RAILWAY COLLISION BETWEEN MERCER AND TAUPIRI.

Waikato Times, Issue 863, 29 December 1877, Page 2

RAILWAY COLLISION BETWEEN MERCER AND TAUPIRI.

A collision took place on Thursday at one of the numerous sharp cv yes be \vien Taupiri and Mercer, '♦etween the oidirjary gpods lrain which leaves Auckland at 6.30 a.m., and a construction train, The two sighel e-ich other coming round opposite ends of the curve, ahout a mile north of Taupiri, ,-md th« oagiueers at anoe reversed, bu' li iv was not time to avoid a colli -;ion. hou_.li h« force of it wns much broken. Fortunately but fe v men were on either trpin, and thaf. the ono was a goods and not a passenger train. The -foods train consisted of an engiue, two carri.ig-s (empty), and four wagons loaded wi b railway iron, and the occupan'S con. »i-ted of the engine driver, Hreman, and guard. On tbe construction rain w re the engine drivoi 1 . Jjirues Braceweli), the form n (8e ge <. ), and the guard, aud the ttaLt c» n gisted of about a doyen wagons

loaded with riilwav oil last. Too me.i, seeing a collision unavoidable, junvied oft*; biu Braise well, who had lost' a toot previously, was un ible i to make a fair jump, ami filling has, it is feared, badly injury. I, if h« huS not broken a leg. Tho others escaped altogether except -.ergcaut, who received some comparatively slight bruises ahout the fact*. Sov*»eant- at once got a horse and rode ou to Taupiri with tho new.*, and Mr Lovoll of that place immediately despatched a horseman ou to Ngaruawahia that the event might uo at once telegraphed to Auckland and Hamilton. On receiving intormation at this end Sergt. McGovern at once proceeded to tho scene of the ace dent, happily to find that it was less serious than tne intelligence would have implied. The engines were somewhat the worse for tlie collision, but not so much smashed as might bave been expected, tbe force of the shock haviug been "reatly broken Biacewell was sent on to Auckland for med.c.il assistance with tho passengers trom Hamilton northwards, who were transbi.'ped into the two carriages ittached to the goods train aud drawn oy a spare engme belonging to Air Topham, which had t»een sent up one line behind the goods train, on a line of railway such us that between Mercer and Ngaruawahi ., rejoicing iv sharp curves and having but a single line of rails, ohe utmost care and circumspectio.i is necessary, and a rio-id enquiry into die causes of tbe accident and the enfo.cementoi rules for the future must be undertaken or we shall be some day eailed upon to chronicle au accident more serious m its results than that of Thursday.