THE RAILWAY ACCIDENT

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVIII, Issue 150581, 8 February 1915, Page 2

THE RAILWAY ACCIDENT

MIRACULOUS ESCAPE The train accident which occurred at Tirohia on Friday, and the fortunate escape of the engine driver and fireman is stated by one of the passengers to be nothing short of miraculous, the former because ot the simple way it occurted, and the latter by the heroic manner in which they did their duty to the end, having ultimately to climl* through the window of the cab to reach terra firma.

Before crossing the Road crossing, about two an ' a-half miles on the Te Aroha side of Paeroa. the whistle of the engine was being sounded continuously fcr some seconds, and passengers were prepared, by the slowing down of the train, to stop fora clearance. In the third carriage which was, until Paeroa was reached in the position behind the trucks which were smashed, only two slight shocks were felt. The idea in the minds of the two passengers in this department ■ was that the train had run into a whole mob of cattle, and the of a disaster did not enter into their heads. In fact they were unaware that anything of the nature had happened until they went on to the carriage platform and saw the wreckage. By this time the engine - driver, Mr Fisher, of Thames, and the Fireman,_ had made au iuspeciion in the debris of the smashed carriage, and ascer. taiued that this had been unoccupied.

—An Eye-witness— Mrs Kenny, late of Ruakaka, and who now lives near the line and about 100 yards from the scene of the accident, Was probably the only person who saw the occurence. It was from her that our repretentative, who was travelling by the train, gathered that the heifer which caused the accident had jumped on to the cattle, stops instead of attempting to cross the road. The body lodged between two of the cross pieces of the cattle stops, and it is surmised that the impact of the engine with the body in that position dislodged the former from the rails. It is assessed by several of the passengers that the speed at which the traiu came into contact with the animal was not more than eight miles au hour. —The Damage — The engine was thrown about ten yards off to eastern side of the line at right angles, with the cow* catcher buckled under the front wheels, and the cab forced forward. Within two feet of where the driver and fireman stood was the tender, the front part of which was 'smashed into an unrecognisable shape. The driver was slightly, hit by a steel bar from the tender. Two open trucks were badly damaged as was a fish van. the latter lying alongside of the engiue tender also at right angles to the track. Behind these, lying over on its side and well off the line was the car. riage with the whole of one side torn out, and the rows of seats smashed to pieces. The next carriage was derailed, and had &_cbsfinct lean towards the otffi*t > ' wreckage, The doors were jammed and the nuderneath part damaged. The next compartment was the foremost one to the engine, which contained two passengers, Messrs Redgrave and Yardiey of Te Aroha, and was damaged in the running gear. The rest of the train where nearly the whole of the pas. sengers were situated wa; not dam* aged aud was later taken back to Paeroa by a fresh engine. The line was torn itp for many at one portion the western side rail was curved into the shape of a C„ and was piecing the side of the fish van. Breakdown gangs arrived within an hour of the time of the accident from Paeroa and Te Aroha, and the construction of a temporary line was quickly commenced, The passengers restarted o’> their journey about four o’clock by a train which had been sent from Te Aroha, —A Lucky Escape The two badly damaged carriages were only added to the train at Paeroa where the front one was entered by a youth. He was, before the traiu started, told of an attraction at the other end of the train, and changed carriages accordingly. Had he remained in this carriage nothing could have saved him.