WRECK OF A MIDLAND EXPRESS TRAIN.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1774, 27 October 1879, Page 4

WRECK OF A MIDLAND EXPRESS TRAIN.

On the morning of August 29th, -shortly before five o’clock, the second part Of the Midland railway’s express from the North was completely wrecked on its approach to London—engine, tender, and some carriages turning over on the up side of the line, the'Post Office van and a carriage being thrown down An embankment on the other side, five other coaches being more or less injured and thrown off the iline, and the permanent way being altogether effaced for a space of about'fifty yards. Such, in short, were the effects of what must be termed an “accidentand the most extraordinary fact connected with it is, that i of twenty passengers in the train, with carriages smashed and hurled down an embankment, the only reports of injuries are that some were “ shaken,” though, as may easily be conceived, the shaking must have been of a severe character. The North express, to the second part of which this accident occurred, is one made up at Leicester, timed to leave there at 1.44 for London, and is due at Panoras at 415. The passengers with Pullman car from Liverpool, and the Scotch passengers, making a very heavy train, left Leicester in fair time, and arrived safely in London. The second train, carrying chiefly local passengers between Leicester and London who could not got seats in the other express, left about half an hour after the first, and was driven by John Potterton, : his fireman being Paul Oooley. The train made the run to Luton, and was thence making its way swiftly to London. It is said that great. speed was put on ; but, whatever may have been the fact, the train had just reached four miles north of Mill-hill station, and one milo south of Hendon station, when it came to a sudden wreck. The scene of the disaster is an embankment about 16£t. or 18ft. high, over what may be termed the Talley the Brent, for it is near here that the River Brent, which finds its outlet at Brentford, has its great source. The soil throughout the Talley is all clay, and it is suggested that the heavy rains, which have proved so disastrous in many other respects, had. so sapped the underground part of the embankment as to have caused the first train to press in the permanent way. Whatever may have been the cause, the wreck of the train was instantaneous. The engine deflected to the left, turned over the embankment, and imbedded itself in the sodden clay beneath. The engine-driver, Potterton, was pitched over on his hands and head, while the fireman, .Oooley, was scalded. The engine, in turning over, had broken away from the tender, which passed its leader, and then turned oyer a little beyond it nearer to London. There were some eight other “ coaches;”.aoms of them being “ composite ” first and third carriages, the others including a parcels van and a Post-office van conveying the mails. Two of the coaches were turned over on the same side as that on which the engine had turned; and a third-class passenger, who had had, as he expressed it, “ enough to drink ” when he entered the train at Leicester, and had gone to sleep in the train, found himseif thrown out on the embankment, but experienced no hurt. Tho Postoffice van deflected to tho right, crossed both lines of rails, carrying with it other carriages, and turned upside down on the other side of the embankment. One of tho persons who had providentially and almost miraculously escaped from this fearful wreck made his way to Hendon station, and aroused the stationmaster, Mr Hewitt, Fortunately Hendon is a junction, where there are engines and appliances, and while information was telegraphed to London and Derby medical assistance was obtained, and a train was made up to convey the passengers and mails to London. Tho spot where tho engine turned off the lino was near a small bridge over what is called Collin deep lane, lending to Mr George Nurse’s farm of Oollindalo, The coping of the bridge was torn away on both aides, and tho heavy steel rails of the permanent way were cast on one side like so many sticks of wood. All tho passengers for London and all the passengers for tho country had for some hours to discharge themselves from one train, walk across the breakage or the “ stop” and enter one on the other side.