DAMAGING FIRE IN RAILWAY WAGON

Chronicle (Levin), 20 December 1947, Page 5

DAMAGING FIRE IN RAILWAY WAGON

XEW PLYMOUTH, Dec. 19. Tiadios, whisky and other spirits cigarettes and tohacoo, confectionerv and general merchandise were amonji 400 packages coimgned to New Plymouth which were destroved when a wagon on a mixed passenger anci freight train flared up in the new Fordell station on Wednesday niglit. It is helieved to he oue of the, most serious lires of this type exporieiiced hy the rtiilway and the financial loss is ex pected to run well into four figures. Only six packages whieli were railway fieight, not postal parcels, were fitilvaged hefore tlie liames compietely envelojied the wagon. The cause of th( lire is not known. In tlie twisted ruin of tlie wagon are known to he tlie remains of 20 radios, the loss of which will cost upwards ot £400, 70 packages of confectionerv am. hig qu.-intities of sjiirits and gene.rai goods. The lire xv i 1 1 afi'ect most New Plymouth merchants, but insuranee will meet a good proportion of the loss. Fordell is a new station and is stiil witliout water. The conplings Were hroken and the rest of the train shuntetl c-lear. The sleejters heneath the wagon were hurned th rough a'nd the rails twisted. When the rail-car for New Plymouth, which had left Wellington a t o.l M p.m., arrived, it Was unahle to pass on a siding hecause of tlie still rntense lieat from the glowing wreckage. Wlieu iirernen arrived from Wanganui tliev pnmped water from t-he tender 6-f a locomotive Pntil the 'etnb'ers We i'C queuched enough to le't the rail-car, an hour and a lialf hehind schedule, ntove j jiast, I