RUNAWAY TRAM

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 98, 20 January 1920, Page 8

RUNAWAY TRAM

CONCLUSION OF INQUEST

IMPORTANT EXPERT EVIDENCE

CORONER RESERVES HIS FINDING

Finality was reached late yesterday afternoon in connection with tho inquest into the Pirio Street tramway fatality. .Mr. P. L. Hollings, S.M., presided. Inspector M'Uveney conducted tho proceedings on behalf of the police. Mr. J. O'Shea represented the City Council, whilo Mr. M. Myers appeared for the widows of James Evans and James Alfred M'Ewen, deceased, Mr. T. Neave for the widow of Motorman Joseph Small, deceased, and Mr. J. Hutchison for lhe Tramways Union. . At the outset the Coroner gaid he would like, if it were possible, the inquest to bo concluded that day. If the ovidence were not finished, he could not Mav after that day, and the matter might have to be adjourned indefinitely. Mr. O'Shea. siid that during the previous days of the inquest all sorts of surnr'ses' had been made, and the impression had been conveyed to the public bv "suggestion, if not by evidence, of the possibility of something being wrong. He thought'this impression should he refuted, as in h's opinion it could be.

According to the Coroner, very considerable latitude had been given-far beyond what the occasion demanded.

Mr. O'Shea rejoined that he personally had taken onlv one-twentieth _of the time occupied in the examination of witnesses. Duncan M'Gillivray, traffic manager of the Wellington tramways department, again took the witness-stand, and, questioned by Mr. O'Shea, he expressed the opinion that Conductor Quayle did all he could under the circumstances. There was .an instruction board at tho mouth of the tunnel that the speed of cais down tho grade wag' not to exceed six miles per hour. If there wero any new inventions, or any means whatever of obviating an accident such as had occurred thev would bo adopted locally. William Gustov Whitehouse, aged 11 years, a telegraph messenger, residing with his parents at Wellington, 6aid he was in tho vicinity of Pirio Street and Austin Street when the tram accident took place. He was accompanied by a boy named Houston. Witness wn.s going to cross Austin Street when he first saw tho tram. From where he wns he could see the "cement part of the mouth of the tunnel." Car 105 was coming around the bend from the tunnel when he first saw it. Witness knew there was a stopping-<pl«ce there. Just as the car got bv Austin Street it appeared to be a runaway. It did not slow down or come to a stop at Austin Street, but kept on. It appeared to be going faster as it went away from him. It gradually went faster. As the ear went past Austin Street ho noticed tho motorman lying down on the platform. He did not see tho conductor at all. To Mr. Hutchison: The motorman did not hnvo a cap on.

To Mr. O'Shea: The motorman was lying face upwards.

More Expert Evidence.

Matthew Cable, assistant general manager of the corporation tramways, .and an electrical engineer, said ho had been connected with tho Wellington tramways since May, 1907, and since Mr. Richardson's death in 19U he had bqen the chief electrical engineer. Witness examined car 105 at 8.30 p.m. on tho day of the accident. The rear bogie was completely severed from tho car. Tho front bogie was still in position, on tho car, but standing vertically. Tho wholo of the brake connections between the body and tho trucks wero severed. The whole of the control apparatus in the front part was intact. Tho amount of dnniago to tho car was very much less than one would expect. Tlie air-brake was at "off" (released) position. The magnetic-brake was barely on tho first notch. It was impossible to assume anything as to Ihe position of the handle of the magneticbrake before the aee'dent. It might li<:ve "been on or off. The position the conductor was in at tho time of tho accident was the recognised portion for conductors in the case of all tramway services witness had been connected with, or was familiar with. Witness gave reasons for this. For one thin", tho motorman should bo free from any interference. The trolley-pole also had to be watched, and there was a possibility that in event of a certain mishap the passengers might be in danger. There would be no need for the notice at the tunnel limiting the speed of ears down tho hill if it were absolutely essential that cars should stop at every compulsory plop on ihe way down. It was not a reprehensible practice for cars not to make a compulsory stop if there were no passengers and the motorman slowed up in passing it. Witness travelled in ear 105 on the following Monday, and the brakes and the shoes were all in order as far as he could ascertain. Witness had formed the ooinion that there was no possibility of electrocution or shock having caused the motornian's death.

To Mr. livers: He agreed with "Mr. M'Gillivray that in tho case of emcr-, gency the conductor should endeavour to anply the brake at the front of the car, if possible. If he were in front of the car it would be advisable to apply (he power-brake, if possible. A hand-brake was the c-tfest Wake in the hands of a person net experienced. With tho powerbrakes there was the possibility of ft mistake being made in the application. Tn the case of the magnet'e-hrnke there was the possibility of a mistake being made unless the person applying it was continually using it. Out of 120 cars in! the service, the air-brake was installed in only 30. The old instruction as far as conductors were concerned with regard to the hand-brake was still, in his opinion, the safest. He would not see any obiection to training all the conductors in "the use of the air-brake if all the ears were equipped with the airbrake. It might be an advantage. Witness knew of no system in the United Kingdom that was equipped with as powerful 'brakes as the Wellington system. Notwithstanding all the brakes, the local authorities now saw as the result of the accident the possibility of the human factor. -A young conductor behind an experienced motorman was likely to have every confidence in the motorman, and wasi not likely to bo concerned unless something particular happened. A car out of control for six seconds on a grade like the one in tmestion meant an increase of ten miles in the rate of speed of a car. To Mr. Hutch-'son: On the oars on the Brooklyn and Wndestown lines the mag-netic-brake was generally used; also the hand-brake. Hi? experience went to i>how that the hand-brakes were very effective on hilly sections. Tho Public Works Department could at any time put a car off the road if. in their opinion, the brakes wero defective.

"A Very Dangerous Question."

Mr. Hutchison then asked witness if, in his opinion, the conductor carried out all the inslruclions given to him by the Tramway Department. .- Mr. Myers objected to tho questior being put, in view of the fact that there was a possibility of a very important question having to be decided as to whether what the conductor did was done in time. The question depended upon tho evidence of witnesses, coiv.-ern-ing wh'ch there was considerable conflict. The witness was in the. box to give facts, not to draw inferences.. The Coroner: I don't ihink you have a right to ask this witness to sit in judgment on tho conductor. Mr. Hutchison: It appears to mn that, it is not the question that Mr. Myers obiects to, but the probable answer. Tho Coroner felt sure that Mr. Myers's olijoctvon had reference to the question merely. "If you aro representing (he conductor. I think you are asking a very dangerous nuestion," remarked tho Coroner to Mr. Hutchison. Hw Worship added Hint the question would not be allowed.

Witness continued that if sf 11 depended on a matter of time whether a conductor, even if trained, would have opportunity to put his knowledge into effect.

To Mr. Weave: The motorman was the judge of whether a. car should slop at .stopping-places. It was no part of the conductor's duties to signal a car lo sfon in event of it neglecting to slop. If, would bo extremely dangerous to supply duplicate brake-handles to conductors.

The Coroner: Even if he were, trained in the. art of driving?—" Yes."

To inspector ll'Jlvoiiey: In recent orders the power of fixing compulsory stops on dangerous grades rested with the Public Works Department. The compulsory stops at Austin Street and Brougham Street were fixed by an nfiicial of Hip Public Works Department and Iho late Mr. Bichardson, former chief electrical engineer to the council, before a license was granted for the line. There was no regulation authorising tramway employees to use their own discretion at lliese and other slops.. There must be, however, a certain amount of latitude.

An Important Admission. The Insncctor: Was not the express purpose of a compulsory stop at Austin Street to provide specifically for (he safety of the miblic?—"l admit that." Witness continued that if the car were passing the Austin Street stop above normal sneed. and he had been the conductor, 'ho would have applied the handbrake. . , Mv O'Shea: Supposing a motorman passed an ordinary compulsory stop and the car was under control, would the conductor bo justified in applying the hand-brake —"No, providing the speed was normal." To the Coroner: There was a good reason why the glass in the door behind Iho motorman was darkened, if it did not bear advertisements. It was because ot the necessity of having the light obscured from the motorman at night. In the dav-time if the glass were clear it would be possible for the conductor to sec right through to the front of the car. In answer to the Coroner, witness said that if it were possible to adapt it to traincars. the "dead-man's handle' would be effective in stopping the car. It was not designed for electrical cars. . It was simply designed for electrical trams, to apply it to the local trams would mean discarding the whole of the magiictic-brakes-indeed, practically tho whole of the equipment. To Mr O'Shea: The invention had been nn the market for twenty years, and lie knew of no tramway system to which it had been applied. On one of the latest electrical tramway systems which was at present being installed m Edinburgh magnetic brakes were being mstalledtho same as in Wellington.

The Departmental "Command." Frederick William Furkert, Assistant Bnginecr-in-Cluet ot tho Public Works Department, residing at Wellington, questioned by tho inspector, said the object of -the compulsory stops at Austin and Brougham Streets was to keep the cars from travelling at a dangerous rate ot speed. Tho Departmental definition of a compulsory stop was virtually a command that cars should pull up to a standstill irrespective of their load or any other consideration. Even if it were a special car it was supposed to come to a standstill, and 'even if a car were empty it was supposed to stop, the object of the compulsory stops being to ensure saicty. Tho Coroner: Even a freight car or an observation car would have to stops'— Witness explained that tho Department looked to the corporation to regard the compulsory stops in tho same light as ll thev had been fixed by Ordcr-m-Council. Inspector M'llvcncy: Give us your opinion as to the cause of this accident. Tho Coroner: You are asking thei very cuestion to which you raised objection to M Tho that in tho case of Mr. Furkert he was giving expert cvidMre'Neavo: This is the very question which Your Worship is here, to decide Tho Coroner: You are. asking the witness to decide tho inquest. Mr Neave submitted that tho examination'should bo confined to the requirements laid down by tho Public ttoiks D Tho r Sn'er pointed out that ho had to dec do the cause of the accident from the facts, not from the opinions of witnesses.

To Avert the Accident.

Witness then went on to state his opinion that had tho car come to a standstill at Austin Street, or almost a standstill, and had tho brakes been applied by the conductor at Ellico Avenue, or even within ono hundred feet ot Ell to Avenue, it would have been linpossiblo for an accident to lmyo occurred, even supposing that tho brake had boon on to a certain extent, and had been released ;by tho lato Mr. Evans. The oondiuon» were such that the car could not have obtained an overturning l>aco at the come . Assuming tho evidence as to the application of tho brakes by tho conductor in the vicinity, of Ellico Avenue to be co - rect.it was necessary to suppose Unit the car had an unimpeded run from at least where tho hat fell off, to obtain suflicien speed to bring about the conditions which existed at the time of tho In your opinion, then, the application of tho brakes at Austin SlrUt would bare averted the accident?

To Mr. Myers: He- assumed the hat fell sistv-four paces from tho tunnel. He was able to demonstrate the angers lie ta Mr C Mtc»: In order to Have brought about the accident could »o have come to anything like a suuuMi 1 I Austin Street?—"l '"« absolutely cerain tit could not have been g«.S at 10--« than twenty miles an hour, that is assuming the conductor put on the "SSS of the Publio man or conductor, or anybody else, m the matter of stopping ,at compulsory stmis?—"Yes, that is so. Do you consider tho stop at Austin Street'an exceedingly important compuiB °Thc St hat>pening' of the accident is not consistent with the conductor's statement that the car came practically to a standstill at Austin Street, and that he applied tho hand-brake at EUico Avcnuo? —"It is impossible." A«imiin!f the motorman was dpwn, ll the car had come practically tea sop at tho Austin Street stop.ant tho conductor had applied the hand-brake, tho accident could not have happened ?- this calculation he assumed that the conductor, being a new hand, would not have been able to apply the X with" more than 60 per cent of tho pressure which could have been fc applied by an experienced man. U ilness added that ho assumed tins m favour of to conductor. -Witness examined ho front of the car. and found four or five reasons whv the motorman could no hate been electrocuted or have sustained in electric shock. "It did not surprise him that passengers, in the ear did no notice the acceleration ot speed until it was over twenty-five miles an hour.

The Soirit of the Regulations. To Mr. Hutchison: If Hie car came down at two or three miles an hour ho would oonsidcr this as complying vnth the spirit of the Act relating to compiilS.WV stop regulation. It *ras a reasonable coniDliance with tlio regulation Was that regulation issued to the Uty Council liv the J)epartmont?-"lhero are no regulations under the Tramways Act on the matter." _ , , „ Then it is your opinion on.y?- ies. Have vou ever seen cars passing Austin Street without slopping?—" Yes." Have vou reported it to your Department as a broach of the regulations ?- "No. because there aro no regulations on the matter." Vou said that you were aware that a car came down the grade aUwcnty miles an hour Yesterday ?-'" ire. Did Your report that?- -No, I do not, work on Sundays." Witness added that no one could be expected to lake notice of it if it were not dangerous, as in this added that the Public Works Dcwirlment had the power to mako renilniions. but so far they had not pubanv regulations. The regulations rcaniing compulsory stnpvwcro made by between the council and the lVM.Miincut. 'Th; Department had not awoinlH anyone to see t hat toe rcgul,i!u„H were carried out 'l.ieie was no nccwsilv for appointing an inspector to carrv out soinethiug which the Depart„„m:v had no power to lay down. To Mr O'Shea: The Department had never received any objection from the council to any reasonable rcquinmio.its His experience also went to si ow hat tl,o council was always alive to the saielv of the public. The regulations which had been framed, but which had not yet been promulgated on account o the war, laid down that the door behind he motorman must be opaque. Lven if the Department had considered the- proband-'

itv of a motorman dropping (lend, it would still have insisted in all probability on this door being opaque. Jieforriim to the evidence of certain witnesses, witness said there was always n tendency for persons to over-estimate, the sneed of any moving body when viewed from behind. This would apply in particular to car 105. The car might quite erroneously appear to bound forward suddenly alter passing an eye-witness, lie estimated the speed of the car at somewhere, about thirty miles per hour in leaving the rails.

Tho "Dead-man Hanllc." Was it possible that tho lato Mr. Evans could have interfered with the handlo and released tho brake?—" Yes, qui to possible." The new regulations that wero coming out distinctly laid down that nn one should travel on the motorman's platform except tho motorman. It was a reasonable regulation to require a conductor, when not collecting fares, to be on the rear platform of the car. To the Coroner: It was possible to fit the. citv cars with the "dead-man handle." and that would have the effect of stopping the car automatically if the motorman fainted or becamo incapacitated.

To Mr. O'Shea: It would be a difficult operation to adapt the tar, and would require a great deal of alteration Up to the present tho stand taken all over the world was that where there was a conductor a "dead-man's handle" was not necessary. A "dead-man's handle" really took tho placo of a conductor. To instal it would moan sacrificing the mag-netic-brake, which was an appreciable asset in stopping a car in case of emergency. He had never heard of anybody in. authority recommending this contrivance for electric tramcars. .There was nothing which could be devised by tho mind of man in tho matter of brakes that was infallible. Tho more regulations '.hat wero made the worso the men became. There had been nothing required by tho Public Works Department in the matter of tramway appliances that tho Citv Council had not complied with. Mr. O'Shea remarked that tho City Council had done everything it knew of. The. Coroner: Yes, and there may bo sonle thintrs which you have never heard of which you may now learn.

Witness continued that there were more safeguards taken in Wellington than in ir-ost other places. Had tho car struck anything like a stone wall the probabilities were that everybody in it would have been killed. It went off tho line at the best possible place it could have dope. To Inspector M'llvency: He wouj.B exclude everyone, oven including the conductor, from the motormnn's platform. Witness would not recommend the placins of a second conductor on hill sections. Wellinnton's Good Record. William H. Morton, general manager of the Wellington city tramways, and City Engineer, said that.any respon.sibility for not stopping ,\t anj- stops was attachable to the motorman Some of tho compulsory 6tops wero there to ensure that tho motorman would not go down a steep hill at a, fast speed. The slackening down of a car.at a compulsory stop and its proceeding on its way without coming to a dead-stop was, he considered.' a reasonablo compliance with tho regulations; that was, when there were no passengers to set down or'take up. If a motorman made a habit of passing compulsory slops ho would get into very serious trouble. Tho object was to eneuro that tho motorman had full control of his enr, not with tho object of tho car coming to a dead stop. Witness added that ho had recently returned from a visit to America and England, in which .countries ho had seen numerous tramway systems in operation. On nono of these were there better facilities in point of safety and control than those which obtained in the Wellington service. Incidentally, witness pointed out that the Wellington tramway service had carried 400,000,0110 passengers, and had run 35,000,000 car miles, and had never had such nn occurrence as the one which was tho subject of tho inquiry. In no system in the world were conductors trained both as conductors and motormen. In tin's connection, a motorman out of practice might make a mistake.

Intelligent Boy Witness. Gwyn Charles Denning, aged H years, a newsboy, who was in Pirie Street on tho afternoon of the accident, said lie saw car 105 emerge from tho tunnel, lie was on his way up tho hill, and was halfway between tho tunnel and Austin Street slop. The car did not stop after coming our of the tunnel. Ho watched it coming down tho incline. He saw the car come out of the tunnel, and ho could not see tho motorman as tho car passed him. ITc saw tho motorninn lying down on tho platform with his mouth and eyes open. Nearing the Austin Street stop he saw tho motormnn's hat fell off. Just as the car was Hearing the Austin Street stop, it gathered speed and went on down Pirie Street, and when it was. nearing tho dairy ho saw what looked to bo a lady jump on" and fall, Ho then saw the car proceed down the line till it over turned. As tho car passed witness, witness called out to the cuiiductor, who was standing on the back of tho car with his arms folded, but he did not take any notice.

To Mr. O'Shea: He did not see any body at the Austin Street stop.

Detective-Sergeant Arthur E. Andrews, of tho Wellington Polico Force, said that in the.course of his inquiries he interviewed Frank Keal, -who was one of fhe passengers injured in tho accident, and who was still una'blc to got about. Tn this statement, which the detective put in, Ncal stated that ho was sure (hat the car stopped after coining out of the tunnel, as he remembered seeing two young ladies arranging their hats at (he mirror outside the tunnel: The car did not stop at the Austin Street stop.

Inspector M'llvency at this stage asked counsel if they wished to call any vitnesses. Nono wan called by couns.el.

Dr. George O. Jaoobsen, qualified medical practitioner, of Wellington, said he had attended the Into Ifotornmn Small off and on from November, 1316. to Kill), fn November, 1910. he treated Small for slight stomach troubU. In July, 1018, he saw him in connection with a pain in his side. The last time deceased saw him was several months ago. Witness had no recollection of the deceased over having complained of any headache or ■brain trouble. ■ Generally speakim/, he would describe him as an ordinary healthy num.

Medical Theory—Motorman Fainted, Dr. Patrick Francis M'Evcdy, qualified medical practitioner, of Wellington, gave evidence touching .'. post-mortem examination he had hold on liie body of the deceased Motorman Sm.-ili the afternoon following the accident. Tho blood-vessels nero normal. Tho heart was contracted, no blood being in the left ventricle, and very little blood in the right ventricle. Tlio stomach was Absolutely empty—no sign of food or fluid of any description. The rest of the organs were quite normal. Witness had no opportunity of examining the brain on account of the nature of the injuries. The cause of death m> laceration of the skull.

To Inspector M'J.lvcney: The whole- evidence of the post-mortem pointed to the fact that the deceased had fainted. The absence of blood in the ventricles and the contracted condition of tlio ilea re led witness to come to this opinion. The only conclusion one could como to was that the absence of food had a great deal to do with the condition. Added to this was tlio state of tho atmosphere of the funnel. To the Coroner: The post-mortem disclosed that the man was not dead at the time of the cra.«h. To Mr. O'Shea: Persons who lind been through a severe ace'dent sometimes suffered "from nerve symptoms. A condition of that sort did not lead to accuracy. Tt; might affect their memory and cans* Miem to exaggerate. lie had examined tho conductor four or five times since the accident, and the latter was sutferiti" from a certain amount of shock, and it"'was more than likely that his view of the whole thug was altered. Having rcard lo the speed of the car, lie would ho"ve rapei-ted that the passengers who escaped would have been far more fcnouslv injured. , To Mr. Neave: The car must have necessarily been brought up by some nndiia! process. Otherwise tho passengers must have been more seriously in3"to'M> Mvers: It naturally followed that the speed at which tho car left the rn\U was different from tho speed wiion it crashed into the shed. The Coroner: Hut. these are hardly questions to put to Dr. MT!v«ly. Mr O'Phea: Thev me important as showing that had tho car teen tra wiling

at the panic speed suggested there would luvo been no car left at all. lieeallod by Mr. O'Shei, Mr. Morton, tramways manager, said that it was not necessary for the car to have attained ,i speed of 35 milts in order to cause it to leave the rails. This concluded the evidence. The Coroner intimated that ho had already arrived at his. conclusion, but as the evidence was very lengthy, and as the matter was of some importance, he was desirous of putting his finding in writing. ITc would therefore deliver his verdict at 10.33 o'clock this morning. The Court then adjourned.