EXPRESS DERAILED.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 5 November 1924, Page 5

EXPRESS DERAILED.

DISASTER IN BRITAIN. EIRE INCREASES PANIC. BT CABLE—PBESS ASSOCIATION -COPYRIGHT LONDON, Nov. 3. Twelve persons were killed through the derailment of the LiverpoolBlackpool express at Lytham, Many passengers were pinned under the wreckage, and heartrending scenes were witnessed while efforts were being made to extricate them. The alarm was increased by the coach taking fire, but the brigade averted the danger. Many prominent Lancashire business men were involved -in the accident.. 1 Five bodies recovered from the wreck were identified, including two sisters and the engine-driver. Three others are still buried beneath the wreckage. Twelve: people were injured. One report says the accident was due to, an axle breaking. Thousands of ptople gathered at the spot although it was midnight. Motorists on hearing the liews joined in th© rescue work. One' woman passenger remarked to her daughter that if the train kept up that speed they would be home before time. She had "no sooner spoken than there came a sudden jerking and she was flung across the compartment. She managed to escape through the window • and saw 1 the back of the train burst ■ into flames. 'Others, state that, the speed of the train when wrecked was forty miles an hour. A train which followed was pulled up close to the wreck. TRAIN BURSTS IN FLAMES. MELBOURNE, Nov. 4. ■ The Early hours of Cup day'were filled with sensations. . .IDiirng-. the rush of the Cup traffic to Flemingtbn the carriage of a passenger from. North Melbourne burst . into flames. The train was crowded and the passengers tumbled out in a panic. The flames were quickly subdued, hut Sail traffic was spspended, and many finished the journey into town on foot. Others attempted to get there in electric trams, but struck trouble, as many of these were out of action. Trouble commenced at nine o’clock at the Spencer Street station, where hn empty race train became entangled in the overhead wires and brought them down ina, tangled mass. The current was then switched off, throwing the whole northern system out of action. It was half an, hour before the service was restored. Meantime, an enbrmbns. crowd had assembled . outside the Spencer "Street station, bewailing their inability to reach, the races. Motor and other vehicles did a roaring trade while the ’ block lasted. A still more sensational, incident occurred on the. Jolimont electric train, inwhich Spearfelt, the Cup favourite, Lilypond, the third favourite, and other horses were being transferred to Flemington.:; For some unexplained reason the. train tore down the overhead wires, and a live wire fell across the train, which was set on fire. The current was. instantly cut off and the fire extinguished. The railway commissioners state that there is no foundation for the .report that Spearfelt and other horses were in the burning train. What actually happened _ was that the gear on top of the train approaching Flemington fouled the wire, causing fusing a 4-, the power-house. Traffic was delayed for an hour, hut no damage was done. Spearfelt and the other hors n s wor° only in the train that was also held up by the general dislocation.