CROSSING SMASH

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 20183, 27 June 1928, Page 6

CROSSING SMASH

LORRY HIT BY TRAIN Laden City Council Vehicle is Completely Wrecked DRIVER'S MIRACULOUS ESCAPE I HOM DEATH Travelling at a speed estimated at umuUd Ufea.y ulaavo un. num, uu iidWu.£ru.-uviHMi vxuaii ituaj. ivxaitoii to Waui&uiiux yeirteruuy luvnuag xueu a motor lurry on Uic iNo. o xniie xevei crossing, x'ae motor veiucxe was completely ue-niuixbm-u and tne pj-ces strewn tor a instance oi 30u yarns uowu tne line, wuiie the driver, Mr a. imiinou, liaa a miraculous escape Horn ueaw. He was tnrown ciear of tne laiis und was picned up unconscious wim a lacerateu leiG aim, a ueep cut on tne heuu and otner miner injuries. Tne uijureu man was taken to tne Wanganui xiospitai, where nis arm was amputated about four inches below tne smoulder. At a late hour last night ne was reported to be progressing favourably and was as comfortable as could be expected.

The lorry was owned by the City Corporal ion and was being used for the conveyance of metal anu sand fruin the Hogg pit on No. 3 Line to Duncan Street and other parts of Wanganui East, With a loau of sand the combined weight of the vehicle at the iinie of the impact would be about eight tons.

weaving Marlon Junction as usual at 6.-5 a.m. the train which was a •mixed,'” one, carrying passengers ana goods, left (JKoia shortly before 8.30 a.m., running on schedule time. The engine had a heavy load behind it, an auxiliary engine naving assisted the train up tne Turakina and Wangaehu inclines to Fordell, from where one engine is sufficient for the haul to Wanganui. The engine driver was Mi John F. H. Fife, of Marton, and the

guard, Mr A. E. Mann, also of Marton. At the No. 3 Line crossing the lorry appeared on the line right in front or the engine and with a terrific crash the vehicle was struck amidships to be smashed to pieces, portions being strewn along the permanent way for roughly two Hundred yards. Caught without a chance of flinging himself clear, Mr Minnell had a miraculous escape from death, for he was hurled some thirty yards by the force of the impact. When the train was pulled up in its own length the unfortunate driver of the lorry was found lying alongside the guard’s van with his head underneath the radiator of the shattered vehicle. He was attended to at the scene of the accident by Dr. E. C. Hutchison anil was then taken to the hospital, where he was operated on, his left arm, which was badly mangled, having to be amputated. A severe cut in the head and several minor abrasions and bruises comprised the remainder of the injuries suffered by Mr Minnell. For some 400 yards after passing the crossing the railway runs through a shallow cutting, the embankment of which varies from two to six feet in height. This docs not allow of much space between the train and the bank. Yet into the narrow space Mr Minnell was hurled, and how he escaped being thrown back from the bank to fall under the train is something to marvel at. Wreckage Scatte.-ed Along Line On the roadside, when a “Chronicle” representative visited the scene shortly alter the crash, was the rout of the cab of the lorry. Some twenty yards from the crossing and on the right-hand side of the permanent way were the differential and the rear wheels of the vehicle, the axle connecting the two wheels being snapped in two, as if it had been a brittle uough instead of solid steel. The differential was bent and twisted out of shape in a most extraordinary manner, testifying to the force of the blow which struck the vehicle. Bome ten yards further on was the body of t*e lorry, also crumpled into a shapeless

Carried some 3UU yards down the line un the cow-catcher of the engine was the chassis of the lorry, twisted into an almost unrecognisable mass of steel, while it was at about the same spot that the front wheels were dropped. The hydraulic lift that operated the tip for Ltie discharge of metal from the lorry was found about 200 yards along the line from the crossing. Bo heavy was the mass of wreckage that hung on the front of the engine that it was found necessary to obtain a travelling crane from the East Town Railway Workshops to remove the chassis, which was dumped over a fence beside the line. The engine itself was also badly damaged and was towed to the workshops for repairs. Fortunately none of the trucks or carriages left the rails or a much nine serious disaster would have been recorded.

From the scene of the impact to the spot where the train pulled up, a distance of some 300 yards, the bank on the left of the lino, was deeply scored by the projecting parts of the chassis in a manner that bore evidence of the destruction that .vas wrought. Perhaps the fact that the train load was a very heavy one—about five hundred tons—was the main factor that prevented the engine leaving the rails. Altogether there were some thirty vehicles in the load, five trucks being full of coal and four being laden with timber. In addition to several empty trucks and a heavy gas reservoir there were some waggons for repairs and many cars of the “box” type. At the rear were the two carriages containing about twenty or thirty passengers, including a large proportion of Technical College students.

The train remained at the scene of the accident from shortly after 8.30 a.m. until about 11 o’clock, at whic« time an engine appeared to haul it into the Wanganui station, about two and a-half hours after schedule time. As a consequence of the delay caus-d the trains both north and south were held up for a time, none being able to proceed past the scene of the eras*!. The next train from the south was herd up at Okoia for just under an hour, but the mail train for Wellington left

un time, some of the more unimportant trains having their schedules adjusted in order to prevent any confusion. Mr Minnell, who is regarded by his fellow employees as one of the 'most careful drivers of motor vehicles, is a married man with two children and iesides at Springvale Road. Only a young man—he is about 36 years of age —it was a most unfortunate happening for him that he should lose a limb as a result of the accident. A Dangerous Level Crossing The railway crossing at which the accident occurred is some threo nmes from the city, being at the junction of the Eastown Road and No. 3 ft has long been considered one of the most dangerous crossings in the vicinity of Wanganui, but there had not recently been any very serious accident at it. The crossing is hidden from the en-gine-driver’s view until he is within two hundred yairis of the road. Any vehicle about to cross the railway from the direction of Okoia is not visible from the railway until the last moment owing to a hedge and the bank of tne cutting through which the train approaches. The view of the motorist is also obscured, although a warning hell is placed on the southern side of the railway line and a “wig-wag” signal stands on the right-hand side of t*.e road on the northern side. Both these signals, however, are within five yards of the line and the “wigwag.” if operating, is only visible when the motorist is within 30 yards of crossing. This “wig-wng” was testr»l shortly after the accident and was found to be without defect.