Victorian Railway Disaster
o- ■ AiLEtJEW TA.IJ.VSJi OT BJBAKE. PROBABILITY OP IWSUFPIOEMT POWEB. PKOPESSOK KEBNOT INTERVIEWED. (Melbourne Age.) The engine driver of the Bendlgo train—Leonard Milburn—said to be one of the most experienced drivers in the service, avers that the accident was due to the failure of the Westinghouse brake on his train to act. He admits that the signals on the Bendlgo side ot Sunshine were against him. This admission has narrowed the investigations as to the cause of the disaster to two possibilities, namely, Was the engine driver at fault'.' or, Are the statements as to the collapse of the Westinghouse brake correct? In regard to the first query, it may be stated that the driver and fireman "of the Bendlgo train were both perfectly sober, and Information from tlie best available sources show that Utey appear to have done everything that it was in their power to do to avert the catastrophe. In proof of this they pointed out to "The Age" representative and one or two railway officials shortly after the impact that the levers on the engine were set at full reverse speed. As to the alleged failure of the Westinghouse brake, Professor Kernot, head of the engineering school at the University, and one of the highest authorities on such matters in the Commonwealth, said :—"The "Westinghouse brake has since its first invention been so improved that it has become a very complicated piece of mechanism, and its ramifications are such that I would not like to authoritatively express an opinion as to whether it failed to act last night. The power for the brake is taken from the boiler of the engine in the form of steam, which is forced through an air pump. The air does not work the brake directly, but charges a number of reservoirs all through the train. Whenever the brake is off these reservoirs are being charged through a pipe. When the pressure In the pipe is removed the pressure from the charged reservoirs Is diverted on to the brake cylinders, and the brakes applied. So complicated is the brake that it is hard to say what may not happen to it. The great" point about it Is that If the air escapes from the pipe the brake acts automatically, and therefore the fact of the brake being off is" a proof that everything is in order. I would not say there was no possibility of it refusing to act, as described by the driver, but it seems a curious thing that the brake acted, according to his statement, perfectly all along the line, and then refused to do so at Sunshine. In view of the statements the brake oti the train and its mechanism ought to be examined minutely and carefully. "There have been Instances of accidents caused by the failure of the Westinghouse brake to act. but they have mainly been caused by inexperienced manipulators of it. One very bad case occurred near Peate's Ferry, on the Hawkesbury River, Xew South Wales, many years ago. A train fitted with the brake on that occasion ran away and bolted into the river, drowning a great many people. Tt was said subsequently that the cause of the brake's failure was that there was an inexperienced man in charge of it. who exhausted its power by applying it too many times. It would be possible that such a thing happened last night, but I don't think it is likely.
"In regard to the statement that the working of the brake may have been interfered Willi by the men on the second engine failing to shut off the isolating tap when the driver on the lirst engine applied the pressure, t would not like to express an opinion, beyond stating that the second engine should be always under the control of tho first. "The statement of the driver that hj' l put the train full speed astern seems to be borne out by those of several spectators, who commented on the Immense showers of sparks coming from the rails and wheels. Such action would cause large quantities of sparks, whereas the application of the brakes in proper working order would only produce them in a minor degree." AN EXPERT'S VIEW. A gentleman who lias expert knowledge of the working of railway systems —both in this country and In England—made the following remarks yesterday In reference lo the disaster:— "I cannot say that the accident came wholly as a surprise to me, though 1 was as grieved by it as anyone could have been. The keeping of correct time Is one of the essentials of a safe service, and it is notorious that the Victorian country trains do not as a regular thing run to time. When you make out a time table you arrange the hours and minutes so that trains will not be in each other's way—so that they will be out of the danger zone. If you allow the time table to be departed from, you have of necessity the added risk of trains being in the wrong places at the wrong time. In other words, you indefinitely widen the danger zone. Of course, it will be said that at holiday seasons trains will always ( run late. That is simply nonsense. It you make certain arrangements you should be able to keep them on holidays as well a.s on other days. "Then there Is the question of (unloading trains and of undermanning stations. I understand that there was only one man on duty at the Sunshine station on Monday evening. If that: was so I must say unhesitatingly that it seems to me dangerous to leave so important a centre thus guarded. It is a matter of general knowledge that, the staffs at the stations have been greatly reduced of recent years. The station master-; have a great deal more clerical work to do than they had formerly, am! very often have not sufficient time to go out on to the platform to attend to trains. I do not say this was the case at Braybroolc, but it does seem as if
the Ballarat train could not he- got away with proper smartness. Of course, if the scheduled times had been kept the passengers would have been at home or in bed before the accident happened. "Of late the guards on the trains have been given more clerical work than formerly. This means that they have less time to attend to the signals. They get into the habit of leaving all that to the driver. As the name shows, this particular officer is meant to bo a safeguard to the passengers, keeping a lookout, seeing that the lines are clear, etc. But if his time Is taken up so much with clerical work the guard cannot possibly attend to'this part of his business. As a matter of fact, I believe that very often the guard never sees the signals, whether they are for or against. "As to the reasons for the collision, and the alleged failure of the Westinghouse brake to act, I am in a position to say that such a thing might happen, though 1 cannot recall any instat ce ol a disaster taking place through such a failure. As a mechanical possibility, il is, so to speak, on the cards. The Windsor accident more than twenty year* ago was due in part to the brake not lifting at the right time; it did nol permit the train to move on as promptly as the driver wished it to move. Thai disaster was, however, brought about by other contributing causes, chief of which was the giving of a wrong signal. There is also this fact to be considered: A driver when approaching any poinl ol possible danger, such as a junction or ;• railway station, was supposed in my time to have his engine perfectly under control, so that, even it' the Westinghouse brake failed, he could stop it witl the hand brake, acting in conjunction with the guard's brake. It all resolves itself into a question of speed and of effective control." STATEMENT BY THE PREMIER. A TUIL INQUIRY TO 3E HEED. "I am appalled tit the calamity," said the Premier (Mr Bent), who wa confined to his bed with a severe chill, "and when I say that the bereaved and the sufferers have my deepest and rnosf heartfelt sympathy, the words fail to express my feelings. f wanted to go inl i town as soon as I heard of the disaster this morning, but Dr Macansh would nol allow me to leave my bed, and Mr Hudson came out in the morning, and thi afternoon Mr Tait came. Mr Tait l.s terribly cut up about it. They informed me of the extent of the disaster and of what was being done, stating thai there was no confusion at Spencer sti cannot make it out. Sunshine statin i is the best equipped station on our lines. It has interlocking double lines, and the best of grades. I was looking at II only the other day. "Of course there will be an inquest first. No or.Unary departmental inquiry will he held, but after the inquest there must be a most searching investigation, probably by a board, ami the blame must be sheeted home to whoever is in fault. It seems to me an inexplicable affair, and yet in a sense it i i explicable. "About 7 o'clock this morning a guard came round with news of this terrible calamity. T have expressed my deepest sympathy, but the words are altogether Inadequate f see a reference has been made to the limitation of the liability of the Railway Commissioners, but I am not thinking about the money part of it now. Everything is overwhelmed bv the terrible slaughter which has cast i pall over the whole community." STARTLING STATEMENTS. Since the catastrophe many letters have been sent to the Melbourne on rim alleging a remarkable state of affairs in the Victorian railway system. A. 11. Pudley states that he has lived for some years at St. Albans and know:: "all about the running of the trains and the mile of rotten road about Albion. which is enough to skitter anybody while on Its section and will some day overturn a train." This writer states that ho has again and again warned the authorities of the dangers of the Junction, and that "even a common schoolboy would have seen that another road should always be made for the Ballarat train." The system of saving money. he goes on, "has induced the Rall w-ty Commissioners to reduce the St. Albans ■•rvlM to on* man vrbo joe* off at 10
' p.m., and the section is then from bydenham to Braybrook Junotion—a far too long- run, especially at holiday times. The parsimony of the railways Is, to iny mind, responsible for the accident. Had there been a night man on duty at St. Albans he would not have let the train pass his station, which is about four miles from Braybrook Junction. Every man, traveller, resident or man with brains knows that so close to Melbourne the stretch from Sydenham is too long for safety." lie tells further of other "death traps" on the railways, one at Footseray Junction where, he considers, the line across Saltwater river should be duplicated. A. J. Smith writes in protest against the employment by the railway authorities 01" boys and youths to do important work at liie smaller stations, lie quotes a statement to the effect that in several Of the suburban signal boxes one man and two boys have been appointed to perform the vital duties of arranging the points over which crowded passenger trains pass continually. "At Garden Vale a mere youth appears to have Charge of the station. I may be wrong, but as I have never seen a man there I naturally Infer that the boy Is the porter in charge, A friend of mine has noticed the same thing, and on one occasion he saw other boys, not in uniform --probably friends of the juvenile porters in the office amusing themselves with the instruments. I am aware that this is the age of "Boys before men," but in such responsible positions surely experience ought to be the first consideration."
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Bibliographic details
Southland Times, Issue 12121, 29 April 1908, Page 4
Word Count
2,056Victorian Railway Disaster Southland Times, Issue 12121, 29 April 1908, Page 4
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