Like A Violent Earthquake

Manawatu Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 3247, 18 January 1926, Page 9

Like A Violent Earthquake

SAVED BY STOUT COUPLING—AND PROVIDENCE PASSENGER TELLS ALARMING EXPERIENCE (Special to "Tlntes.’V WELLINGTON, Last Night. Among the passengers on the express was Mr John O. Young, manager Of Hodder and Tolley, Ltd., who gave a vivid account of his experiences to a “Times" representative. “I had only joist gone back to a smoker—having been chatting with a friend on a oar In the middle of the train —when my friend rushed into the smoker exclaiming t T can’t stand it any longer. There is something seriously wrong with the oar we were la. I must tell the guard.’ “Suddenly Our own car commenced to roll and shake, the sensation being as If you were in the grip of a violent earthquake. We, too, were off the lino. In fact, the second half of the train was now olf the lino, yet we were hurtling and grinding over the sleepers at a good park. “Lie flat on the floor!” somebody called out ,a,nd we immediately were on our hacks. “The fleeting seconds Seemed an eternity. You await the climax and brace yonrself for the worst. Will you be telescoped or hurled over the Pukcrua bank? Yon fervently hope it won’t be both. A sudden jolt—a deep sigh of relief—we have stopped! “A hurried exit, and w© find the cause Of our alarming experience. The back part of the train Is as straight as a oow’a hind leg! The leading first-class car has a broken axle. Its front wheels are missing, and they are seen lying between the rails some considerable distance back. “Luckily the couplings held .otherwise the carriage would have ploughed Into the track and the following cars would have telescoped her badly. The leading derailed car as It was had an ugly tilt, being nearly clear of the track and leaning towards a steep slope. “Do you think the coupling would have held mulch longer, was a question freely asked. My feeling is,” said Mr Young, “that our escape was due to the stout coupling—and Providence. “It was the derailed car that stopped the train, the driver being ignorant of anything amiss. The second-class passengers, who were in front of the train, also knew nothing about the mishap. “The railway crew efficiently and expeditiously handled the situation. They democratically crowded everybody Into the second-class ears, and we were soon at PUmm'erton, where a most obliging postal official enabled us to communicate with our friends by telephone. “After reporting the position to head office and getting permission to proceed, we were landed safely in Wellington about one a.m.—a really quick performance in the circumstances. “One question Is in my mind,” said Mr Young In conclusion. “Why docs the Department not supply communication cords with the engines on express trains?”