The Recent Railway Accident.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 939, 10 May 1883, Page 2

The Recent Railway Accident.

The evidence given at the inquest held . yesterday on the body of ihe unfortunate man who was killed on the railway the previous day will open the eyes of the people to the uncomfortable fact that travellers by train run more risks than they wot of. The accident by which Samuel Chesson lost his life is certainly not a common one, although it may easily occur, and the provisions for its prevention seem lamentably inefficient. It must be admitted that the evidence was at times of a rather contradictory nature, as is not unusual at coroner’s inquests where a good deal of extraneous matter is allowed to find its way; but it is not difficult to get at the truth, and very unpalateable that truth is. Mr Verdon, the locomotive foreman at Timaru, said what he had to say in a very straightforward manner, and it is from his testimony that we are able to learn how certain things are done on the New Zealand railways. To understand how the accident occurred it is necessary to recapitulate the facts. The tender and the engine are united by a piece of iron, known as the “ draw-bar,” which is strong enough to withstand any ordinary wear and tear. In case, however, this bar should give way, side couplings, or links, are provided for the ostensible purpose of: preventing the engine separating from the tender without further warning. Now, in the melancholy accident in which Chesson lost his life the draw-bar from some cause that was not clearly explained—unless we accept the theory that the iron was affected by the frost, which we scarcely think is entirely satisfactory—did suddenly break, and the links were ruptured at the same instant. An examination of these links showed that they were very badly, made, and quite unfit for the yrork they were intended to do. So far, indeed, as a practical safeguard, these couplings were a mere farce, and Mr Verdon distinctly stated; that any jerk which broke the draw-bar must necessarily separate the links. He further ‘ added, and we consider this A most important point, that he saw no reason why links should not be made ‘ strong enough to hold a train under any circumstances. One thing seems certain, namely, that Chesson owed his death to the defective state of certain parts of the engine on which he was working, and had the appliances to prevent such an accident as then occurred been of the proper kind the chances are that the mishap would not have ended fatally. The evidence that was submitted yesterday plainly proved that a more thorough supervision of the locomotive department of the New Zealand railways, both as regards the material used and the manner in which the work is carried out, is called for. Had this been done it cannot be questioned that the links produced would never have been allowed to be used, as Mr Verdon emphatically condemned them as badly made, and a local expert, Mr Reid, gave it as his opinion that they were too weak to withstand any but the slightest strain. The strong remarks of the Coroner regarding the hitherto unknown danger which travellers on our railways run, as disclosed in yesterday’s inquiry, were thoroughly justified, and we sincerely trust that the rider appended by the jury to their verdict will receive the attention it undoubtedly merits.