RATANA DISASTER

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 3 May 1938, Page 2

RATANA DISASTER

EVIDENCE AT INQUIRY

FURTHER REFERENCE TO “MYSTERY MAN”

l United Press Association l WELLINGTON, 2nd May. The board of inquiry set up to investigate the cause of the Ratana rail-! way disaster heard further evidence when the Wellington sitting was continued yesterday. Two passengers referred to the suggestion that a third man was riding on the footplate of the locomotive, and it was stated in evidence by one that she did not think the unkiown man, referred to as “Mac” by; earlier witnesses, was riding in the cab. A woman passenger said she heard a young man say that a railway cadet whose home was in Wanganui had travelled on the engine. The chairman, Sir Francis Frazer, said a witness had later intimated that he thought the unknown "Mac” might be traced. A man who might have been “Mac” handed a telegram to a police constable at Aramoho. His identity, said the chairman, might possibly be traced through the telegraph authorities. Mr F. C. Aiekin, railway law officer, said the police constable in question had received about 100 lelegiams from different passengers. The unknown man : might be difficult to trace. The chairman said also that the Com- | missioner of Police had made various : statements by passengers available to the inquiry. The greater portion ©1 these passengers could probably be dis- ‘ regarded, but counsel would have an opportunity of seeing the statements and any persons who might be of value to the inquiry would be called upon to t give evidence. The inquiry was adjourned at 5.20 p.m. yesterday and will be resumed in the Railway Social Hall to-day. j The board of inquiry consists of Sir 1 i Francis Frazer (chairman), Mr F. W. j Furkert, and Mr H. L. Cole. J Mr H. F. O'Leary. K.C., with him I Mr F. C. Aiekin, railway law officer, is j appearing for the Railways Depart- ■ ment; Mr G. G. G. Watson, is representing the New Zealand Locomotive Engineers, Firemen, and Cleaners’ Association and also the driver, Mr E Percival; Mr F. J. Foot is appearing for the relatives of Mrs E. Lewis, a passenger killed in the disaster; and Mr N. T. Gillespie is watching proceedings on behalf of the relatives of Mrs M. R. Tullock, another victim. The first witness called yesterday was Francis Alfred Ellis, acting locomotive foreman, Wellington, who resumed evidence which he started on Friday. Witness said he was stationed at Palmerston North as a driver for 23 years. He had had considerable experience on the Marton-Wanganui section. The six-chain curve where the accident occurred had never given him any trouble. He had always been able to see the radius and curve boards. While stationed at Wanganui as assistant locomotive foreman, and acting locomotive foreman, he had never received any complaints from drivers concerning these boards. Mr Aiekin: If you were a driver and received a note in the tablet sling asking, you to step on it, what would you do? v Witness: I would not take any notice of it. I certainly would not exceed the authorised speed. For that matter, I don’t think a driver would get a note from train control unless he was slipping. I have never received such a v< to.

SIGNAL FOR BRAKES I What is the meaning in railway prac- j tice of three short sharp blasts of the whistle?—“That is the signal for brakes.” What if three short blasts were blown on the whistle shortly before the accident to “W 4” (the excursion train)? What would that convey to’ You?—“lt would mean that something) was wrong and that the driver may; have discovered that all his 'air’ was' missing, indicating that he had no' brakes. Otherwise, I don't see why he would blow his whistle.” In a moment of extreme anxiety, j would the driver not be liable to blow) three whistles?— "l should not think j Cross-examined by Mr Watson, wit-! ness said three blasts on the whistle 1 would mcap that the driver wanted the guard to apply the brakes in the) van. If the “air” was missing, however, the guard would not be able to apply the emergency Westinghouse) brakes, but would probably be able to' use the hand-brake. If the bumping; of the train and the whistling occurred simultaneously, it might indicate that when the locomotive left the road the whistle cord was caught somewhere. The driver may have been thrown against the controls. Witness said he rather favoured speedometers on loco-: motives. The chairman: If there was a failing! of the air pressure, would not the brakes go on automatically? Witness: No, not if the pressure had been allowed to filter away quietly. Asked by the chairman how long i would take for the "air” to filter away, witness described the track from a point just south of Turakina. “Knowing the country,” he said, ‘ I would say the driver would require to use his brakes frequently before Turakina, where he would have known if there was anything wrong with the Westinghouse brake pump, in which case a driver should not go on. On that particular run I don’t see how the ‘air’ supply could become depleted without the driver noticing it.” In reply to Mr Furkert, witness said that if driving a locomotive on the Ratana flat he would shut off steam when 1 approaching the Ratana station. There was a short rise of about a quarter of a mile and the Vain would slow down sufficiently to take the curve. He would i not use his brakes on the A passenger called upon by the board to give evidence. Mary Agnes Irwin Hanning, married. Kelburn, said she was in the front compartment of the fourth car, and sitting with her back to the engine. Shortly before the accident somebody mentioned that the time was 2.10 a.m. She looked out the window and thought the train was travelling 1 at a normally fast speed. She noticed 1 however, that the speed was increasing' and that the train was swaying, she’ did not anticipate a smash, but the thought came to her mind, sub -' consciously, to place a pillow between, her face and the window in order «o protect herself in case of accident. ‘ ’ SAW MAN ADDRESSED AS "MAC” The chairman: Did you see a man at

the scene of the accident who was ad dressed as Mac? Witness: Yes. Had he a wife and a little girl, about six years of age. with him?—"Yes. I heard quite a number of men call him Mac.” Did you gain any impression of his apparent age?—"lt was dark and I saw him only in torchlight, but he was very agile and I took him to be on the younger side of middle age. I had an impiession that he had slightly beetling, sandy eyebrows. His right arm was hurt, but in spite of that he was giving a great deal of help.” Witness described the man further and said he spoke with an accent which was not quite English, although she did not recognise it as Scottish. She did not recall that he had been wearing dungarees. Just before he collapsed he was helping ambulance men to remove one of the injured passengers from a carriage. At this stage his wife 1 called him by name and addressed him as Ted. Questioned about any remarks this; man might have passed, witness said she heard him say. "I reckon she was going too fast and she got away with him.” He was talking to a group of men and witness also heard him say,' "I knew the driver and was talking ro him at Palmerston North. I said, It's a pity you have not a K engine on,' and the driver said. T can get a bit of speed out of this —you’ll see later on. I'm a bit worried about one of the bearings. though.' ” It was running hot and they were using a lot of oil. Witness added that after the accident the wife of the man called Macsaid she had lost her child. After some time the child was found under a seat in a car and quite safe. Witness said she heard a good deal of talk among passengers about the presence of a third man in the cab of the locomotive. It was stated that he was a railway cadet whose home was in Wanganui ( Cross-examined by Mr O’Leary, witness said that when she looked out the; I window the night was clear, but no stars were visible. She could see the sky-line in the distance. Climatic con--1 ditions had not changed when she left j the train after the accident. On occasions she saw the guard with a lantern but did not remember the guard calling anybody Mac. Cross-examined by Mr Watson, witness said she looked out the window with her face close to the glass, just after somebody said the time was 2.10 a.m. Before that she had a dim recollection of passing a stationary train, ! but could not say how long before the ; accident. , Mr Watson: Can you give us any idea at ail. how long after passing the stationary train that somebody said it was ten past two? —"No. I could not.” Witness added that she thought four to eight minutes elapsed between 2.10 a.m. and when the smash occurred. Mr Watson: The man called Mac was apparently very, very active in helping others, was he not? Witness: Yes. j And therefore very conspicuous to other people?—- Yes, I think so. but j there were others helping as well.” It seems pretty certain from what you heard that Mac could not have been riding on the footplate with the driver? —“I do not think he was riding on the engine.” Have you any idea of Mac's occupation?—“No.” REFERENCE TO RAILWAY CADET You say some that a railway cadet was travelling on j the engine?—"Yes. but I did not hear j his name mentioned. I heard he was going home to Wanganui for the weekDo you know the name of any passengers who talked in your presence of this railway cadet?—"Yes. a young [ man named Taylor. I travelled in his i father s car from Ratana to Wanganui. Taylor was a passenger on the train.” Was it in the car after the smash, or at the scene of the accident, that you heard the remark?—“lt was in the car afterward. He did not say anything to me, but he said it to his father, and all of us.” I What did he say?—"That there was ja young railway cadet travelling in the cab. He lived in Wanganui and was ; going home for the week-end.” He did not say he heard it? —"He j said there was a railway cadet travelling in the cab. I don't think there) ! was any discussion in the car about it.”' ! So this cadet was supposed to have 1 | gone up from Wellington in the cab of the locomotive?—"Yes." What does Taylor do?—"I think he is in the workshops at Wellington.” Did you hear any suggestion that Mac had been riding in the cab? — , "No.” ' FURTHER PASSENGER WITNESSES : Another passenger called upon to give evidence. Charles Allen, factory operative. Lower Huit. said he was travelling on the train with his daughter, *Mrs Wilkinson. At Palmerston North, where the train stopped for ! several minutes, he stood near the locomotive and saw what appeared to be a j young fellow in the cab. He was dressed in light grey trousers and a dark brown sports coat. Witness added that he thought it strange that another man should be on the locomotive. After leaving Palmerston Non.h there was too much swaying to read comfortably. and he had the impression the train was going too fast. After the accident his watch was found on the floor of the car. It had fallen from his blazer pocket at the time of the crash and had stopped at 2.12 a.m. He had a recollection of seeing the man referred to as Mac on the Aramoho station after the accident. Witness thought that this man. who had his arm in a sling, might have been "Mac.” He did not see the young man in the sports coat after leaving Palmerston North, nor did he see anything to in--1 dicate that a third man was in the cab 1 of the engine. In reply to Mr O’Leary, witness said his impression of speed was the mii pression he had gained at the time, and , not something he had thought after the smash. He had travelled on that line a good deal, but not at the speed of the excursion train. Mr Watson: Did the young fellow you saw at Palmerston North look as though he had travelled 100 miles in the cab of a locomotive? Witness: No. he certainly did not. Did you think he was a railway em- ■ ployee at Palmerston North? —"No, he gave me the impression he was a pas- 1 i senger having a look around.” Cross-examined further. witness agreed that this man could have been ’ a railway clerk who handed the driver ■ - a train advice, provided this duty was carried out by a clerk. Mr Watson: If, in fact, the train was either just on or just behind time at

every station, your impression thit t was going too fast would be ill-founded, would it not?—Witness: "It would ipMight I ask what you were trying to read?—"A children s comic paper.’ And I would suggest that the comic paper had bright pictures and poor print?-*-“No. some of the print was large.” Beatrice Florence Wilkinson, daughter of the previous witness, said »he was asleep when the accident occurred and was thrown out of her seat. She remembered picking up her father’s watch, but did not look at the time By her own watch it was r.:ne or ten minutes past two. Her watch was five minutes slow’, however, and two or three minutes elapsed after the fash before sjie looked at it. The chairman: Did you see anything of our friend Mac? Witness: No. The last witness called yesterday was Percy Roy Angus, locomotive superintendent, Wellington, who said he was ; in charge of the operating of all locomotives and rolling stock on the New Zealand Railways. Witness said he reached the seen-* of the derailment at about 7.45 a m. on ■26th March. He made an examination of the rolling stock immediately after his arrival and again at the East Town Workshops, Wanganui, on sth April. The damaged locomotive. "Ab 829.” belonged to the Wellington locomotive distinct, and up to the time of the accident it had run 60.589 miles since the last complete overhaul. "The present schedule mileage for this class of locomotive between complete overhauls <s 80.000 miles in the Wellington district, he added. "The figure is a nominal one and is generally exceeded in practice. The figure of 80.000 is on the low side and at present the schedule is being altered, the figure of 80.000 now being increased to 90.000 for locomotives n the Wellington district.” CONDITION OF LOCOMOTIVE “I could see nothing in the condition 1 of the engine that would have been likely to cause a derailment.” he add-xl. when describing the damage to the locomotive. The condition of the first four cars i after the derailment, said witness, was such that no deAnite indication could be obtained of their condition before the accident. The material from which the cars was built was perfectly soun i. The first car was built at the Otahuhu » Workshops and went into service «n April, 1934. It was equipped with an , all-steel under-frame and with modern ! draw gear. The second car was of similar construction to the previous on* and began running in June. 1934. The : third car also began running in 1931. L The fourth car was built in 1915. and the last two were constructed in 1925 and 1934 respectively. > Witness also submitted extracts *'f ) instructions and rules which were is- ;, sued to locomotive men, including a ; | clause which read as follows: "Unless 1 furnished with an engine pass signed oy the general manager or the chief mech- ) i anical engineer, no person other than L the proper engine-driver and fireman. or trainmen, is allowed to ride on any i engine or tender." i ! "Some 20 years ago." said witness. ’ "the department had a limited number :; of locomotives equipped with speed rej corders, but the type was such that ■ they were found in practice to give un- ! reliable results. As a result of this, j and as the cost of maintenance increasI ed, the recorders were discarded. About 12 months ago we placed an order for 25 speed recorders as a first instalment 1 following on a decision to fit all Ira n 'j running locomotives with such appara5, tus.” ' | In cross-examination witness said speed recorders were different Irom speedometers. They recorded every ; variation of speed, the length of time * taken with shunting operations and any 5 unauthorised stops which were made • They gave the administration a gicat deal of information concerning the effi- • ciency of the operator and w ere nm ’ particularly popular with drivers. Witness added that he had made checks » nr.d found drivers fairly accurate in * their judgment of speed. In reply to Mr Watson, witness said ' he had prepared a list of all locomotive ?: derailments, with the cause or assumed ' cause, during the past 10 years. An "Ab" class locomotive was so con- ! slructed that it was impossible for the ’ | weight to shift from the leading bogies ). to the driving w heels. Witness agreed ,to have two "Ab" engines which had covered about 60.000 miles taken to lb* 1 Woburn Workshops and weighed. If there had been any redistribution of weight it would be disclosed by these ! tests. To the chairman. When witness arrived at the scene of the derailment the regulator handle was shut, the reverseing lever was in forward gear, eight nicks out. and the drifter valve wa* j* ' quarter of a tur n open, the normal position for drifting.