RATANA SMASH

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 100, 30 April 1938, Page 10

RATANA SMASH

PASSENGER S ACCOUNT AFTER THE ACCIDENT THE “MYSTERY MAN” *. bar Pi*«» Association. j WELLINGTON, April 29. Another passenger on the excursion train from Wellington which was wrecked in a cutting off Ralana, near Wanganui, on March 26, gave evidence to-day at the continuation of the inquiry into the mishap. The witness said that in his opinion the speed of the train before the accident was normal. He also gave evidence touching on the suggestion made by an earlier witness of the possibility of a third man having been in the engine-cab. the inquiry is being conducted by a Soard consisting of Sir Francis Frazer <chairman >, and Messrs. H. L. Cole -nd F. W. Furkert. Mr. H. F. O’Leary, K.C., with Mr. F. W. Aickin, railway law officer, are representing the Railway Department, and Mr. G. G. Watson, the Engine Drivers’ Association and the driver of the train. Mr. E. Percival, and Mr. F. J. Foot is appearing for the relatives of the late Mrs. E. S. Lewis, one of the passengers.

To-day Mr. N. T. Gillespie was given leave to appear for the relatives of the late Mrs. Hazel D. Tullock, another passenger on the train.

Sir Francis Frazer (chairman) mentioned that a letter had been received from a resident of Parapariumu giving the names of two people who might be able to give valuable evidence concerning the actual time of the derailment. The tetter would be passed on to the secretary of the board so that he could communicate with the people mentioned in the letter.

Continuing his evidence, Mr S. E. Gamby, acting assistant locomotive foreman, Wellington, said that the engine was in first-class order. Mr E Percival, driver of the excursion train had driven it quite a lot. He had 24 hours off duty before coming on on Friday, March 25.

Witness said he had driven with speedometers. Personally he did not need them to know what speed the engine was doing. The present engine headlights w r ere very good indeed.

When a driver was employed on a run regularly he had no need to look at his working time-table. If lie was put on a run portion of which, although he might be acquainted with It he did not cover regularly, he would look up the time-table to freshen his memory. The right was reserved to Mr G. G. G. Watson, representing the New Zealand Locomotive Engineers, Firemen and Cleaners’ Association, to cross-examine Mr Gamby at a later stage if necessary. The difficulty was, he said, that Mr Gamby spoke of conversations with Mr Percival two or three days before the derailment. It might be that when Mr Percival was able to give evidence his accounts of events might give a different version to some matter. Sir Francis Frazer agreed that the best course to adopt would be that when the board was sitting in Wanganui any of the witnesses whose evidence should be contradicted could be made vailable again. Question of Speed Mr G. J. Mullins, Wellington, tramway conductor, said he had been requested by the board to come forward. He was a passenger on the train with his wife. They occupied •eats in the fifth carriage. The last

station he remembered before the accident was Marton, where the train •topped. He remembered that at one station afterwards, which he now knew was Turakina, the train passed another. He was awake but he did not notice the train ascending the grade after passing Turakina. At 2.10 a.m. he looked at his watch and was trying to figure out with the aid of a time-table what time the train would be at Aramoho. The train seemed to be travelling at a normal speed. The train on which they came back did not appear to travel any faster. The speed appeared to be 25 to 30 miles an hour, ft might have been a shade more or less. The first of anything of an untow’ard nature he noticed was some blasts of a whistle, then the screeching of brakes. Their carriage appeared to be running over th«* •leepers. His wife asked what had happened and he told her to sit tight. In a few seconds the carriage came to a standstill. When the train stopped he wanted to get out, but found the rear door would not open. The door had to be forced by people in the sixth carriage. Eventually he got out and saw what had happened. Then he returned to the carriage, telling the womenfolk not to be alarmed as they were quite •afe. Subsequently, after attending to his wife, he went outside and assisted the injured. He did not look at his watch. It was left in his coat pocket in the carriage. It was dark but clear, wi*h no sign of fog, out at daybreak there

was a light fog lying rather low. He thought that roughly 20 minutes elapsed between the first sensation he had of the accident and the time he communicated by track telephone with the railway officials at Wanganui, telling them of the disaster. To Sir Francis Frazer he said that it only seemed a matter of a few seconds between the time he saw his watch showing 2.10 and the time the train piled up. It might have been a few minutes.

He had read, though, of the alleged presence of a third man in the engine cab. He did not see a man in dungarees answering to the description given by Winstone. The only man he saw with one shoe on was a passenger, who had broken toes and was on the bank. This man, he thought, was wearing a blue suit and brown garbadine overcoat. He assisted a doctor to attend to him. Assisted the Fireman. The only man he saw in dungarees was a man he took to be Ken Miller, th#> fireman. He helped to extricate him from the engine cab after returning from the telephone. Miller was in such a bad way that he could not nave been going around giving assistance to other people. He gave first aid to him and then gave him a good strong nip of whisky.

Before giving the whisky there was no smell cf alcohol. He had heard of rumours that the crew had drink and he wanted to make the point clear that it was he who gave Miller the whisky. He made Miller comfortable and went to the telephone again and spoke to Mr. Hare about ambulances.

To his surprise when the ambulances arrived they were not accompanied by doctors and nurses. He mentioned to the ambulance drivers that he did not know how they were going to get to the scene, but one of them said that he knew the country well, so they proceeded over paddocks. Tc Mr. Furkert. witness said that he saw the guard before he went to the telephone, and to Mr. O’Leary he said that the guard came from the van. He h ard a man say at one stage, “Don’t wo. if about me. I’m not supposed to be here." He did not hear him say that he was booked off or had been knocked off at Marton or any other place. The remarks he heard were after he came back from the ’phone. It was Miller who made the remarks, and they were not addressed to anyone in particular. When he was taking the man out of the engine cab ne thought at the time it was the driver or the fireman. Witness could not make head or tail of the remarks.

Mr. O’Leary: I suggest. Mr. Mullins. that it could be made head or tail of if the man were somebody who was not the fireman. Witness: Certainly.

To Sir Francis Frazer, witness said that he could not describe the man. His clothes were in such a terrible mess and it was dark at the time. He did not hear anyone address a man as Mac and the man did not speak with a noticeably Scotch accent. No one near seemed to know who the man was. He assisted to extricate the man with the aid of two others and the remark was passed “this is the fireman." Witness did not see the engine driver.

Explanation of Mystery? Mullins, in answer to Mr. Watson, said the man who made the remark was definitely in the cab of the engine. The other two men who assisted witness had the man partly out of the cab. The man was badly scalded and appeared in great agony. He took the remarks to be made by a man wao was delirious and in great agony and who did not know what he was saying. Mr. Watson suggested to the board that as a result of Mullins’ evidence they had probably arrived at the true explanation of the allegation of a third man in the engine cab. The remark was that of the delirious fireman.

Sir Francis pointed out that a considerable discrepancy was left. Winstone had said that the man of whom he spoke had walked round assisting other people after being thrown out of the cab until he collapsed at 4 o’clock. Mr. Watson said he would probably address the board Irfter on that. At the moment he suggested that Mullins’ evidence established the probable explanation of the mystery of the third man.

Sir Francis said that Mr. Watson had his assurance that the board was following up any lead it could get. He understood that there were one or two pieces of information that had comf to hand ttiat morning which might enable them to trace the mystery a little bit further.

Replying to Mr. Watson, Mullins said that if tte man described by Winstone had, as Winstone suggested, gone about continuously amongst the passengers helping them, witness would have had ample opportunity of seeing him doing that. He had not seen any such man doing any such thing. At the suggestion of Sir Francis, Mr. Watson asked witness if the man whom he had spoken of had a wife and child with him.

Witness said he did not see a man with a wife or child.

Francis Alfred Elli*, acting locomotive foreman of Wellington, explained the system adopted to ensure that no engine went out that was unsafe in any way. He was satisfied that the system was an adequate safeguard against a defective engine going on the track.

At this stage, to meet the wishes of counsel, the inquiry was adjourned until Monday.