SERIOUS ACCIDENT ON THE METROPOLITAN RAILWAY.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 127, 16 September 1876, Page 2

SERIOUS ACCIDENT ON THE METROPOLITAN RAILWAY.

[Doi'n Telegraph, -July 3. ] Late 011 Satin-clay night a serious accident occmTcd on the Metropolitan Railway, close to the station in Farringdonroad. The facts, so far as they could be ascertained. are these :—A train heavily laden with passengers bound from Bishops,r;ue to the Mansion-house station, left at its proper time the Farringdon-street station, a little after a quarter past eleven o'clock. Properly-timed to within a minute or two, it proceeded on its way to King's-cross, and when about a quarter of a mile from Farringdon station, in the tunnel which extends from one to the other, the safety-valve of the engine biu-st, and, as a matter of course, the long line of carriages was almost immediately brought to a stand. . It appears that in such an emergency, the duty of the ■niard of the train is to go back upon the same line of rails upon which his train was running and place upon them at the distance of at least 100 yards detonators whose explosion would -warn the driver of the next approaching train. In this case the precaution was, it is said, not taken, possibly for want of time. The guard went forward to ascertain what was the matter. It is 110 uncommon circumstance in the traffic of the Metropolitan Railway, that trains do stop in the centre of the tunnels, and the people who sat in the train did not look upon the stoppage as anything extraordinary. In the meantime, a train from JBishopsgate to Addison road had arrived at Farringdon. It left Farringdon at a high speed, being rather late, and when half-way through the tunnel, struck, with tremendous force," the train, standing on the rails. What accounts for the comparatively small amount of injury to life and limb resulting from this, collision, considering its magnitude, is the fact that trains leaving Bishopsgate are made up with third-class carriages in the front, firstclass in the centre, and second-class in the rear. " Late on Saturday night the thirdclass carriages are full, And the first and' second comparatively empty. Hence, in the last carriage, run • into by the engine of.the Addison road train, there were but

five or six passengers. All these, were'j injured. So were the occupants of the j nearest second and third second-class, car- j riages. The first-class carriages placed in the centre of the train were literally \ empty, and it is understood no passenger by them was hurt. ' In the third-class-carriages, which were crowded beyond their capacity—many people, as is the custom late at night, standing up on the floor—there was great confusion. Men and women . were huddled together, knocked against the sides of the compartments, bruised and maimed on face and limb. The passengers by the Addison road train came off pretty well under the circumstances, although they received a severe shock;. but their safety lay in the extraordinary fact that the engine which drew them, after colliding with the train in front, reared upon its end till its funnel came against the arch of the tunnel. A passenger by the Addison road train describes the cries of those in the train before his as distressing in the extreme. In most of the carriages, the lights were extinguished by reason of the shock, but at length, from either end of the tunnel, there came assistance and lights, and as it was found the spot where the accident occurred was nearer King's-cross than Farringdon-road, those who were not seriously injured walked or limped under the tunnel until they were assisted at King's-CEOss station to mount the platform. It was found that upwards of forty persons were injured. Doors were sent down into the tunnel from King's-cross for some, and on these they, were., carried away. Many persons who had received slight contusions made their way home on foot, v.hile those more seriously maimed got cabs and proceeded in them to their dwellings.