GOODS TRAIN DERAILED

Otaki Mail, 22 December 1924, Page 2

GOODS TRAIN DERAILED

NORTH ISLAND EXPRESSES DE LAYED.

WEARY WAITS.

ENGINE REMOVES ITSELF FROM OBSTRUCTION.

, A slip of earth, though in itself not of great dimensions—caused a serious Irolu-up of the .North Island expresses on Friday. The fall occurred at a point, between Pukeruu and Paekukariki, near the foot of Fuekakariki lliii, and between two of the numerous tunnels on that section. The goods train which usually leaves Paluiersloii Ninth at V p.m. left at about !• o'clock on Thursday evening tor Wellington, and when at the spot mentioned, the engine ran into a slip, the force oi' the impact being so great that the engine and several oi.' the trucks of the train were derailed, the engine itself being thrown almost at right angles across the track. The '.'o tuu locomotive turned ou its side, and completely blocked the permanent way, while the huge tender Aind fviiten .tank. |ieuiamV.-d attached, though at a very precarious angle. The New Plymouth, Napier and two Auckland expresses li'roin Wellington were delayed, and did nol arrive at T'alm'erston Nort(h till several hours overdue, the Xapier and New Plymouth being combined as far as i'almerstou North. The passengers of these trains had to tranship and waik around the derailed engine, but the line was later cleared, largely by a stroke of good fortune, and the subsequent trains were allowed to come through the permanent way.

A proposal to deviate the line around the derailment was considered almost impracticable, and was later found to be unnecessary, the engine shitting itself clear of the track when the workers removed the lender. The driver of the train, Mr. Southey, of Wellington, was slightly injured as a result of the collision.

It was difficult, from an inspection of the spot to ascertain whether the engine had run into the slip, or whether the earth had fallen on the .engine Og the train was speeding on through the darkness. The accident wavi reported ro have occurred at. about three o'clock on Friday morning.

A "limited" express ol' racehorses for the Auckland meeting, which was to Lave been taken through on Friday night was sent through after the second Auckland on Saturday. There was a full train of horses. At Palmerston Station.

The. first intimation the mai in the street at I'alm'erston North received that something was amiss with the service, was late in the naming, when a crowd began to turn up at the railway station to check luggage Cor the New Plymouth express, which "as di«- to arrive at 11.55 a.m. It was found that no official estimate could be given of tio- lime of the train's expected sirrival. The crowd waited, and tit 2 p.m. it was still waiting, though by this timeall eyc s were turned towards the western cud of the platform, in expectation of the appearance of the express around tile comer. it came just before SJ.3O p.m., and then the rush for seats began. The train was a long one, however, for the Napier and Xew Plymouth expresses had been combined, and the Xapier passengers were transferred at PalmVrston North to a train leaving on their own line a few minutes later.

Luggage of any description- except of course, the passenger's personal effects —was conspicuous by its absence, for this could not be transferred in such a small spacy of time. The passengers had been compelled to leave their train when they arrived at the scene of the derailment, and walk »roumi the disabled and almost diverted engine and enter another train which was waiting i'oi them, on this side. They were thus conveyed to Paekakariki. thence to Palmerston -North.

The material which d line rras of a ioose var

led on U and easil

removable, 'the slip had been clei <is.r,y before the New Plymouth c.vt. arrived there.

On account of the accessibility the- waiting train, no hardship was

tailed, beyond an isolated easy or two, in which" a mother was compelled to eatrv an infant across, as well as her personal luggage, at the stime time leading another child over the path. Some of those in the waiting train this

side of the slip were held up for_ while in the darkness of one of th tunnels.

Thrca Houra' Wait

After the departure of the Napier and New Plymouth expresses, the crowd which had by this time arrived et the station in order to get 0:1 the Auckland express at 3.55 p.m., commenced a weary wait of nearly three hours. Women and children sat around on bags and portmanteaux, men loitered impatiently around,, unable to go any distance from the station, and young' girls walked the platform till this occupation became too tiresome, and they joined the great majority of recliners on sundry parcels of luggage. It. was a weary crowd indeed that stirred itself at 6.3-5 p.m. when the shrill blast of a whistle heralded thy approach of the first Auckland express. The train was packed, and those who left it from here, were replaced by eager Palrnerstonians. Many were left standing on the platform when thi«. train pulled out at 6.45. About hair: an hour later, however, the second Auckland express pulled in there being an abundance of accommodation for a large number of passengers from Palmerston North. These vacant seats would doubtless be filled as tire train proceeded north, as no room would be forthcoming on the earlier one. Both the first and second Auckland expresses left Wellington on time, and

v, o hours he efforts

were forced to wait about t and a half at PukeruK, while t

! When the position of tie eng—- {. viewed in the morning, as the pa '. i gers -were being transferrer! from the Xew Plymouth express, it was thought ' jby those in charge of the work that . j there would be only one possible mftßj ner in -.rhieh to re-open the track—- ' j difficult though it appeared. That was I ; to deviate the line, so that the trains ' could run around the overturned engine ', and continue their way unchecked. '. i Tfie difficulty of such a project was realised when" the spot was viewed. ' On the one side a huge cliff rose sharply, with an ominous surface suggesting another slip at any moment, while on '; the other side of the line was a steep : decline to the sea, and a drop of bei tween 30 and 40 feet. Where Chance Stepped In. i Chance favoured the worker.-, how- ! ever, for when they were commencing [their work, and had made up there • minds to anemp- something of [the " sort, an effort was made to remove the- tender of the engine, which was , stuck fast to the track at almost a ■ right angle to the engine itself. Tai connection, which held the engine and the tender together was severed, and ■ immediately there was a movement in I the massive locomotive itseli_. It slip■oed down into the earth a little more anjd Teniajaed stationary about si*feat (}sm ffiE s&a &s& Zba xmmsA

of the bieak-dov.-n gang mad

clear for the passage of the train

How Line was Cleared.

of the tender was comparatively easy, and- the permanent way was quickly restored to its normal condition. It was later stated that it would have been impracticable to attempt to deviate the lino, for the side of the hill, even as it was. showed indications that at any moment another slip might occur. About ten feet above the track hung a very loose portion of the cliff. The two' Auckland expresses were therefore enabled to come through a tier a wait of l!i hours 'each at Pukerua without the passengers being asked to leave their seats. Those who) l'cijt l'almerstou North early in the morning on the "limited" and' later on by the down Auckland, hud a verv unenviable time at the scene of the slip, they being held at Paekukariki. The trains which brought the New Plymouth mid llawke's Bay passengers out from Wellington, conveyed these south to the city. EXPRESS SERVICES AGAIN DISLOCATED. On account of a slip descending on a goods train in a cutting at Ngaio, near Wellington, in the early hours of t Saturday morning, the train service ' to and from Wellington was completely j disorganised throughout Saturday. The slip was cleared at about 5.30 p.m. on Saturday, after an improvised service ot passenger trains had relieved the huge congestion of Christmas and holiday" travellers. Temporary rcptSrs were effected to the washout on the Nanicr line, and the service maintain-