A LONDON FOG.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 63, 26 March 1904, Page 3

A LONDON FOG.

WORST WITHIN MEMORY. The worst fog within the memory of Londoners oecnrred during Friday and Saturday, January 22nd and 23rd. In so far as the alternations of day and night were concerned, time, we are told by tho " Daily. Express." stood still between midnight on the Friday and the Saturday afternoon. The fog, indeed, made day blacker than night ; tho gas lights were invisible, and the electric lights coaid scarcely pierce the gloom In tho city, clerks staggered blindly along to their offices ; so thick was the'fog that it deadened all sound, and one of the most weird and uncanny effects was undoubtedly the strange stillness that reigned in the most crowded and busiest thoroughfares " Even the clang of St Paul's bells striking the hour, less than 100 yards away, was as though the bells were heavily muffled" Hundreds of people were wearing respirators or small shawls wrapped across their months. With all this fog it was bitterly cold, the thermometer being below freezing ] point all day long. On the river all tho movements of shipping was entirely sus- j nended, and one or two big liners duo to loare the Royal Albert or the Victoria -i docks had to remain at their berths. \ " The black Thames flowed under impenetrable fog banks in a deathly silence. Craft of all kinds were kept at their moorings." As any one who has lived in London may imagine the railway services ' of the various companies were complete" ly disorganised. On the South-Eastern and Chatham line, between Victoria and Lndgate Hill, and their Crystal Palace and Greenwich connections, all was chaos. Signals were invisible, stops were nmde every few yards, and fog signals were continually exploding every few minutes. The station superintendent at London Bridge, who has had 27 years' experience, said that it was the worst fog he had ever known. Occasionally, as trains steamed into the London stations, a half hearted i cheer wonld go up from the crowds who ' were waiting to get home. ' The suDurban traJhs began by being | an hour late, but very soon it was impes- ' sihle to tell how they were running, as • 1 count was lost owing to the using of trains for different work from their ordinary time-table programme. Moreover, it was quite out of ths question to run the full service of trains, and on the Tondon, Brighton, and South Coast Eailway, over thirty trains wero knocked off on the Saturday, although this number is insignificant in comparison wilh tho full number run on ordinary days. Main line traffic ran fairly well all round. 'I he Flying Scotchman " flew " as usual, and at King's Cross and Paddingtou main line trains were only a few minutes late. Old Waterloo, although it has the reputation of being the best managed station in London, was a second Hampton Court Maze, and one can only guess at the state of Liverpool Street. Large numbers of accidents occurred in the streets, and the ; metropolitan hospitals were full, j