THE KAITOKI RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2313, 2 September 1881, Page 4

THE KAITOKI RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

[I'EESS ASSOCIATION TELEGBAH.J WELLINGTON, September 1. The following U tho report of the Commission appointed to enquire into the circumstances of the accident on the WellingtonBffauteiton railway on August 3rd, 1881 : Wellington. August 20th. To the Minister for Public Works. Sir, —We have the honor to inform yon that immediately on the receipt of your request of the 20th inst., we proceeded to enquire into the causes of the railway accident at Kaitoki on the 3rd inst We found that the train consisted of (1) a iFairlie engine ; (2) a covered goods van, ompty ; (3) a high-sided waggon, loaded with timber ; (4) two timber waggons, with bolsters, loaded together as one ; (6) carriage; <7) carriage ; (8) a brake van. We inspected the wnggons and the carriages that wore attached to tho train in question, as enumerated above, and afterwards examined the following witneßiiea :—Mr Maxwell, the General Manager for Railways ; Mr Ashcroft, the District il-uajor; the Inopectorof the Permanent Way; tb* guard, the engine driver, the fireman of th train, the ginger platelayer of the longth or. which the accident happened, and tho to: oman of the Petone workshops. The waggons used in the train had been taken into the Petone workshops, pulled to pieces, and thoroughly overhauled ; the tyros of the wheels had also been turned up, so that we were obliged to rely npon the above sources of evidence as to the state the rolling stock was in when the accident happened. We did not go to the site of the accident, as we were informed that tho permanent way had been thoroughly repaired, and no good could oome of wasting time and money in going there. We had plans and sections of the line submitted to us, as also the design from which the timber waggons were constructed; and the first thing that came under our notice was that what are known as the " converted timber waggons" were net constructed strictly in accordance with the drawings, in so far as the bolsters have been improperly formed, and little or no provision made to prevent their locking' when going round curves, and we art- astonished that they should have been w< .'keel so long without any accident happening, and we have to impress upon you the necessity of having all these waggons im- i mediately altered to make them fit for use. With regard to the permanent way, it will be seen from the evidence that the inspector and ganger both speak of the rails on the curve where the accident occurred, as also to a greater extent in some other places, as ■"flaked," and we recommend that if this is the case, any rails damaged by wear as these described should be taken out and replaced by son:od ones. The evidence is conflicting on the point as to whether there were any marks on tho rails to show whether the wheels of the trucks which first went off, mounted the rails and then ran off. We are incline! to think they did not do so, but that the accident was caused by one of the bolsters of the timber waggons becoming suddenly jammed on entering the curve, and the jerk oaused thereby made tho waggon in front of them (the load being to some extent overhanging), jump off the rails bodily, it being clear that this waggon was the firit to leave the rails. We are of opinion thut there is no blame attached to either the driver,, fireman, or guard in charge of the train. We consider that there is not sufficient care taken by those who are responsible for the proper loading of the waggons ; and from the copies of the way bills supplied, while there is nothing to show that such was actually the caiie, there in every reason to suppose that the two bolster waggons were overloaded and the high-sided waggon had less than the full load. If the gross quantity of timber carried on these waggons had been evenly distributed, taking the timber as all fresh (which it is stated it was in the evidence} all would have been overloaded to tra -el on a line with such sharp curves oombi aed with heavy inclines as exist on this railwt.y. Some new and more stringent regulation is required to insure safety in tho future as regards the loading of truoks than appears to be in force now. It appears that Mr Auhcroft did, in accordance with the regulations, make an inquiry into the causes of this accident, and reported under date August 6th. He therein states that the rails at this spot vrere weak (and to this Board he produced pieces of the rail, which had come off by wear), also that the trains are run at a higher speed than is consistent with economy or wiSh safety, and Mr Maxwell told us that he concurred in this opinion. Such being the case, wa are at a loss lo understand why it is permitted that this state of things should continue even for a single day, and wo call your immediate attention thereto. We cannot conclude this report without expressing oar opinion that it is iudispenaible for the safety of the public as well as the protection of the employes that a very different course should be adopted en this New Zealand railways with regard to the enquiries held into all accidents whereby danger is incurred by the publio using the railways, and where damage is done to the property of the Government. Under the present system the enquiry is held by the district manager, who is docidedly interested in the matter, and we are of opinion that some independent person should hold these enquiries, and that an opportunity should be afforded to such a person to see the wagonß, carriages, &a., before they are repaired or altered from the condition in which they wore immediately after the acoident happened. We ahtaoh the evidence, together with all the documents which were submitted to us, and have the honor, &c, Edw. Richakdbon, Heney Bunny, Gsobgb Bbetham,