CHRISTMAS DISASTER.

Northern Advocate, 21 February 1911, Page 3

CHRISTMAS DISASTER.

OF THE SCOTCH EXPRESS

PASSENGERS BURNED TO DEATH.

LONDON, December 28

The week of tragedy and horror •which has made the Christmastide of IP.IO one of the blackest that England Las .known for a generation closed Ttith a dreadful railway accident —the wreck of a Scotch express.

Running at sixty miles an hour past Bawes Junction, a Westmoreland station in one of the highest and bleak-, tst parts of England, the midnight ex, press from St. Pancras, London, to Glasgow crashed into two pilot engines proceeding in the same direction. The impact was terrific. The two pilot engines were driven one l-.undred and fifty yards ahead, and then pitched completely off the road. The two engines of the express truir. and all the carriages except the lasthree were crumpled up and and ft'ing broadside on the bank beside the line. To add to the horror of the sic iati->n a fire broke out and consumed practically the whole train. A gale wad blowing at the time, and the flames spread Tith appalling speed. Passengers dis-, abled or imprisoned amidst the Avreckage were burnt alive before the cuers could reach them. Nine bodies iave been recovered, but the remains are charred beyond recognition. Victims have been identified by scraps of clothing, buttons, keys, and so forth : "but of others no trace whatever re-. mains. The whole of the circumstances form a story of dreadful calamity. It is probably one of the ghastliest railway disasters on record.

GRUESOME SCENES.

The noise of the collision awakenedthe sleepers in the few cottages built en the desolate moorland. The men -vrtio hurried to the rescue worked vith frenzied heroism to extricate the victims, but they were forced back from the burning woodwork by the intense heat, and literally saw the agonising end of several of the unhappy passengers. When at length, the fire had burnt itself out the blackened remains of nine human beings were recovered from the smoking wreckage. They ■were unrecognisable, every trace of feature, and almost every garment taving been destroyed in the fierceness of the fire.

The first man on the scene was a farmer named Marmaduke Holland, "whose house is situated several hundred yards from the cutting where the collision occurred.

Interviewed, Mr Holland said: —"I have lived here for ten years, and every morning about a quarter to six the Scotch express has thundered by the •Dale quarry. This morning I was a•wakened at five minutes to six by, hearing a tremendous crash. I knew what had happened at once. 'That's the Scotch express,' I said, and jumping Tip, I hurried on my clothes and shoes and rushed out. It was an awful morning. The rain was coming down heavily, and the fog and blackness of iie night—for there are no lights here - -made everything seem pitch dark.

"A dull gleam and the noise of escaping steam guided me to the spot, 1 and in two minutes I saw what had occurred. I could not describe the .scene. There was shrieks for help; two carriages seemed absolutely piled cne on top of the other, and the engine was lying on the hill-side. Pas- . sengers were getting out of the coaches—some half-dressed—the rain mean ■v.'hile pouring down pitiously.

A RACE WITH THE FIRE,

A pathetic story was told by a shepherd named Arthur Ashton. Like his -neighbor he was awakened by the collision, and obtaining a hatchet joined ' lu'm in rendering assistance.

"First we attacked the two piled-up carriages, but could make little headway. 'Go round to the other side,' cried the entombed sufferer in agonising tones. One of the passengers and myself, worked our way round, and i seemed as though we should have soon been at him when the whole lot seemed to take fire at the same time. There was a sound of an explosion, followed by a fearful smell of escaping gas. "We tried desperately to get at the poor fellow, who was in agony. A

small opening had been forced, and the gentleman who was with me actually succeeded in getting hold of his fellow-passenger's hands. It was. however, all too late.

"It was a terrible race with fire, md the fire won. When the poor man saw that the fire would destroy him, lie prayed for awhile, and then said to a panting plate-layer, 'Never mind, you've done your best, and God will reward you. I'm done for. Goodbye.' A few minutes afterwards he

was a charred corpse."

BEREAVED MOTHER'S ANGUISH,

One of the most terrible sights was il.e burning of a five months' old taby girl before the eyes of its help-It-ss parents. The young married couple were Mr and Mrs James Gray, of Eastleigh, Hampshire, and they were on their way to spend the Christmas holidays in Partick, Glasgow.

It seems that a few minutes before the collision happened the wife had handed the little one to her husband while she went to the lavatory. The impact knocked the child out of his arms, and as everything was immediately in darkness he did not know where to turn. He groped his way over splinters to try and find its whereabouts, but no cry came from the Laby to guide him in his search.

The attention of the rescuers was arrested by the distressing shouts of Mrs Gray. Her husband was found in the carriage in a frantic condition attempting to extricate the child. The carriage partition had fallen down and pinned the unfortunate little one. The passengers could hear the pitious crying of the child mingled with the wailing of the mother, but the fire spread.

It was found to be impossible to cave the child, and in order to preserve the life of the father he had to be dragged away, as the flames leapt

up around him

Mr and Mrs Gray were taken to Partick. The father was badly in.iuttti, and unable to stand without assistance. The mother was also injured, and in a state of collapse. When, the child's name was mentioned by relatives the father burst into tears, his body shaking with sobs, and said: ''Don't mention it. It was awful —horlible." The mother was unable to speak.