TRAIN DERAILMENT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 78, 26 November 1943, Page 2

TRAIN DERAILMENT

BOARD OF INQUIRY CHAIRMAN QUESTIONS WITNESS Wellington, This Day. The Board of Inquiry proceedings in connection with the derailment of the train from Upper Hutt on the morning of Bth November, which resulted in the deaths of three persons and injury to 20 others, continued to-day. The principal points emerging from the evidence of Hubert Garibaldi Stevens, assistant district engineer, given yesterday, dealt with variations from standard of the track in the area of the accident. He said they were within practical working limits and he could find nothing among them to account for the derailment To Mr Watson, he said that the short section of 9.9-chain radius within the 15-chain curve, mentioned in his evidenc.*, would have the effect of giving the engine a slight roll, assuming that the speed was not in excess of that laid down for that part of the track. It was not good railway practice to have a sharp portion in the curve, and had it been known before the derailment it would have been corrected at the first opportunity. The condition was due to two spikes having been bent outward, and it was not possible to say how long that condition had obtained. Further facts as to track variations from standard were elicited from witness by Mr Hogg. Witness said the cumulative effect would not, in his opinion, cause the derailment. CHAIRMAN’S QUESTIONS The chairman then summed up to witness a sequence of events which might have occurred as the result of the variations of which witness had spoken. “I put it to you,” said Sir Francis, “we have a change in the cant of one inch in 16 feet at 42 to 48 feet in front of the point of derailment. We have a sharpening of the curve to 9.9 chains at 66 feet before the point of derailment, which is roughly equivalent to the length of an engine. We have also a pinching of the gauge to l-16in. slack at six feet before the point of derailment. We have the high-leg rail worn to a fairly sharp angle on its inner side, and we have some pumping of the sleepers. Now assuming just a moderate degree of stiffness in the engine, is it not possible that, striking that sharp point in the curve, we would get a roll?” Witness: Yes. Sir Francis then suggested to witness that with the engine in this state of roll and approaching the irregularity of cant, there might be a release of pressure on the rail and the engine might receive a push to the right through coming up against the right-hand rail. When to this was added the fact that just before the point of derailment the slack was pinched to l-16in, would there not be some effect? Witness said that he did not think the pinching would have any effect. He would not expect the wheels to be bearing on the low leg of the curve at that distance, but in view of a roll in the engine it might be possible that lateral pressure by the left-hand wheels might cause a thrust. Sir Francis: And if we add the stiffness of the engine and the vertical movement of the sleepers, might that not cause the derailment? —I do not think those factors would cause derailment. Adding all those factors together you would not rule them out as contributing to the derailment?—No. You could conceive of no other possibility?—No. Sir Francis: It seems to me that we have got to reach a conclusion by the process of exclusion. Edmond Hassett, an engine driver who has had 22 years’ experience of the Wellington-Upper Hutt line, driving a Wab engine for the past 6 to 10 years, gave evidence that the day before the accident he drove both ways over the particular section. On his way to Upper Hutt he particularly watched for a lurch he had previously felt in the vicinity in which the accident later occurred. He would be steaming heavily as he had a heavy train. He felt it, and when returning from Upper Hutt he shut off steam and reduced the speed of his train. The lurch conveyed to him that there was a distinct dip in the track on the outside rail, nearest the river. It was a rather sudden, in-and-out dip. He agreed with the statements in the E.F.C.A. letter about the bad condition of the line to Upper Hutt. Similar evidence was given by John Griffin, engine driver, who drove a Wab ovef the section on November 1, 2,4, 5 and 6 To Mr Watson. Griffin stated that he agreed with the E.F.C.A. letter’s comment on the condition of the line. There were places in the track which did not permit of the regulation speed. Joseph Diminic Hoey, ganger of the Silverstream section of the line, testified to the strain placed on the line by the use of Wab engines. He blamed all the trouble on the Wab engines. “The sea wall is thr proper graveyard for them,” he declared. The inquiry will continue to-day.