TRAIN DERAILED

Evening Star, Issue 22144, 26 September 1935, Page 7

TRAIN DERAILED

SMASH NEAR EDENDALE FOUR CARRIAGES AND TWENTY WAGONS INVOLVED FIFTY SCHOOL CHILDREN AMONG PASSENGERS NO INJURIES A serious train derailment, fortunately unattended by injury to anyone, occurred\ about 5 o’clock last evening at the foot of the long incline between Kamahi and Edendale on the main Inver-cargill-Christchurch line (says the ‘Southland Times’). Four carriages containing some 70 passengers, most of whom were secondary school pupils, were derailed, together with close oh 20 trucks, tearing up the permanent way for a distance of about 55yd$ and leaving a trail of wreckage which will take some considerable time to clear. Although severely shaken, the school children, who occupied the carriages that suffered most damage, escaped serious injury, only two boys and one girl receiving injuries requiring 1 attention. These were not sufficiently serious to prevent them from proceeding to their homes. The train consisted of 13 loaded wagons, six empty wagons, four passenger carriages, and a van. The first two carriages were occupied by school pupils, 61 of whom boarded the tram at Invercargill, while 21 other passengers were on the train when it left the city. The first carriage was occupied bv girls and the second by boys, the children being principally students of the Technical College and the Convent School. ON EMBANKMENT. The spot at which the derailment occurred apparently favoured the escape of the passengers from serious injury. At the particular point the permanent way runs along an embankment about Bft above the ground level. This enabled the wreckage to be thrown more or less clear and avoided the complete telescoping of trucks and carriages which would prob-

ably have occurred had the train been passing through a cutting. The presence of two petrol wagons near the carriages would have caused serious alarm had they been laden at the time, but this was fortunately not the case. As it was, a gas lighting cylinder caused an outbreak of fire which would have had serious consequences but for the prompt action of the guard and a number of passengers who lent assistance. From an examination of the line it appeared that the second truck left the rails more than 500yds above the scene of the derailment, and no doubt this was the cause of the final accident. It is presumed that the coupling between the first and second trucks gave way near the foot of the incline and that the second truck, already free from the rails, slevyed crossways and caused the remaining portion of the train to pile up in a heap of indescribable confusion. The derailment was effective to the last carriage, the front bogey wheels of which were just passed the point at which the rails commenced to spread. The engine, the first truck, and the van were, therefore, the only sections of the train not affected. TRUCKS SPLINTERED TO MATCHWOOD. The severest damage occurred to the trucks, which were splintered almost to matchwood. The cargo included lime, building timber, split posts, and loose coke, and this was strewn with the wreckage of the wagons on both sides of the line for a considerable distance. In many cases the bogey wheels, flooring, and sides of the wagons were separated from the other sections, and a closed freight car had one side stripped clear from the rest of the bodv. The first two carriages, which were occupied by the school pupils, suffered most severely. The first was _ slowed almost at right angles to the rails, and came to rest against a pile of wreckage of trucks and cargo with a slight list forward. The front door was smashed from its hinges and lay at the foot of the embankment, while the platform hung precariously some 10ft above the lower level of the ground. The bogey wheels were smashed off and the floor of the carnage rested on the body of a truck on to which it had been piled. The gas-lighting cylinder, which in the case of the second carriage caused an outbreak of fire, was torn from its brackets and lay on a pile of timber between the two carriages. PLATFORMS TELESCOPED. 'The adjoining platforms of the first two carriages were practically telescoped, and splintered woodwork testified to the tremendous strain to which the carriages had been subjected. The third was also clear of -the permanent way, 1 but at a lesser angle to the

direction of travel, while the fourth was undamaged, although the front set of bogey wheels had penetrated on to the portion of the line where the rails were spread. The force with which the second carriage was dropped on to a heap of debris caused the gas cylinder to be forced through the flooring, which wa splintered and elevated to a height of two or three feet in the centre of the carriage. Anyone inspecting this carriage could not fail to be amazed that the occupants had escaped serious injury. Perhaps the most fortunate aspect was that the carriage was of the old type with longitudinal seating, as a result of which the children were tumbled into a heap towards the front end of the carriage and clear of the splintered flooring. OUTBREAK OF FIRE. Friction was probably responsible for the gas cylinder, igniting and causing an outbreak of fire in the second carriage. This was quickly subdued. Had it not been, the splintered timber would readily have caught fire and the largo amount of wooden debris in the vicinity would soon have been a blazing mass. The children were inclined to makelight of the episode, and several were more thrilled at the fact that they had been involved in a train wreck than their remarkable escape. All of them suffered a severe shaking which they w ill long remember, but only three received injuries beyond the most minor scratch. Joan Murphy, of Mataura, daughter of the local police constable, received a knock on the head, but this injury did not prove to be serious. A Gore boy named Dowling was cut about the head, and an Edendale boy named M’Elhinney received a similar injury. These three children received prompt attention, and it was found that their injuries were not sufficiently serious to prevent them from being taken to their homes. The passengers in the other carriages were also badly shaken, but suffered no injuries. Several women received a serious fright, and suffered from shock following the derailment, but they were able to continue their journey when a relief train was provided from Gore. A passenger told a reporter that very little warning of anything unusual was given, a bumping followed almost immediately by the crash being all that was felt. The crash was sufficient to dislodge the passengers from their seats, but did not cause any injury through their being bumped against wood and iron work in the carriages. THE GUARD’S STORY. The guard ? Mr J. Cahill, said that the first indication he had that anything was amiss was an unusual, rocking and bumping of the van as it neared the

bottom of the incline. Believing in the beginning that this was caused by the application of the Westinghouse brakes from the engine, he did not take immediate action, but almost at once the bumping became more severe. Before applying the brake from the van he endeavoured to step out on the platform of the van for a view of what was happening, but the rocking was then so acute that he was unable to open the door, and almost immediately the crash occurred. Since the van remained on the undamaged section of the permanent way the sensation felt by the guard gave little indication of the size of the derailment, and for a time he was quite unable to see what had. happened on account of the clouds of dust which had been caused by the bursting of many sacks of lime and the disturbance to the gravel ballast on the line. When the clouds of dust cleared and he was able to see the mass of wreckage strewn over the permanent way, the guard’s first thought was that such an accident' could not have occurred without serious injury among the children in the first two carriages. Both were almost at right angles to the track, divorced from their bogey wheels and loaning slightly forward. As he rushed forward, however, the children, who seemed little disturbed by the accident, commenced to leave their carriages, apparently little the worse for the severe shaking they had received. Only three of the children had received injuries which required immediate attention, and these injuries were not serious. A more serious aspect was lent by the fact that the breaking clear of the bogey wheels from the carriages had forced the gas lighting cylinder of the second carriage clear through the floor, which was splintered in a most extraordinary way and forced in places up to a height almost level with the bottom of the windows. The gas cylinder of the first carriage had been broken clean away and flung clear in the space between the two carriages. In the second carriage the smashing had caused the gas in the cylinder to ignite, and the guard and the willing band of assistants from the rear carriages who gathered to assist the children had not merely, a wreck on their hands, but a fire also. ISxtinguishers were procured from the van atid water carried in tins from a creek a short distance away, and within a short time the flames had been subdued. In view of the amount of dry timber lying near . the carriages the outbreak of fire might easily have assumed serious proportions had not the guard and the passengers acted quickly. RELIEF TRAINS PROVIDED. A relief train was provided As promptly but some delay occurred before it could bo brought from Gore. The passengers were transferred and proceeded on their way about two and a-half hours behind schedule. For the south-bound express passengers special arrangements were made.

As it happened, the number to be transferred at the scene of the derailment was only about 40. and one carriage only was brought witli the two vans from Edendale. As much light as could be secured was provided, and a small army of railway officials was on the scene to guide the passengers and carry luggage and mails to the relief train. This did not arrive at the Kamahi end of the wrecked line for about half an hour after the express, but as soon as possible the passengers were put on board and the train proceeded on its way, arriving at Invercargill about 10.30 o’clock.