A SERIOUS AFFAIR

Evening Post, Volume CI, Issue 42, 18 February 1921, Page 7

A SERIOUS AFFAIR

ALLEGED NARROW ESCAPE OF

TRAINS,

Inquiries are being made by the New Zealand Railways Department into an affair which occurred at Hunterville yesterday morning. It is said that just a* the south-bound Main Trunk -express had drawn into the Hunterville platform the express for the north dashed by at full speed on the metals that the southern -( train had only just vacated. In other words, a head-on collision was most narrowly avoided. Who was responsible cannot be said at present. Each express was traveling at a speed of between 35 and 40 miles ail hour. There were Borne 400 passengers on the north-bound train and 200 on the down train. The consequences of a collision can be easily imagined. Luckily the possibilities were' not brought home to the passengers until, long, after they starte dmaking inquiries as to the reason for their being held up until the tablet was sent up from Mangaonoho.

Speaking 6n the subject to a Post ye- . porter this morning, Sir. J. M'Donald, Assistant-General Manager of Railways, said he was not yet in possession of snffl; cierit information to enable him to make a detailed statement. The General Manager (Mr. H-.-'W. M'Villy) was due back from tha South Island on Sunday, and in the ni«antime Messrs. E. E. Gillon, (Chief Mechanical Engineer), J. B. Mitchell (manager at Ohakuile), and H. J. Wynne (Signal Engineer) had be.en sent up to Hunterville to institute inquiries'.

Ifc is officially stated by the Department that the driver of the- north-bound train had finished work at 6.50 p.m. on Tuesday. and did not start work again until after.7- o'clock on Wednesday night —an interval of at least 24 hours.