SHUNTING ACCIDENTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3861, 13 March 1928, Page 60

SHUNTING ACCIDENTS.

A CORONIAL INQUIRY. DANGERS OF PRESENT SYSTEM. . CHRISTCHURCH, March 9. Searching questions regarding the methods of shunting used by the New Zealand Railways Department xvere asked at the Coroner’s Court to-day when the coroner (Mr E. D. Mosley, S.M.) continued an inquest concerning the death of Horace Gordon Grose, a shunter, who died after a mishap at the new Middleton marshalling yards on February 17. Mr A. T. Donnelly appeared for the Railways Department; Mr C. S. Thomas for tho Shunters’ Council; Mr W. F. Tracy for the relatives of the deceased, and Mr 8. Schofield for the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants. Frederick Ernest Taylor, who was in charge of the shunting gang, stated that the -wagon concerned in the fatality was an iron L. A. loaded and sheeted, tho load being about 18in above the top. The L. A. was tile highest open truck used by the Railways Department. He tested the brake before letting the wagon run down the hump. He did not seo what happened. To Mr Thomas: Until a truck was actually approaching a man ho did not know xvhether the brake was at the front or the rear. Witness had seen cases in which trucks xvere travelling at a speed which made it difficult to brake them Mr Thomas: There have been some trucks that have got away completely and crashed?—Yes.

The shunter in charge at Middleton has no control of speed?—None. Is it possible, when two trucks are rolling as one that the two brakes may be in the middle ? —Yes. And to stop these two the shunter xvould have to jump bttween them?—Yes. In reply to the coroner, Witness said the handrail should be free. In the M. wagons there xvas no handrail at all. Dr .N. R. Cotter said that Grose was suffering from a double compound fracture of. both legs. When witness examined him he was conscious. He was given a blood transfusion and both legs were amputated. He rallied slightly, but soon went doxvn, and died about an hour afterwards. The cause of death was heart failure following. h?emorrhage and shock caused by the accident. Felix W. G. Riley, a shunter, stated that Grose swung on to the front end of the wagon. He nad only one foot on fhe brake and his hand seemed to slip doxvnwards. He appeared to know that he was slipping, and it looked as if he tried to throw himself backwards. Then his foot seemed to slip off the brake and he fell, the wheels going over both legs. The handrail xvas obscured except for about fiin at the bottom. Witness was at tho points and had to pull out the brakes.

Mr Thomas: What do you consider the top speed a truck just eff a train xvould reach if allowed to go straight on down those lines without braking?—l should say over 15 miles an hour.

Have you ever seen men racing full out for 15 yds to 20yds and then grabbing at a tarpaulin and jumping on to a brake?—Yes.

Have you seen men doing that and having to jump between two trucks?—Yes. A.nd there have been cases in which xvhen you have let a truck go and have shouted a warning to the men below they have taken a risk and stopped the truck?—Yes.

To Mr Tracy witness Said that the danger xvas that the speed of the truck could not be controlled after it left the hump. To the Coroner: Witness said that the wagons xvere braked by jumping on the brakes. The brakes operated by the weight of a man’s body. There was nothing to stop a man from slipping, but the heel of his boot. It xvould not have been safe for Grose to try and brake the xvagon by hand.

William Downey, a shunter, said that Grose ran alongside the wagon, grabbed at the tarpaulin xvith his left hand,. and jumped on to the brake with his left foot. Then he grabbed at the tarpaulin xvith his right hand, seemed to slip, and appeared to try and throw himself outwards as he fell.

Mr Donnelly asked the coroner to define the limits of the inquiry. It seemed to bo as to - the propriety of the practice of allowing a bandrail to be wholly or partly covered by a tarpaulin. In this instance that was xvhat seemed to have been the cause of the accident. The Coroner: Undoubtedly. I have formed that opinion, subject to -ally other evidence that might be given after seeing the trucks in action. I am of the opinion that there is another question—that of the control of trucks from ihe hump. The Coroner said that he was not sitting to inquire into the methods of the Railways Department, bat he xvas not going to shelve any questions. With his oxvn eyes he had seen trucks in the yard travelling at 12 to 18 miles'an hour. Mr Donnelly submitted that the propriety of the department in alloxving the trucks to travel at that speed was outside the present inquiry. John Alexander Teague, a railwav employee, gave evidence that between Christmas, 1927, and ihe present time three men hud been killed by leading brakes, and one man had been injured badly. Samuel Ernest Fay, operating equipment assistant on the Nexv Zealand railways, said that he had had 15 years' practical experience in England, France, ■ Canada, and South America, and had studied the conditions, in. other countries. The hump system at Middleton was modelled on the most up-to-date system in England. At a conference held in 1925 it xvas unanimously agreed that hump shunting xvas ths safest and most economical in existence. Witness had#no objection to the New Zea-, land standard wagon with a brake on the end. A brake could not be put on the side. The danger was that shunters xvould ride on and would meet with injuries going into sheds and platforms, and not being used to that method of operation, So far as he knexv no objection had been made on behalf of the shunters to the brake on the front of trucks. The alteration of the braking system to put in an end-to-end brake would cost about £l.ooo,o£io. and from his experience he considered it xvould be more dangerous. Mr Thomas: Do you agree that there should be a . bandrail with a leading brake?—Well,, it is an assistance certainly.

The brake handle is used as a step, and a man must have something to hold on to xvhen he jumps on to a brake to brake a truck. Do you agree that he must have something to hang on to? —I don’t agree that the brake should be used as a foot brake. It is a hand brake. Do you think that a man can run across Middleton yards xvhen a truck is going at 12 miles an hour, lean ox’er, and put on a brake?—There is no necessity. They have shunting slipper brakes. The Coroner commented that the shunting slipper brake xvas very heavy for men to carry across the yard. “A man would have to be a combination of Sandow and Nurmi,” said Mr Thomas. Witness said that there was no reason why men should ride on the brakes; but it was the general practice, and he did not know of a single instance where the department had complained of this practice. Mr Thomas: Braking as they do without a handrail xvould be unsafe?—Yes. And with a handrail covered by a tarpaulin it is unsafe?—lt is. It should not be done. And a man xvould not knoxv if the guard xvas covered or uncovered until he came to use it? —That is so. Then I put it to you that there must be something xvrong with the system or the administration when handrails are allowed to be covered?—No. It cannot be changed. The Coroner: I am quite sure you have sufficient intelligence to suggest a method of sheeting, those wagons and leaving the handrails free? —No. I am sorry I cannot. The. Coroner: But I saw it. It can be done, and it must be done. “. The atmosphere has been cleared to a certain extent,” said the Coroner, “but there are two very important points to -be considered—the necessity for leaving the handrails on the trucks clear, and, secondly, that the system of shunting at Middleton yards be improved so that reasonable control of the trucks can be exercised without endangering human life.” ’ After stressing the absolute necessity for having the handrails clear, the Coroner continued: “I am satisfied that the officers of the Railways Department realise the danger' that exists, and their duty is to minimise this danger. If the department does not take steps to provide that the "rails shall be left clear I am sure that the public, xvhich has a vast sense of fairness, will insist upon immediate action to remedy the existing state of affairs.” There xvas, he said, something wrong with the system of braking trucks at the Middleton yards, and the department could be relief] upon, he thought, to minimise the risk to shunters. They should have the x’ery best conditions under which to xvork. The Coroner returned a verdict in accordance xx’ith the medical evidence, and added the folloxving riders:— “ That the safety of shunters makes it necessary that tarpaulins on trucks shall be so tied as to leax’e the handrail free in order that it can be Used for the purpose for xvhich it is intended-—to safeguard life.” “ That in the opinion of the coroner the system of shunting at Middleton yards should be improved so that reasonable means of control can be used without endangering human life.” ATTITUDE OF RAILWAY BOARD. EVERY CARE FOR SAFETY. Asked if he had anything to say about the shunting accident at Middleton, Mr F. J. Jones, chairman of the Railway Board, who is at present, in Dunedin, replied: — “Very little.” The accident xvas one of those cases of pure misadventure, xvhich occasionally cropped up and xvas extremely regrettable. He thought no great exception could be taken to the verdict of the coroner, particularly to the first part of it, that is—that loaders of wagons should not sheet tarpaulins over the holding rungs. It xvas no doubt difficult to arrange, but he hoped thev xvould be able to redesign the arrangement with the object of making the covering of the rung impossible.. f-i the Middleton yard. it was designed for gravity shunting, and no exception cuu.d oe taiten to its working. Once it xvas in full working order he was quite sure the staff xvould prefer it to any flat yard shunting.

It was alxvays necessary to exercise very great care in shunting operations, xx’betber in a flat or a hump yard, and he could safely say that the Middleton yard would be found to be as safe as any. Certain small adjustments xvould, no doubt, be found to be necessary to give the best results, and these would be made as required. The board and its administrative officers were anxious, and gix'e their best endeavours to make the conditions under which the staff worked as safe and easy □ s possible.