SLIP ON MAIN TRUNK.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XIX, Issue 1948, 8 April 1924, Page 5

SLIP ON MAIN TRUNK.

WELLINGTON - AUCKLAND EXPRESS HELD UP. ENGINE LEAVES THE RAILS. ENGINEDRIVER’S PRESENCE OF MIND There wa* considerable excitement in town this morning when it was known that the Main Trunk express from Wellington to Auckland had run into a slip between Kopaki and Puketutu, and rumours of a. similar disaster to the Ongarue disaster of July last were prevalent. Though serious inconvenience was caused by the aeoident, there was no loss of life, and no one was injured. The engine left the line, but the carriages kept to the track, and beyoind a. severe bumping received by the passengers in the front carriages, there was no excitement. Immediately on receipt of the news of the accident, a relief train was dispatched from To Kuiti and brought the passengers on ti> Te Kuiti about 6 a.m. The journey was continued from here at 9 a.m. this morning by a. special train from Frankton. Though tired from want of sleep, none of the passengers seemed very much the worse for their adventure. Mr A. Wallace, the guard in charge of the train, stated that all the passengers behaved in a most exem plary way. There was no excitement, and the transfer to the relief train was carried out without any trouble. This opinion was endorsed by the driver, Mr A. Blackwell.

A PASSENGER’S STORY. Speaking to a passenger by the train, a representative of the Chronicle was informed that the slip occurred round a bend in the line, and it would bo impossible for the driver to see the obstruction until within a few yards of it . The train was not going at a fast rate ,and the driver had it well in control, as was proved by the way in which he handled the train after it struck the slip. The first indication the passengers had' that something was wrong was a heavy shock followed by a succession of bumps, which was caused by the engine running over the sleepers of the permanent way. The engine ran this way for about 75 yards, when the driver brought the train to a standstill. Where the train stopped was opposite a sugar-loaf shaped hill. At each end was a deep cutting, and about the centre of the train was a. gully on one side, with a drop of about 50 or 60 feet. “It was a magnificent piece of judgment on the part of the driver,” stated our informant. “If the brakes had been jammed on hard when the engine struck the slip there would have been the danger of the following carnages leaving the line, and the consequences would have been very much more serious. The driver put on the brakes steadily and brought the train to a standstill with botli ends in a block cutting. About the centre off the standing train there is a drop of about 60 feet.” The engine left the line on the open or gully side of the track, and it seems marvellous that it kept to the permanent way. Those in the front of the train felt the bumping of the engine along the sleepers, but those in the back carriages did not realise that anything unforeseen had occurred. Though the permanent way is not seriously damaged, some of the bolts securing the rails to the fishplates are cut as if with a knife.

The slip was not a large one, and was composed of papa, with large stones. The lights in the »econ,d carriage went out, this being caused by a boulder striking the gas cylinder. The other lights kept on burning. The general opinion is that the slip was caused by the vibration of the southvan 1 bound express, which would pass this spot a few minutes before midnight. There were about 300 passengers on board the northward bound express.

It is estimated that the slip was about 90 tons of papa and rock, and extending about a chain along the line. The engine ran right through the debris, and is abdut seven chains clear of it. Relief gangs from the surrounding districts are at present busy jacking up the engine on to the line, but it has proved a more arduous job than was at first expected. The engine is between 90 and 100 tons in weight, and the ground--is very soft for working. Every hope is entertained, however, that the line will be clear before evening. It is difficult to understand how the engine kept on the metalled permanent way. While the front bogeys were miming on the sleepers, the back wheels of the engine kept to the rails, as also did the tender.