RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CVIII, Issue 13001, 17 December 1902, Page 8

RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

[Fkoit Odr Correspondent.] DUNEDIN, Dec. 15.

The evening train from Invercargill to Gore ran into a -.south goods train at Mataui’a at six o’clock on Saturday night.

The south goods train was at the Mataura siding, awaiting the arrival of the passenger ti’ain which leaves Invercargill at 4.15 p.m. By some mistake the apwas turned on to the rails on which the goods train was waiting - . The driver immediately shut off the steam and applied the brakes, but the engine crashed into the goods train. The driver of the noassenger train leaped to the around, but a meat van next the engine was jerked clean off the line, striking the driver and rendering him unconscious. The passengers, under the direction of Mr It. M’Nab, M.H.R., who was a passenger, quickly set about his rescue. It appeared just as if the canted waggon had pinned him to the ground, but, fortunately, some of the weight of the waggon wasi sustained by the kerbing of the platfoim, thus saving him. When extricated he was discovered to be unconscious, with rather severe injuries about the head. M’Mullins is the man s name. Three trucks, two meat vans, and two horse-boxes were thrown off the line and partially mounted each other. Two buggies in the trucks were smashed to matchwood. A racehorse occupied one of the boxes, and was thrown on its back, suffering considerable injury. The cowcatchers and guard-irons of both engines were smashed, and the buffer-beam of the standing engine was shattered. Pieces of the front portion of the passenger train and bogie were very much knocked about. The damage to the permanent way is trifling. It is roughly estimated that the damage will run into about £f(X) or £BOO. A traction engine was procured to pull the derailed trucks off the line. The driver was only on his second trip on the line, and it was the pointsman s first day at Mataura.