TWO SURFACEMEN KILLED.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXIII, 24 December 1925, Page 9

TWO SURFACEMEN KILLED.

A Third Man Injured. RDN OVER IN RAILWAY YARDS. By Telegraph-—Press Association. ANCRLAND, December 23. Two railway surfacemen were killed, and a third received inuries to his head, through being knocked, down by. a shunting train at Newmarket at about a quarter past two this afternoon. The accident occurred on what is known as a “back-shunt” portion of the .line, along 'Which trains shunt backwards from Newmarket station before proceeding along the Kaipara line. , The names of those killed are: — John William Brown Harland, married, aged 47, of Remuera. He is stated to have a 'grown up "family. Richard George Dilwortli, married, aged 51), of Kingsland. He is stated to have a grown up family. The injured ■ man is Arthur Skeen, married, wlio lives in one of the railway cottages beside the line. His injuries are not regardede as serious. He lias a family of two sons and a daughter. ’

Tire three men were members of a gang which was employed in weeding and repairing the track of the “backshunt.” They were working under the supervision of a ganger, who was absent for a* few - moments. He was returning, and was about 50 yards from the men, when’he noticed a train which consisted of about 10 trucks and an engine, with no van. It was travelling comparatively slowly. He shouted to the men, but it is doubtful whether ho was heard, At the same time he signalled to the driver of the train, but was not noticed. The men appeared to straighten up just as the train was upon them, but whether they heard the ganger’s shouts or the train is not known.

Skeen, is the only one who managed to save "his life, but it is not clear why ho was more fortunate than the others. .

The bodies of Harland and Dilwortli were terribly mutilated, the train having passed right over them before coming to a standstill. Death must have been instantaneous in each case.. The train by which the men were knocked down' "was a regular daily shunting train froin Newmarket to Mount Eden, All the men were supplied with time-tables showing the times at which trains'were to be expected. There Was no pne on the back of the train at that time, as it was regarded as being"engaged in purely shunting operations within the yards. A shunter was .travelling ori the step of the engine to change the points when the “backshunt” was completed. When the train commenced to run forward again it would', be outside the yards, and he would travel on the last waggon. Other gangs of inen were employed on other two sides of a triangle of which “backshunt” forms the base. The;.fjpot where the accident occurred is regarded as 1 dangerous, as trains run hack-wgrd along this _ part of the line, and the sound of their approach is apt to be drowned by the ' noise of a tim-ber-mill ori one side or’of passing t rains on tlie other) The-three men'were all experienced in the class of work in which they were engaged. Harland and Dilwortli were casual surfacemen, but had previously been permanently employed by the Railway Department, . and had had experience over about 2,0 years,.’ Skeen was a permanent- surfaceman, and also had long experience.