TRAM CAR LEAVES RAILS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3805, 15 February 1927, Page 15

TRAM CAR LEAVES RAILS.

CRASH INTO POLE. AUCKLAND, February 10. _ A sensational accident, . involving extensive damage to a tramcar, but, fortunately, not attended by loss of life, ocurred at tlia junction of. Jervois road and Seymour street, Ponsonby, last evening. Two coupled single-bogey trains of the old-fashioned type were proceeding down Jervois road when the rear car ian off the rails and swerved to the left, still attached to. the front car. It - crossed the rails near Seymour street, and, after travelling about 40 yards, crashed into a centre pole in lhe right-hand side .of thi rails. Richard Carter, the conductor of the rear car, was. thrown on to the road, receiving an abrasion of the hand. He also sufferedfrom shock, but, after treatment at a house nearby, was able to proceed home. The force of the impact not only smashed the whole of the front portion of the car, but also caused the preceding car to beconio disconnected. As a result of this Richard Blackburn, the motorman, was unable to control the car, which still drawing portion of the front platform of the rear car, continued for aome distance along the road before coming to a halt. Although no one was injured, three passengers in the. damaged car suffered considerably from shock. There were about ,i dozen people in the first car. Ilirough the collision, the centre pole was knocked about 3ft out of alignment, and most of tho brackets and overhead wires were damaged and tangled. Considerable congestion of traffic occurred after lhe accident. It. was almost half an hour before the disabled tram was replaced on the rails and towed to the Ponsonby barn and the line made clear for the waiting cars.