The Peat Ferry Disaster.

Evening Star, Issue 7252, 1 July 1887, Page 1

The Peat Ferry Disaster.

On June 21 an excursion train left Sydney for the Hawkesbury River. It consisted of seven carriages, which were filled by about 400 passengers, and it was very plain when the steeper gradients on the line were approached that the load was greater than the engine could fairly manage. The train was more than once brought to a standstill on the steep inclines, and in one casejhad to be taken up in two sections. 'Agjftat deal of time was lost owing to this, anfLthe train did not arrive at Peat Ferry untiF about three o'clock. The train went down a rather rapid slope to the water's «dge at a high rate of speed, and, instead of pulling up at the siding which was constructed immediately alongside the river at right angles to the water, ran along the embankment which extends into the river, and collided with several contractors' trucks which were standing on the line. The shock was very great. The contractors' trucks were forced along the line for a short distance, followed by the train. The trucks, however, were thrown off the line, which caused a block. The engine toppled over the embankment into the water, and the first two carriages were smashed, to atoms. A horrible scene of confusion was presented. Bodies were strewn amongst the wreckage on all sides—men, women, and children crying out, screaming, and appealing for help. Many people were lying helplessly pinned to the ground or rendered insensible, while others extricated scarcely sensible of their injuries, limped - away. As far as it is ,at present - known, the engine-driver, who was carried into the water with the engine, W. Rennie, manager for Amos, Bros., the contractors for the line which is now being extended from the .present siding, and two other passengers, were killed, while between thirty and forty were seriously injured. The train was going through the tunnel, about half a-mile froraVPeat; Ferry. The siding from this* tunnel to the river "<& down the grade is very steep, and the train dashed down the hiu andjafaqg past the platform at a terrific speed. I The passengers say that the carriages rocked to and fro, so that they hacUto bold on to the Beats, and they knew there must be something seriously wrong long before they were thrown out of their seats by the collision and heard the terrific crashing of the front carriages. It is further stated that as the train rushed down the mountain slope, the engine whistle shrieking wildly, one'of xhe railway officials at the station saw something was wrong, and altered the points .beyond the siding, and so threw the train on to the

rails where the contractors' trucks stood, SffiffSStT By this means the accident was rendered less serious than it otherwise would have been. The empty train was nearer the siding than the contractors' trucks, and would have offered much greater resistance to the moving vehicle, which would probably have been thrown bodily over the side of the embankment. The railway which is now in course of construction is carried from the main line at Peat Ferry along the embankment, crossing one of the shallow back stretches of the Hawkesbury_ River to Long Island, the railway continuing through the tunnel which reaches to the other side of Long Island. Hence it will be carried over the Hawkesbury Bridge to the northern bank of the river. The temporary siding at Peat Ferry was regarded as fairly safe, trains drawing up without difficulty after descending the hillside under ordinary circumstances. The accident is attributable to the failure of the brakes attached to the train. Owing to the time lost in the early part of the journey, the driver endeavored to get the train along the rest of the distance at a higher rate of speed than is usual. The brakes were so severely tried on the long down grades that they bceame too heated to allow the train to be kept under control. # An official statement regarding the accident states that the train was fitted with a Westinghouse air brake, and seemed to work all right up to within four or five miles of Peat Ferry. At this point, however, the steep descending gradient down to the river commences, and very soon after commencing the descent of this slope the driver appears to have completely lost control of the engine, from some sudden failure of the brakes. As the train approached the river it was, of course, travelling at a great rate, probably upwards of forty miles an hour, seeming to increase rather than decrease as it neared the river. The driver acted with the greatest courage, and sacrificed himself to his duty. He could not have failed to see for some considerable time before the mishap oocurred that something must happen, and that he carried his life in his own hands. He could have jumped from the train, but both he and the fireman (Pye) stuck to the engine throughout. The fireman was saved, but was very seriously injured. Pye is said to have stated that it was evident, at the time the train was descending the grade, that the driver had allowed it to get too much way on. The hand brakes on the train were brought into use by the guard, who saw something was wrong, and they were applied on the American carriages up to the time of the crash. One of the Redfern carriages, which was next to the engine, was smashed to atoms. The American carriage which followed was much damaged. Rennie's body was much broken, his chest being crushed in, his legs mutilated, and his face cut. A young woman was killed who has not yet been identified. She was about nineteen or twenty years old, apparently a seamstress. She was badly cut on the mouth, face, and body, and her right leg was torn off just above the knee. A young man was also killed who is waiting identification. He was about twenty-three years old, and an artisan. The young man and woman seem to have been in company. His left foot and ankle were broken to pieces and his face cut. Wilson leaves a wife and four children. He was an old railway servant, and had been a driver for six years, but this was only his second trip to Hawkesbury. Persons who witnessed the accident say that the engine struck the trucks standing on the line and broke several of them to splinters. The engine was then thrown clean over the bank by the shock and seems to have turned completely over. As it rolled down into the water it kept it 3 funnel lying on the side of the bank, and now stands on its wheels and frame in the water, part of the boiler and the dome being visible. It was running tender first, but now stands the other way, while the tender has disappeared. The first two carriages were telescoped, one running inside the other for about one-third of its length; and both of them fell over on their right side, as the engine had gone. _ They remained hanging in this position, with the windows close to the ground, and it was through the windows that the passengers were taken out. This was clone in face of great danger, a3 the cars might have turned over at any moment, and they had to be propped up to keep them from doing so. The train itself ran on about the length of one carriage past.