GOODS TRAIN DERAILED

Taranaki Daily News, 9 April 1927, Page 15

GOODS TRAIN DERAILED

SIX WAGGONS JUMP THE LINE SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE CAUSED. ANOTHER CASE OF BROKEN AXLE. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Dunedin, Last Night. At an early hour this morning the Green Island railway station was the scene of what might have proved to be a much more serious smash than was actually the case, though as it was fairly substantial damage resulted. A goods train bound from Balclutha to Dunedin was running a good deal behind time when it reached Green Island at 1.30. As it- was passing Smellie’s Bridge at the north end of the station, the axle of one of the waggons broke, this obstructing the s’* following wagons and derailing them. The goods being carried at the time were principally coal and timber, which were scattered all over the place. The train comprised 34 wagons, and, considering the force with which they jambed, it is a wonder that some of the derailed wagons were not smashed to pieces, but though several were badly damaged and all had to be discharged, it was possible to put several of them on the line again, others being loaded in wagons and sent to the workshops. No one was hurt. A breakdown train was despatched from Dunedin and arrived at Green Island about an hour or so after the accident, commencing operations without the least delay. Twenty-two men were engaged on the work, the breakdown gear including a crane, a van with all equipment and wagons containing the necessary material. At the time of the smash the train was travelling at a normal rate ot speed—about twenty miles per hour—and no very great damage to the permanent way resulted from the derailment;