COOL PASSENGERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18861, 8 November 1924, Page 10

COOL PASSENGERS.

TWENTY IN THE TRAM.

FEW TRY TO JUMP OUT.

CONDUCTOR'S PREDICAMENT.

Not much of the scenc in the runaway tramcar could be recalled by the conductor, Mr. W. Porteous. He had his own troubles. At the moment of the bump from the following car, he was on'the rear platform and became involved in the wreck caused by the impact.

Most disturbing was the fact that his left foot was jammed in the wreckage and he had to stand helpless. "I thought it was finish," he said in describing his sensations as the car went hurtling down the gradient. His foot was not released until the car left the rails and some of the wreck moved in the final lurch across Queen Street.

Mr. Porteous says there were about 20 passengers in the car at the time of the collision. Most of them behaved splendidly, pinning their faith in the car as against any obstacles it might mee f ,

Two or three girls, however, made a scramble to get out and jump. A naval petty officer, who acted very coolly in the tight corner, endeavoured to dissuade them, but Mr. Porteous is not very clear as to the upshot. He says, however, that most of the extensive damage to the rear of the car, including smashed glass, a wrecked cabin', and the collapse of part of the flooring, occurred at the first Impact. He remembers also the front of the car hitting the centre tram-pole in Queen Street and the subsequent lurches that freed his foot.

Mr. Porteous does not think that the car was quite without braking, as in that case the speed would have been higher. The car swayed a good deal toward the end, but the motion wjis not violent until Queen Street was reached. PLIGHT OF MOTORISTS. PINNED UNDER PLATFORM. • EXTRICATION FROM DEBRIS. A DIFFICULT OPERATION. A description of the perilous situation of the three occupants of the motor-car, Mr. A. A. Donald, Mrs. Donald and Mrs. Morley, immediately after the tram came to rest, was given by Mr. T. A. Lewis, a motorist, who was one of the first to reach the wreckage.

Mr. Lewis said that at the first glance at the twisted metal work it seemed as if the three people must have been killed instantaneously. It was found that Mr. Donald was jammed in the midst of the sheet metal, and that he was semi-con-scious. Tlie wreckage was raised and, working by the light of an electric torch, Mr. Lewis and others extricated Mr. Donald and laid him on the footpath. It was then seen that Mrs. Donald and Mrs. Morley were lying practically underneath the splintered platform of the tramcar.

One of the sufferers was moaning and the rescuers experienced considerable difficulty in extricating her and in relieving the pressure of the shattered metal which threatened to crush both women. Mr. Lewis said that he lifted Mrs. Donald from a space in the midst of the wreckage into which a child might hardly have been expected to crawl. AN EYE-WITNESS' STORY. TRIBUTE TO MOTORMAN. STUCK TO POST THROUGHOUT A graphic story of the accident was supplied by Mr. W. J. Lodder, of Mount Albert Road. "I was standing at the tram control box at the corner of Queen Street and Wellesley Street," he said. "The first indication that anything was wrong was the continuous ringing of the gong of the runaway tram. It was coming down Wellesley Street at a high speed, with sparks flying from below the bogie. This seems to indicate that the car's wheels were either locked or partially locked. If the tram had not had some braking influence, I feel sure it would not have pulled up where it did.

~ "The next thing I saw was a Moon motor-car, going down Queen Street at a slow pace. There appeared to be three people in the motor. The tram came on and struck tho car in its after part. The motor seemed to slew round, and i 4 was pushed right over, and finished up in tho corner of the open space.

"When the tram first struck the hiotor it seemed to slow up, and then went on again and landed right on top of the after portion of the motor. "The driver of tho runaway tram kept his head. I think he never lost his presence of mind, for he kept his gong going all the time and was at his post, trying to maintain control to the last. He was shaken at the finish, but I think 1 heard him say, as the tram came finally to a stop, 'I did all I could.' lam sure everyone will agree with me that the driver acted quite heroically throughout." SMAIII AMBULANCE WORK. THE ACCIDENT ANTICIPATED. A very smart piece of work was done by the St. John Ambulance, which was quickly on the scene. The driver of the ambulance, who was in charge of the Rutland Street station, heard the tramcar rush ■past and the ensuing crash. Knowing that something was amiss, ho immediately proceeded with the ambulance to tho scene of the accident.

The hospital ambulance was not available, as after 5 p.m. there is only one driver 011 duty and last night he had proceeded to a case at Otahuhu before the accident occurred. As the St. John Ambulance can only carry four patients at a time it was necessary to make two trips to the hospital.

MOTORMEN'S STORIES.

COLLISION FROM BEHIND.

EFFORT TO STOP RUNAWAY

ALL SAFEGUARDS TRIED.

CAR GAINED SPEED RAPIDLY.

The story of the accident given by the two motormen concerned is simple and clear. It is certain that Mr. Daniel Ferguson, the motorman in charge of the runaway tramcar, acted very coolly and used every resource to arrest the plunge of his car. Mr. F. U. Whelan was the motorman of the following car.

Mr. Ferguson is a Scotsman of the ; phlegmatic type, short and stocky, and obviously not easily disturbed. This is borne out by the methodical manner in which he applied the brakes and sounded the bell to warn pedestrians and traffic. It also appears that the hand-brake was ut least partially on as the impetus of the car~ was not so great as might have been expected from total lack of control.

Mr. Ferguson told his story simply, straightforwardly, and without hesitation. His own words are given, explanations only being added in parentheses: —

" After leaving tho stop at St. Paul's Church, at about 8 p.m., I was proceeding down Wellesley Street East when my car was struck from behind. Tiiis was followed by the lights going out and the loud noise like the air escaping from the reservoir. I did not stop my car after starting from the points in Symonds St. I had the track brake on, and was travelling down Wellesley Street at tho usual speed. "After the bump from the rear my

car immediately gathered speed. I applied the air brake first, a service application, then the emergency brake (air brake full on), but there was no braking effect from the air brake.

"I then applied the hand brake, but was unable to turn it more than a few turns. I then tried the track brake, but could only turn it about half a turn. (The brake had been applied previously, but probably not absolutely tight.) It did not appear to have any effect on the speed of the car.

Unable to Check Tram. "The car was all the time gathering speed, and I then reversed the reversing lever (the electric brake) and pot the

power handle on to the full parallel notch (reversing the motors), but without effect. "I then sounded the gong continuously until near the safety zone at the foot of Wellesley Street. "The jolting of the car at the curve caused me to lose my balance. "When the car reached the intersection of Queen Street it jumped the points and travelled toward the south-west corner of the intersection. "I cannot say exactly at what point I struck the motor-car, bat the motorcar was carried in front of the tramcar to the kerbing. "I had been driving this car from 2.56 p.m., and up to this time the brakes were all working satisfactorily. I have been driving for 16 months, and have never previously had an accident." The Other Motorman's Story. Mr. Whelan, motorman of the following car, gavo his version of the accident as follows:— "At about 8 p.m. I stopped opposite St. Paul's. Car No. 83 was immediately in front of me. When car 83 proceeded around the corner into Wellesley Street East, I waited a short time and then proceeded around the curve. "I applied the track brake and also made a small application of air. When nearing Princes Street car 83 appeared to slow down and then speed up again. Car

83 then again appeared to slacken down and I noticed that I was getting close to it, so I made a full air emergency application. "Just after applying the emergency brake niy car struck the car in front which afterwards gained speed as it went off down the hill. The lights on car 83 also went out. "My car stopped after I applied the emergency brake and was not moved until taken off bv an inspector.

"I had been driving the car from 4.28 p.m. and driving the whole of this time. The brakes acted perfectly. I have been driving for the past 13 months and have not previously had an accident. An unusual and what is stated to be an exceedinglv rare feature of the accident ■was the unshipping of the whole of the breaking gear. All trams are equipped with four brakes. There is the track brake which consists of a slipper forced on the tread of the rail. This brake is always applied in descending grades and is operated by th« big wheel in the motorman's cabin. The hand brake, operated by the smaller wheel, tightens the shoes on th« wheels.

The air brake is worked by a small lever. Its function is to force the shoes tight on the wheels. Finally there is the electric brake which reverses the motors. This explanation shows the resource used by Mr. Ferguson in attempting ti> control his car. INQUIRY TO BE HELD. NO DELAY TO SERVICES. A full inquiry into the accident will be held later. The general manager of the tramways. Mr. A. E. Ford, and the traffic superintendent, Mr. H. H. Morgan, were on the scene early and conducted a preliminary investigation. On a first examination, Mr. Ford was of opinion that the track brake on the runaway car, which was applied before the collision, must have helped to stav its momentum.

A fortunate feature was that the car pulled up well clear of the various tracks at the junction and the service was able to proceed as usual. Any stoppage on the late shopping night would have greatly inconvenienced the large city crowds.