MINISTER SAYS BRIDGES WILL BE WATCHED.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17829, 24 April 1926, Page 2

MINISTER SAYS BRIDGES WILL BE WATCHED.

OPEN GATES CAUSE ACCIDENT TO SHEEP. (Special to the “Star.”) OAMARU, April 23. Proper and careful attention to the matter of seeing that the railway gates leading to the Waitaki Bridge are not left open when they should be shut, has been promised by the Prime Minister and Minister of Railways. The assurance has been given in response to to letter from the Waitaki County Council, which referred to a train running into a flock of sheep on February 11. The Minister of Railways replied that the accident on P'ebruary 11 was not due to the bridge gates being left open when they should have been closed. The accident occurred at 5.45 a.m., at which time the bridge keepers were not on duty. In such circumstances the departmental instructions to train men and others concerned explicitly provided that trains must be piloted over the bridge. The procedure laid down provided that the train must be brought to a standstill before entering on a bridge and the guard must walk in front of the train and pilot it across. The train must follow, maintaining a distance of not less than 100 yards between the guard and the engine, and it should therefore be clear that little room was left for the possibility of accidents occurring, provided the instructions were observed. Unfortunately, however, the engineman failed to stop his train as directed, and although the Department’s inquiries had not been brought to a conclusion there appeared little doubt that the customary vigilance displayed by the Department’s engine drivers was not in evidence on that occasion. The instructions to the bridge keepers were also explicit and comprehensive, and the freedom from accidents on bridges, whether the regular attendants were on duty or not, pointed conclusively to the effectiveness of the departmental regulations governing that phase of the railway operations.