CRASH INTO SLIP

Waikato Times, Volume 131, Issue 21845, 28 September 1942, Page 2

CRASH INTO SLIP

EXPRESS TRAIN MISHAP LONG DELAY AT WAIMIHA The engine and four carriages of the Wellington-Auckland express at 3.15 on Saturday morning plunged through the debris of a landslip a quarter of a mile south of the Waimiha station, between Te Kuiti and Taumarunui. Although the cowcatcher and headlight of the engine were smashed and the first four carriages scored through dragging through the rubble, none of the vehicles was derailed. The passengers, though shaken, suffered no injury. Mud was piled up to the windows of some of the carriages. From Frankton a relief train was despatched and passengers and luggage were transhipped in the early morning. It was 8.50 a.m. before the relief express left Waimiha. Passengers were again transhipped at Frankton Junction and arrived in Auckland at 2.20 p.m., after a journey of over 23 hours. Many passengers slept in the train at the slip until 8 a.m., when they walked to the Waimiha station to embark on the relief train. The weather was sunny and many passengers bought hasty meals from the few stores in the township. Waimiha residents provided tea for a number of the travellers.

A passage was cleared through the slip by Saturday afternoon. It was fortunate that there were no large boulders in the debris.