TASMANIAN RAILWAY SMASH

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5359, 17 February 1916, Page 5

TASMANIAN RAILWAY SMASH

ENGINE GOES OVER BANK.

SEVERAL PERSONS INJURED

Electric Telegraph—Prsss Association Copyright. Hobart, Last Night. The Launceston erpress was derailed at Colebrook. Four persons were killed and twelve injured. The engine jumped the metals, and then somersaulted over an embankment. The first two carriages were . smashed. There were indescribable scenes of confusion amongst the 200 passengers, who included forty delegates to the Y.W.C.A. conference and a number of soldiers.

The accident occurred at a Curve. Many passengers were pinned in the debris. A long time elapsed before they were released, no relief train arriving until two hours after the smash. Driver Goodchild. after leaving the cab and realisng the danger of the boiler exploding, heroically crawled back and turned off the cocks at the cost of a very severe scalding. The injured include two Anglican clergy .and the killed include Mrs Howell, President of the Geelong Y.W.C.A., Miss Barrass. of the Bendigo Association, and Privates Quinn and Hall. The last-named was one of fifty soldiers returning to camp f rnm final leave.

Driver Goodchild later suooombed to his injuries. Almost the whole of the skin was scalded off his body end he was suffering intense agony, but he said to a rescuer: “Leave mo mates. Get to the others.”