TERRIBLE RAILWAY ACCIDENT

New Zealand Mail, 21 February 1901, Page 20

TERRIBLE RAILWAY ACCIDENT

STORY OF AN EYE-WITNESS. SYDNEY, February 15. A railway disaster occurred to-night at Sydenham. Several persons are reported to have been killed. The scene of the railway accident was a few hundred yards from Tempe station. The train was a suburban one, running express through as far as Tempe. It left the city a few minutes before six, the busiest part of the evening, just as people are leaving business, and consisted of nine carriages. Several hundred passengers were aboard. Tuist before reaching Sydenham the engine ran off, dragging the fust carriage, a second-class .smoker, with;it,, and' ploughing some distance along ah' embankment, rolled over.

The carriage was smashed into pieces, many of the passengers being pinned among the debris. ihe scene "was terrible. -

So far as is at present known five persons were killed and between thirty and forty injured. Later reports state that seven were killed. These are—Lister Beverley, R. C. Teece, the fireman Kmg, two boys and two men not yet identified. Several of those injured ar© in a serious condition.

The following ar© amongst those injured : —Matthew Doyle, F. Jockel, Charles Beverley, C. Spenoer, F. Rolfe, R. W. . Wildsmith, C. Lake, J. Cunningham, C. Tiller, J. Nicholson, T. Beckensude, F. Pollard, S. Goodall, A. Beattie, T, Griffiths, D McMillan, F. Clarke,. A. Gilding, J. Dillon, Taylor, E. Olapham, G. Mort, P. Bray and L. Reardon. , From what can be gathered amid a scene of confusion, it appears that the engine, from some unknown cause, suddenly'jumped from the line, and, turning over, righted itself again. . The front car, a smoker, full of pasby the force of th© impact, collapsed and split open, and then closed upon the unfortunate occupants. Ready hands gave willing assistance, and axes were soon at work cutting up. th© carriage. Some of the passengers were pulled out through the roof and some through the floor and sides of the car. Some of the splinters were hurled high in the air, and landed fifty yards away. Alongside the line where the accident

occurred is a blind roadway, and wreckage went over and lodged itself there. People came rushing out of' the houses around, the noise of the catastrophe having been heard a considerable distance. The driver shut off the steam to prevent an explosion, and all fears of a fire occurring were ‘ fortunately scon at an end. The injured were conveyed to a Hospital, where about thirty received treatment. Numbers of others who were slightly injured went to their homes. Three included in the list of the dead succumbed after reaching the hospital. Doyle, the driver, is amongst those severely injured. There is much excitement, and many „ pathetic incidents have occurred. In the city great crowds gathered at the Redfern station and round the newspaper offices, anxiously awaiting news. Heavy rain set in shortly after the accident, and the night being dark, rescue operations were considerably impeded. The railway authorities are unable to account for the accident. Several trains passed over the line shortly before. SYDNEY', February 1(3. A fourth victim of last night’s railway accident near Sydenham has been identified as G. H. Goulder. a schoolboy, aged fir’: ecu. son of the well-known city detective. Heverley and Peece, two of those killed, were also schoolboys. Three men still remain unidentified.

The latest returns give the number of injured as twenty-six. though a number of others received bruises and suffered severely by the shock. ' About a score still remain in the hospital. The worst cases are those of Fred Joekel, injuries to spine and bruises of head, serious; Charles Spencer, broken jaw and injuries t° head ; Fred Rolfe, lacerated lung, critical: W. McQuiver, fractured skull, serious: Engine-driver Doyle, fractured ribs,, both legs broken, and injuries to head, critical* The others are chiefly suffering from broken bones, severe bruises and shock. One of the first people picked up was Fir email King, a mere youth. He was lying clear of the wreckage, and had apparently been thrown out of the engine when it first fell over. He was quite dead. Driver Doyle was found close to the engine. Doyle, interviewed at the hospital, said the accident was ail too sudden for anyone to see anything. He could give no reason for the engine leaving the lines. Sh e seemed to jump the • rails, and turn over. When he came to his senses lie found himself in the hospital. Some firemen liviner nar the scene rendered valuable assistance, drawing the fire, and letting off the steam from the engine, thus probably saving an explosion.

A gentleman residing close to the scene of the accident gives a graphic description of the accident. He was looking out of a window', and saw the train approaching at a rapid rate. Suddenly the engine jumped off the rails, ploughing alongside the line, gradually worked to the edge of the embankment, and rolled over two or three times, falling with a tremendous thud into the street below. She jolted the first cars with her. but a tremendous jolt caused til© couplings to part, otherwise the whole of the passenger-laden carriages would have been telescoped. The engine dashed down into the street close to two little children, who had a. miraculous escape; they were covered with dirt and moisture from the engine.

When the engine and cpr went off the remaining carriages by a . miracle kept the rails. The grade here is slightly uphill, and they all came to a standstill about fifty yards further along. When the train stopped out poured the affrighted passengers. Hundreds instantly set- to. work to render assistance to the injured, whose groans and cries, were heartrending. One man, who was riding on the footboard of the wrecked car, was sent flying down the embankment, but jumped on his feet little the worse for his experience. Later. The accident occurred on a straight track. The train was crowded, chiefly with workmen and clerks returning home from work. The cause of the derailment is still a mystery. The theory of a leading railway official is that the brake was suddenly applied as the train passed the spot. He says that an examination showed the tracks to be in good order, and the engine had only just left the repairing shops. The rate of speed wa.s not excessive—the train was running between twenty and twenty-five miles an hour.

Ail eye-witness states that the engine tore along 0:1 the ballasting for fifty yards, when it suddenly swerved down an embankment, and rolled completely over. ■

The' couplings connecting the engine and train snapped, and the first oar, coming, on with a terrific momentum, mounted and crashed clear over the staggering engine, sweeping off its dome and funnel, and landing on its side 50ft further on.

The first car fortunately broke its couplings, and left the second carriage on the line, but thrown across it at fight angles, while the third remained safe on the metals.

The engine, after toppling over, swung right round, crashed through a fence.

and stood up on its wheels just where the street crosses the line. The first car was completely wrecked. For some moments after the disaster the people in the train were stupefied—the whole thing happened so suddenly that they could hardly realise that portion of the train was smashed. The passengers on the other car? escaped practically scot-free beyond a shaking. They soon recovered, and hurried to the scene of the wreck, where the dead and injured lay amid the splintered ear. _ Help was immediately forthcoming from a- hundred sources. The line-rims close alongside a. number of dwellings, and the crashing and grinding shock gave the residents warning of the disaster.

From all parts people came hurrying to the scene. The work of rescue was difficult. Ambulance waggons were sent' from the nearest railway stations ancl mail carts were pressed into the service, and as the wounded were extracted they were carried away to the 'hospital: but the carriage was so smashed and its timbers so interjoined, that it was a laborious task to get some of the bodies free. Heavy - weights .were lifted or timbers prised asunder, even spades were utilised, and the work was continued amidst the cries of the wounded and the screams of others whose relatives were amongst the victims. Some of the bodies were mutilated, and many passengers were helpless with broken limbs. It seemed at first as if the dead were move numerous than they actually were, for a large proportion of the wouuded were rendered unconscious. Fortunately, there were few or no women aboard the train. (Received February 16, 5.49 p.ni.) SYDNEY, February 16. The remaining victims of the railway accident have been identified as. John. James Morrison, engineer. New ■ South Wales railways; Herbert Henry Darnley, storeman, residing suburbs : and a youth, William Mort. The name of the boy previously given as Peece is now stated to be Albert W'adeson. 1 An eighth victim, Charles' Thomas Spencer, a young unmarried man, died this morning. SYDNEY 7 *, February 17. The inquest, on the victims of tlie railway accideut was opened, and adjourned to the 26th inst. Joekel. a ninth victim, is dead.