FATE OF STOCK

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22878, 5 November 1937, Page 10

FATE OF STOCK

PIGS AND SHEEP

THROWN FROM WRECKAGE ONE TOSSED 40 FEET AWAY Shrill squeals from pigs entangled in the wreckage followed the collision between the two trains. Pigs and sheep were strewn among the splintered trucks, the majority of the animals being hurled down the embankment on the western side, into the yard of a garage. The pigs were quiet at intervals, but the squealing rose to a crescendo »t times. The stock was in a truck immediately behind the engine of the inwardbound train. When the crash occurred the weight of the train crushed the cattle truck completely, the remains being strewn about the western side of the embankment, the truck which was immediately behind it falling on top. Fell Through Motor-lorry Tossed violently out of the ruins, a large pig fell on the roof of a garage facing Beach Road, at least 40 feet away. Lying dazed until torches were flashed on it, the pig roused itself to wander about on the iron roof of the lean-to behind the garage. Going too close to the edge, it missed its footing and plunged down on to the cab of a motor-lorry, its weight driving its front legs through the fabric. Raising itself, the pig toppled over backwards and disappeared from sight. Two other pigs, apparently uninjured, were found under the refrigerated truck, lying athwart the line, on the Parnell side of the embankment. Showing no inclination to move, the pigs had to bo chased out before the breakdown gang could begin its work. A number of sheep were extricated from the wreckage shortly after the collision, and they wandered along the steep side of the embankment among the spectators. A Horse Escapes When the squealing from ~ the pigs became pronounced orders were given that the injured animals should be killed, and a constable was detailed for the task. In the darkness and confusion of smashed trucks the animals were difficult to locate. A horse in a truck on the outwardbound train escaped uninjured. The truck was the 10th behind the engine. The force of the impact lifted it from the rails, the one behind being forced in beneath it.