TRAIN SMASH

Southland Times, Issue 19894, 12 June 1926, Page 7

TRAIN SMASH

FIVE KILLED DISASTER IN N.S.W. WOODEN VIADUCT COLLAPSES MANY PASSENGERS CRITICALLY INJURED. (By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright.) Sydney, June 11. Owing to the collapse of a wooden viaduct between Togar and Aberdeen, about 180 miles north of Sydney, the Brisbane express which left Sydney yesterday afternoon was derailed shortly before midnight. Five were killed and over thirty injured, some critically. Medical aid was sent from Scone and Muswellbrook. The injured who were able to be moved were sent to hospitals at those places. The dead are: Miss B. Dalzell, of Toowoomba, Queensland; Mrs Bennett, of Mosman, Sydney; Fyhran Mansour, an Assyrian; a man named White, of Queensland, and an unidentified man.

The critically injured are: Ward Morgan, the actor, who had both legs broken; and Mrs Alice Nichols, of Manly. The train consisted of two engines, a van, and seven carriages. There were 143 passengers aboard. The official statement shows that the leading engine and four carriages went off the line, and the assisting engine toppled on to its side. The accident was caused by three spans of a wooden viaduct collapsing when the train was passing over it. The viaduct crosses a ravine 25 feet deep. The first engine crossed safely but the viaduct collapsed under the second engine and the first carriage. The engine crashed into the ravine, followed by the next two carriages. It was fortunate that the first engine and third carriage kept the track, thus preventing further wreckage and additional casualties. The viaduct is within a short distance of the Hunter River. Owing to the darkness the work of rescuing the injured was very, difficult, and the searching of the debris had to be suspended for some time after one o’clock this morning, when the rescue parties built camp fires and awaited the dawn.

The passengers who travelled in a second class carriage which was next to the engine appeared to have suffered the most. The carriage was split in two, one part being still standing and the other overturned. Most of the dead were found in this carThe fourth carriage was tilted down through the viaduct.

Appalling scenes were witnessed after the disaster. Flares, motor car headlights, and other methods of illumination were used to throw light on the wreckage. Some people were so seriously injured that they could not be moved from the spot. Those less seriously hurt, after treatment at hospital, were accommodated in private houses. The permanent way is tom and twisted. The driver and fireman of the second engine had a remarkable escape. Both were buried beneath the coal when the engine overturned, the fireman suffering a broken jaw and the driver minor injuries and shock.—A. & N.Z. OFFICIAL LIST OF THE DEAD. CAUSE OF SMASH A MYSTERY. (Rec. 9 p.m.) Sydney, June 11. The official list of the dead in the railway disaster is— H. C. White (Canterbury). Fyhran Mansour (Waterloo). Miss Barbara Dalzell (Rockhampton). A man not yet identifed. Thirty-three were injured. The driver of the leading engine, who had a miraculous escape from death, said his engine would have fallen over but the main engine pulled the draw-bar right out of his engine, and although it lost its tender wheels, the pilot engine never left the road. He added that if the train had been composed of ordinary passenger cars there would have been hardly any survivors. As it was, the special steel frame cars did not buckle, thus saving many lives. The reason for the train’s leaving the rails is unknown. Officials emphasised the fact that the accident was not caused through the viaduct collapsing. The train had passed the viaduct, which is about 400 feet from a steel bridge that spans the river Hunter, when it left the line and ploughed up the permanent way, seriously damaging the viaduct. A single line runs across the viaduct and bridge and slopes down towards the river, but the grade is slight and the line is straight. The Minister of Works and Railways states that apparently the derailment occurred before the viaduct was reached. The question of the safety of wooden viaducts was raised in the Assembly in December last, when the Commissioners of Railways stated they had adopted a bridge of standard design composed of brick, masonry or concrete, with a steel superstructure, which were replacing wooden bridges, as the latter got out of repair. A report of the disaster is being prepared for the Commissioners.—A. & N.Z. WILLIAMSON COMPANY ABOARD. WARD MORGAN SERIOUSLY INJURED. MARIE BURKE SUFFERING FROM SHOCK. Sydney, June 11. Among the passengers in the wrecked train were Messrs J. C. Williamson’s "Katja” Company, numbering between 30 and 40 members. Ward Morgan was the only one seriously injured, but several others, including Miss Marie Burke, the leading lady, were slightly injured, or are suffering from shock. Many of the passengers were asleep at the time of the collision. In consequence of the darkness and the complete nature of the wreck, it was hours after the smash before the victims were recovered from the wreckage. The latest official message, sent out at 1 o’clock this morning, gives the number of killed at seven, but it is expected that the casualty roll will be increased when all are extricated. Unofficial messages state that eight were killed. —A. and N.Z.

CONTRADICTORY REPORTS. (Rec. 5.5 p.m.) Sydney, June 11. Reports of the railway accident are most contradictory. The latest say there were four killed. It is now stated that Mrs Bennett was not killed, but only slightly injured.—A. & N.Z.