EXPRESS CRASHES INTO REAR OF NEWCASTLE FLIER

Wanganui Chronicle, 10 June 1948, Page 5

EXPRESS CRASHES INTO REAR OF NEWCASTLE FLIER

Recd. 7 p.m. Sydney, June 9. When the Cessnock express crashed Into the rear of the Newcastle flier near Cowan station, 30 miles north of Sydney, today, hundreds of passengers were thrown into heaps and the engine and four carriages were derailed. Thirty passengers were treated at the Hornsby hospital and by doctors and many more suffered shock and abrasions.

The crash occurred on the bend when the Sydney-bound Newcastle flier, one of the fastest express trains in New South Wales, was having difficulty in ascending the hill. The engine failed to grip the tracks, made slippery by heavy rain, and the train came to a standstill for ten minutes. While the driver was attempting to get it moving again, and the guard was preparing to place warning detonators on the line, the Cessnock express, normal.y 14 minutes behind the flier, rounded the bend and struck the stationary train. The last carriage of the flier and the engine and two leading carriages of the express were derailed. Fortunately the last carriage of the flier contained only one passenger—an American wrestler, who described the collision as “something like a shortarm jolt.” He was not injured. The smash occurred in hiliy country, half a mile from the nearest roadway. Twelve ambulances rushed to the scene, and two hours after the accident dazed passengers were still receiving treatment. Injuries comprised shock, cuts, bruises, sprains and dislocations.