46 injured in the accident. The enginedriver, fireman and guard s assistant were also injured. The board of inquiry consisted o£ Sir Francis Frazer, and Messrs. J. Wood and H. L. Cole. The board found that the cause of the derailment, was the overturning et tlengine through the operation of centrifugal force, resulting from . the engine entering a curve at an excessive speed. On the question, “Was any employee in the service of the Railways Department guilty of any dereliction of duty which directly or indirectly contributed to the derailment?” the board’s report states that though the evidence as to the quantity of liquor consumed by the engine- ■ driver, John Patrick Alphonsus Corcoran, was. very conflicting, the board was satisfied that he had had a number of drinks on the mornin" of June 4 in the bar of the Ranfurly Hotel and that he carried some bottles of beer on thengine. There was also evidence ot liquor having been consumed on the engine. The board was of the opinion that before Corcoran commenced duty he had taken a quantity of alcohol sufficient to affect his judgment and sense of responsibility to a marked degree, and that dur- • ing the journey he took more alcohol, which still further impaired his judgment and was the cause of his reckless driving over the final stages. The evidence as to breaches'of the regulations regarding speed limitation was clear and uncontradicted. . ~ [Corcoran was found guilty . in tnSupreme Court at Dunedin of driving tile train negligently and ’at an excessive speed, thus causing the death of certain persons, thereby committing manslaughter. He was sentenced to three years reformative detention.] Guard’s Responsibility. “Guard Robert Pratt (or Parata) admittedly consumed at least five of beer between 10 a.m. and 11.45 a.m. on June 4, before going on duty, continues the board’s report. “The evidence does not justify us in concluding that he was noticeably under the influence of alcohol, but the facts (a) that he apparently did not notice that the tram was travelling well above permitted speeds before i t reached Hyde, (b*) that he did not remark to the engine-driver at any stopping station about the speed of the tram, (c) that he did not apply the emergency brake from his van shortly before the time, of derailment,' when on his own admission the train was travelling unusually fast and was lurching, (d) that he d 4 d not follow the usual practice of =om» through the. tram after he had taken i charge at Ranfurly, and (e) that he naa omitted to make the usual entries m his train record of a number of arrival and departure times at stations between Ranfurly and Hyde, all indicate that his condition was not normal and that ms judgment and alertness had been imPa “ The board is of the °P in^ n 1 , though the derailment was caused by the reckless manner in which ® n B«e-dnvei Corcoran drove his engine, Guard Rrat, if he had been fully, alert and alive to his responsibility, might .have nverte the disaster by (a) drawing the en» driver’s attention to his speed, or (b) reporting to the stationmaster at an inter mediate stopping station, who ha. e investigated the matter, on tne spot and taken appropriate action to hold the train or (c) applying the emergency brake’ when the speed became unduly high.

Fireman’s Position. “Fireman Hollow had two glasses of beer between 11.30 a.m. and U-45 a.m. on June 4. There is no suggestion in. the evidence that he was unaer the influence of alcohol, ana he a P pa^“- t ( !j relied on the judgment of his senior officer — the engine-driver — regardm. soeed We do not consider that there was any dereliction of duty on his part that contributed to the derailment. Kj no occasion to come closely into c ° ntac J with Engine-driver Corcoran, and had no reason to suspect his condition. In the opinion of the board, no blame is attachable to any of them. The board said it was satisfied that the locomotive, cars,, guards van, ana goods vans comprising the tram were in good order and condition before the derailment occurred, and that the peimanent way was well laid and maintained and was perfectly safe to over at the speeds authorized in the depart ment’s working timetable. - “As the primary cause of the P«Bent derailment was the intoxication of the engine-driver, it appears, to the board that members of the engine crew, when reporting for duty at a station at which no senior member of the branch is located, should be booked on in the presence of the stationmaster or senior station officer on duty. At present no requirement of this nature exist-, and the engine crew, at a station such as Ranfurly, take over their engine without any formality. Such a requiremen would enable the officer whose duty it was to book on the engine crew to judge whether for any reason a member or mat crew was unfit for duty. ».■-_» “The proposed amendment regulations, submitted in draft form, make more ade-. quate provision for dealing with “embers e of the railways staff who become. unfit for duty as a result of indulgence m liquor or drugs. They provide also for the immediate suspension, for this cause, or a member of one branch of the service by the Senior member present ot another branch; and they set put in clear form the respective responsibilities of the guard and the engine-driver for the safety ot a train. The board recommends the adoption of the amended regulations. Speed Recording. “This board concurs generally, in the recommendations regarding the installation of speedometers or speed-recorders made by the boards of inquiry that investigated the Ratana and Mercer derailments, The evidence in the present case of the attainment of excessively high sneed does not, however, suggest that the disaster might have been averted by the installation of either of these' instruments. Effective attention. to the indicator of a speedometer predicates normality on the part of the observer. If the driver were in such a condition that ne could' entirely ignore, as Engine-driver Corcoran evidently did ignore, the vio- . lent effects of very high speed on the riding of his engine, it is at least unlikely that he would take much notice of the behaviour of a speedometer. “It is suggested that when, after the conclusion of the war, it becomes practicable to obtain reliable instruments, the installation of speedometers on all engines working passenger trains should be proceeded with; and that, in addition, a few speed-recorders should be fitted on selected engines primarily for 'the purpose of compiling records ot actual service performances, both as a check on existing timings, and as a guide in the revision of those timings or in the preparation of new, timings. The board is of the opinion that such a restricted use of speed-recorders would give useful results without an exorbitant outlay, “The board is not satisfied that the safety of the public would be materially safeguarded by a more extended use ot speed-recorders than is - implied in this recommendation, nor does it consider.it desirable that large expense should be incurred in fitting speedometers on engines exclusively employed on goods trains. “In general it is considered that.the use of these instruments on the lines suggested above is desirable, though not absolutely essential to safe operation; but it is considered absolutely, essential that such instruments, if their use is adopted, should be reasonably free from mechanical failures and maintenance difficulties, and that they should indicate wth a fair standard of accuracy rates of speed over the full range likely to be covered in practice.’’