AUCKLAND RAILWAY COLLISION.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLI, Issue 9504, 29 May 1913, Page 5

AUCKLAND RAILWAY COLLISION.

PASSENGER'S REMARKABLE ESCAPE. ■ (PlB PBKMI AMnOUTION.) A AUCKLAND, May 28 Far roll, one of the passengers on thtrains which collided at Nfcw Lynn thi morning, gives a sensational account of hi escape. . "It makes me shudder look at it," li said, while standing on tlfc embankment a the side of the bridge. "I can't for th life of me make out how I got cleai Hie first I knew of anything unusual wa it the bend a few chain before reachin, :he bridge. The Westinghouse brake wen in very suddenly, and jolted the train s much that I was lifted off the seat an :hrown forward. "I had no sooner recovered when a to. •ible crash occurred, and I was dashed 1 he floor. There was a great crunching o imber, and as I looked up I taw th >uffers and floor of the carriage ahea shooting over the top of me. Although elt my end had come I decided to mak i last effort. "Groping for the door at the rear of th •arriage, I managed to crawl from ainon" i heap of splintered timber and broke flass while the crash was still going oi rhis took me to the dividing corridor b< rond the door. I was almost in the act . umpmg for my life to the creek belc vhen the smashing seemed to cease, crambled down ,to the sleepers <>n th >"dg«- The traili Was at a btandstill." 1 The passengers were all around enquirin ifter anyone who might have been in tii elesooped car. I did not 6ee Stone, and ion t know what happened then because ost my head for about 20 minutes, like food many more who were in the smash." Not a scratch," was Farrell's reply t m enquiry whether he was hurt, but he w:i •ery shaky. LIST OF INJURED. Amongst those reported as hurt were th ollowing: stone (Waikumete), who was so severel crushed and injured internally tlia small hopes are entertained of his n covery. 'Ornish, driver of the passenger train, wh was badly cut about the head and fact England, fireman, who received injuries t his head and eye. Vliss Smyth (Henderson), severely cu about the head and rendered uncoi, scious. H. Thomas (Waikumete), laceration abov both eyes necessitating stitches, coi tusion, and laceration of the nose. K. H. Perkins (Henderson), serious cm over ,the left eye. necessitating severa stitches, and injuries to back. V. B. Stvch (Waikumete), laceration ove the eye, and a scalp wound. iV. H. Elderton (Henderson), severe in juries to leg. W. Tuck (Henderson), injuries to head which temporarily rendered him sense less. Others were slightly injured. New Lynn station is situated just tei niles from Auckland, on the North Auck and line. The scene of the accident i; ibout 300 yards above the station. Th iridge on which the collision took plac s about 40 feet long, and the creek is be ween 40ft and 50ft below. Had the car fone over the bridge, which has no para jets, the accident would have been follow sd by far more terrible consequences. THE TROUBLE FORECASTED TIME-TABLE AT FAULT. AUCKLAND, May 28. For some time past people who knov omething of railway working have hac ipprehensions of trouble at the New Lyni itatiom Here there is a water tank, anc he inward passenger train from Avondah :rosses an outward goods train. The pas enger train is brought to the water tank )n the main line, and the engine is wat >red. The train then moves up the line o the bridge and backs on to a loop-lint o await the passing of the goods train Apprehensions have again arisen from th< act that the time-table makes the passen *er train an allowance of only something ike five minutes for all the train crossing md shunting operations, including th< catering, before the goeds train is due. md it has been thought by some who hav» \ad experience, of the working of th ;ime-table that this time allowance is toi ihort. and leaves an undue possibility o! collision between the two trains. From ivhat can be learnt of what actually hap >ened this morning, it seems almost ;ain that in the first place the accident if ittributable to the insufficient time allow mce for shunting allocated by the timeable. Whether or not such is the case, he fact remains that several people have iad forebodings of some such accident at ;his place.