ALARM AT TRAIN'S SPEED

Chronicle (Levin), 3 April 1948, Page 5

ALARM AT TRAIN'S SPEED

Press Association) *

Furlher Evidence At Inquiry Into Smash

(Per

MELLINGTON, April 2. "My first feeling of apprehension yas When the .train over-ran Biejiaeim station,"" said Herbert Leonard Cum - nings, of Wellington, retired dist-riet ileetrical engineei of the R. and T. Department, when giving evidence bec'ore the Board of Inquiry investigating ;he Seddon raiiway disaster. He was iravelling on the express'with his wife ind daugluer. He added that he had ilready been surpristed at the speed al whieh it travellecl over the "two miles Liiimediately befoire Blenheim. On as. mnding Dashwood' Pass, witness' con lidence in the driver was rostored as . tie considered it the most diffieult part of the journey. The train ohviousty lost time on the hill but going down the steep grade 011 the other side towards ihe Awatere River, his conlidetice wasturther restored when he felt the sniooth grip of the braking systern. After .ieaving Seddon the train passeu along a level stretch of track and thea started a descent. After that' tlie ro were s&yeral curves. At the first ourvV at the bottom of the straight the speed was building up to a point at whicli hc was waiting to feel( the grip of the urakes. "From that point to'the point of the accident was4 a very short distanee at the speed at wliich' we were travel ling, " said vmtness. "Betore I conid mane up niy mind to do anything tlie crasli came.. 1 had already assured aiyseif whdre the emergeney Drake was. tt was about two feet bekind me but things liappened so quickly 1 liad no 00 • portunity to make 'up my mind. Forlunately the car 1 was in was a collisiou rvpe and stood the shock far better tiian tliose aiiead of it and iinallv lau-i-ed against the engine. 1 thinn ihe car L was in was originaJ.lv the fittli coac'.ti rroni the engine. •' ' After commencing tlie descent of the liill from Seddon lo the smash, 1 cannot reculiect feeling the timi grip ot Ihe braxing systern. -ut tjie beginning of the rttn from tlie top oi the iiii! tlie speed was not high. • It was only ae'•elerated towards ihe bottom." Altred Desmond Primrose, a stationaiy engine driver and for a number oi years a locomotive driver of the Publie u'orks Department, said lie was a passenger in tlie train as far as Seddon. The train laboured heavily up the long hill- after leaving Blenheim and wem very siawly but going down the ollier side he vvas concerned about the speeo at whieh it took tlie curves. "It entered my mind that ihe train niight go out of control." i did not teel atiy brakes go on. I consiueied ihe Liain was taimi^ the curves at a dangerous speed," ne said. 6 Not Cattsed by Obstruction Percy Roy Angus, chief mechanicui engineer in charge of tlie locomoti v. ' brunch of the New Zeaiand ifailways, said a peculiarity of the accident was that there were 110 flange or wheet m.arks showing between the rails 011 the portion of the tra'ck still remaining 111 tact after- the accident, except at some little distanee south oi' the sleeper 011 whieh the first niark that could be attributed to the aceidenl, ap'peared. The former were flange marks from rightliand wheel or wheels and they appeared 011 tlie sleepers close in to tlie left-liaml rail. It wotfld require a considerabtc obstruction to cause-sueh a derailment and consequently traces of it would cer tainlv be noticed. Witness found 110 such traces noa- did the front of flie locomotive show any signs of encountering .sucli an object. "1 consider tlie accident could no; possibly have been caused by an obstruction on the track, " witness added [t was iiupossible after the accident, to make a compiete survey of tlie loctt motive as its feft side-was well bnried. He said the reversing lever was in fulF forward gear, the throttle valve was closed and the Westingliouse brake valve was in the running position except when making brake appliqations or wlien releasing the brakes. There were four conclusions possiblt: from tlie position in whieh witness found the brake valve ltandle. First, the brakes may have sbeen applied by the enginedriver and then released; second, the brake , valve handle may have been inadvertently or purposely pi'aced in that position by tlie enginedriver or fireman at the time of the accident; third, some portion of tha locomotive may have struelc _ it while the engine was still travelling in a eapsized position; f'ourth, someone else may have altered it after the accident. Witness was unable to state whieheause was most lilceiy. ■ T'o Mr. A. G. Wicks (for the Cress well family), 'witness said he did not think lack of knowledge of the raute would matter to a ftrst-ycar driver provided he was a mature m'an. If a maii did not have a road sense at 25 he eonlu never -have it. Wherever possible mature drive'rs should be plaeed on express trains. Tender Overturned First It vvas .elear the te-nder .averturtied firs t, said witness, to Mt. Wihl. It was uulikely that both engine and tendm ■went over together. He could- not visiialise any defeyt in the tendei bogeys causing it to overturn first but he eouldi do so if it had been a derail ment. The tender bogeys were completely torn off and oue, partieularly, badly damaged. He could not visualivj that in the latter was a brealt -thy-aatu-re of whieh could not now be de termined. If there had been such a break the tender would not have over turned. It would liave been held in position by the engine at 30 miles au hour. A dri ver judged his speed by the ttlicfe over rail joints, the revolutions of the wheels, beat of the engrne or exhaust note. The department acknowledged that a speedoineter would l>e of assistance in eheeking .speed. The board has concluded its Wellington si'ttings and will resume at Bleu heiiji on Tuesdav and hear evidence tliere up to and. ineluding Friday.