TRUCKS DERAILED

Evening Star, Issue 22541, 8 January 1937, Page 8

TRUCKS DERAILED

TRAIN ACCIDENT AT WARRINGTON WAGON RUNS FOR TWO MILES OFF LINE ONLY SHORT DELAY OF SERVICES The derailment of three trucks of the through night goods train from Christchurch at the northern end of the Warrington railway yard this morning caused only slight dislocation of the normal rail services, as the trucks which were projecting over the little-used side line were hauled back nearer the main line, allowing the loop to be used to bridge the break. The accident was the culmination of a two-mile run from Omimi off the line by one set of truck wheels, the truck jumping the points at Warrington and dragging the two following trucks off the line with it. Fortune agaift favoured the Railway Department in its second mish'ap on this section of the main line in a little over three months. For two miles north of the Warrington station the permanent way has a single track, and if the derailment had been completed on that stretch the line would have been blocked for many hours. As it was, the only inconvenience caused to travellers was a delay of one hour and a-quarter of the first express from Dunedin for Christchurch, which was held up at Waitati, and the transference to buses sent from Dunedin of passengers on the train from Oamaru, held at Seacliff while the engine was sent on to Warrington to assist In hauling operations. A LONG TRAIN. An even several inches deep track, 6in inside the seaward rail, proves that one set of wheels of a truck left the line at Omimi, but the exact cause for this partial derailment was not investigated by the engineers until they had completed the clearance of the track this morning. As the train—which consisted of 35 trucks and two vans—came round the gentle bend at a slow speed into Warrington the crossing of the points at the northern end of the yard caused the truck to leave the line completely. _ , . ,The sudden jerk was noticed simultaneously by the driver), fireman, and guard, and the brakes were applied instantly; but, although the train was brought to practically a dead stop, so. slow was it travelling at the moment, the driver was given the first sign that all was not well, the two following trucks were jerked off the line in those few seconds. ONLY SLIGHT DAMAGE. Tilted at an angle, the three, trucks ploughed through the loose ballast between the two sets of rails, while the left-hand wheels deeply scored the sleepers. One coupling broke, and the first truck came to rest blocking the inside set of rails, which, from their rusty appearance, are seldom used. Fortunately, there was no telescoping of the derailed trucks, the only damage don© being the breakage of two axle boxes, one of which, badly shattered, was lying beside the points 15yds from where the truck rested. The derailment blocked the yard. The accident happened about 9 o’clock; —the train was due at Dunedin at 10.20 a.m.—and telephonic _ advice of it was received at the district railway manager’s office at 9.11. Waitati station was informed, and the northbound express was held, there. Arrangements were hurriedly made for the despatch of a breakdown gang from the city, and although it left about an hour after advice was first received the, side line was in-use before the .gang arrived. The express went over tne inner line at 10.55, then running 75 minutes behind schedule. Service buses were sent from Dunedin to convey to the city the passengers on the train from Oamaru held up at Seacliff, and'they, too, must have been satisfied that, considering the nature of the derailment of the train ahead of them, their journey, though interrupted, was by no means delayed protractedly., Only one of the three derailed trucks was heavily loaded, and it was the last to leave the line. The first truck was the twenty-sixth in the rake, and was loaded with cases of lettuce and other perishable goods. These were shifted by workers to the far side of the yard, and were loaded into a van after the first express had passed through. None of the goods was in any way damaged or suffered in the extra handling. The middle truck was empty except for one heavy package, but the third wagon was fully loaded. GULLY ON OTHER SIDE. After the derailment the inside line was blocked. The only way that the line could be cleared was by hauling the trucks back from the northern end. and this was done by the engine of the train left at Seacliff. The work was very expeditiously carried out. It was very fortunate that the wheels, which originally left the line at Omimi, jumped to the lefthand side, as on the seaward side of the Warrington points there is a very steep and deep gully, into which the trucks would have plunged on lurching off the rails towards the left. The main line was only slightly damaged, and a few hours’ work by maintenance gangers will see it again in use. The derailment caused no distortion of the rails. There was only a slight shifting of the spikes. A cursory inspection before the trucks were brought back to the rails showed no shifting of the sleepers.