FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 9735, 4 February 1895, Page 5

FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

A GUARD KILLED AT RUIfcIMAN. . fatal accident occurred orf Saturday afternoon at the Runciman siding, a few miles south of Drury, Mr. Brothers, or ,l in charge of the mid-day gods tram, being killed. The train left the Auckland Station for Mercer at 10 minues to one ,vlock The engine-driver was Mr. Thomas Dennes, and the fire nan Mr. p"" well These, with deceasecj, were the fnlv men on the train. At Runcjnan seven cattle trucks had to be put offl and they «ere backed into the siding, is he first " 'ed in the flap leading to the attle yard, which comes close up to the t/ucks when rattle are being loaded or unloadefl, dropped. This flap just grazed the side of some of the truck* When the trucks were ti, Brothers, who was between tho engine anc the trucks, we nt to the side of the line nearjst the cattle r d. He sang out to the engine-driver to come back a little, waving hii hand as a s jo-nal. The order was oboyd, and just then' Pen lies and Bracewell hea d a scream. ' Dennes at once reversed engine, and put ou the steam brake. This caused the engine to spring forward a little. OH Bracewell stepping" to the side of the j engine to iee what was the matter, he sj|w Brothers , ta ,ri7er out from between the fcngine and truck. The driver and fireman jumped to his assistance, and lifted him on to the crass. He was then insensible. There no assistance then available. The passenger train from Auckland to Mercer came up shortly after, and Brothers, who W a* still insensible, was placed in it and taken to Pukekohe, a telegram being sent C n to Dr. Dalziel asking lira to meet the train. Unfortunately, the (betor was from home. By the time Messrs. Dennes and Bracewell reached Pukekohe Brothers had recovered consciousness, and was able to converse with them. He told them he thought no bones were broken, but he complained of great pain in lis leg and the pit of his stomach 'He could not explain how the accident occurred, but it was evident he had been standing too far out, watching for the time to uncouple, and thus did not. notice that the flap of the cattle yard, was down until he was caught between it find the engine. Being unable to procure medical assistance at Pukekohe, Brothers was placed on board the return excursion train, which had taken the school children to Mercer, and brought 3 „ to Auckland, Mr. Wood, _of the Railway Department, accompanying him, but the poor fellow expired after the train passed the Otahuhu railway station. The ambulance waggon met the train, and the body was taken to the Hospital morgue, a messenger being sent forward to Mrs. Brothers to break to her the terrible news. The deceased guard was a middle aged man, married, and with two grownup children, a son and daughter. He had only recently been removed from Napier to Auckland. The son is working in Auckland, but the daughter is in Napier with Mrs. Brothers' friends. Mrs. Brothers is an invalid, and ever since her arrival in Auckland she has been attended profesfessionaily by Dr. King. Deceased was a member of the Foresters' Order, and was transferred from Napier to one of the Auckland courts.

An inquest will be held this morning, at ten o'clock, at the Hospital morgue, before Dr. Philson, district coroner.