RAILWAY ACCIDENT IN N-S. WALES

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1672, 26 September 1887, Page 3

RAILWAY ACCIDENT IN N-S. WALES

An extraordinary railway accident, attended with considerable loss of Government and private property, happened early on the morning of ihe 9oh inst., near Petersham, on the suburban line from Sydney to Parramatta. Fortunately no lives were loßt, but that the two guards and the one passenger travelling by tho train escaped Beriouß injury or death was little short of a miracle. It waa an express goods train going to Goulburn, and pssalng ovor the viaduot it ia supposed that the axle of the foremc Bt goods waggon broke and then threw off the line several trucks, which toppled down the embankment the one after the other lo quick succession, or left the viaduct and fell into the bed of the creek fully 40f. below. Almost Immediately after the trucks and their contents had fallen to the bottom of the embankment or into tbe bed of the oreek a fire broke out, and quickly enveloped the damaged rolling Btock snd goods whioh littered the ground m all directions. What caused the fire Ib not yet known, but it Ib supposed that some matcher, which formed part of the loading of the vehloles, Ignited, and the fUmeß spread from Borne of the trucks over the other goods, Including a good deal of sawn timber. An alarm waa quickly given, and the Metropolitan Fire Brigade men soon arrived on the Bpot, but it waa too late to save the greater part of the merchajidiie and rolling stock. Oue of the guard's vans containing the morning newspapers for the faouthern tow ub as far aa Albury was burnt, togother with its contents. The damage Is eatlI mated at about £8000,