TRAIN DISASTER BOARD OF INQUIRY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 29 March 1938, Page 2

TRAIN DISASTER

BOARD OF INQUIRY

MEMBERS APPOINTED |By I plpk ra ph Hiew. A-.mma Mon 1 WELLINGTON. 28th March, j The personnel of the Board of Inquiry which is to investigate the circumstances of the derailment of the 1 Wellington-New Plymouth excursion train, near Ratana. early on Saturday ' morning, with the loss of six lives, was ' * announced this afternoon by the Minis- 1 ter of Railways (the Hon. D G. Sullivan). The members of the board arc: » Sir Francis Vernon Frazer, of i Wellington Mr F. \\. Furkcrt, C.M.G.. M.lnst. C.E.. M.l Mech. E.. of Wellington. ‘ i»lr H. L. Cole, 0.8 E„ M.l.Mcch. : E. of Wellington. t The order oi reference for the Board of Inquiry will bo as follows: j • (1) What was the cause of the de- ! ’ railment? ' ' (2) Was any employee in the service of the Government Railways Dc- i < partment guilty of any dereliction ol > duty which directly or indirectly ; i contributed to the derailment? | (3) Generally, are there any cir- . curnstances in connection with the de- j railment which call for comment, par- . , ticularly in respect of the rolling stock and of the permanent way in the locality of the derailment? (4) What steps, if any. should be taken to prevent similar derailment? §ir Francis Frazer will be chairman j of the Board o! Inquiry, which is re- j quired to report to the Minister not ! later than 30th April, 1938. i Sir Francis Frazer is a former Judge !of the Arbitration Court, and is now j chairman of the Executive Commission | of Agriculture. When a Stipendiary j Magistrate he investigated the Whangamarino railway accident twenty-four , years ago, when three persons were i killed and several injured. This in- : quiry was a most exhaustive one, the ' evidence occupying !26 foolscap pages and the finding ten pages. The inquiry was notable for the thorough manner in which it was carried out.

Mr Furkert is a former chief engineer of the Public Works Department. and was closely associated with the constructional side of the more recent railway undertakings prior to hit retirement. Mr Cole is secretary of the New Zealand Institute of Engineers. He is retired from the position of chiel mechanical engineer of the Indian railways. During the war he was in control of railways rolling stock and equipment in France In 1930 he was appointed a member of a sub-commit-tee of the Masters Commission on Railways to report to the Commission on workshops and railway organisation. In announcing the Board of Inquiry, the Minister said that the personnel had been selected because of their practical experience of railway undertakings. and because of their particular ability to investigate and report to the Government upon the circumstances of the unfortunate accident. A Press Association message from Wanganui states that the police arc ; continuing their investigations into the j cause of the derailment, but the evi- i dence available does not suggest thai the disaster was caused by the placing ' of an obstruction on the line. Less than I an hour before the accident a train i passed over the line travelling in the opposite direction. CAUSE BEING INVESTIGATED WANGANUI. 28th March. Departmental experts are investigating the cause of the railway disaster! which occurred in a cutting near Ratana early on Saturday morning, when . five cars of a special excursion train from Wellington to New Plymouth were derailed, resulting in the loss of six : lives. Every portion of the wreckage is ! being closely examined and identified as part of a train, a procedure followed in the ease of all main line derailments. When approached by the "Dominion” officials were reticent and would not comment on the smash, it is understood. however, that in spite of.a number of theories being advanced the cause of derailment has not been ascertained. SYMPATHY OF NEW SOUTH WALES ’ MESSAGE TO GENERAL MANAGER I ! OF RAILWAYS WELLINGTON, This Day. The General Manager of Railway,;. Mr G. H. Mackley, yesterday received the following cablegram from Sydney: "The commissioner and executive of- i fleers of the New South Wales Rail- i ways express sincere sympathy with i your department and also with the relatives of all deceased and injured pas- I sengers at Ratona.” Mr Mackley has replied expressing the thanks of the department for the message, which is to be conveyed to relatives. * i A tweed overcoat which was stolen ’ from a motor ear and recovered by the police, can he claimed by the owner at the Nelson Police Station. The person ! I responsible for the theft was unaware i of the owner’s name.