TRAINS COLLIDE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 571, 28 May 1913, Page 5

TRAINS COLLIDE.

Carriages Telescoped.

Passengers Seriously Injured

A passenger train from Henderson and a train from Auckland collided on the railway bridge at New Lynn at 6.50 a.m. this morning. Two carriages telescoped and both engines were badly damaged.

The facts so far ascertained indicate that the signals were obscured by a heavy fog and consequently were not visible until the Henderson train was right noon them.

The driver of the Henderson train on observing the danger signal promptly applied the brakes with the result that the passengers were thrown out of their seats.

The rails were greasy on the steep grade and were covered with frost.

The train kept going at a good speed until it crashed into the train from Auckland, the latter had gone off the line side track and before it could return the collision occurred on the middle of the New Lynn bridge. The engines collided head on and both were badly broken up. The first carriage of the Henderson train was not damaged, but the next two were completely telescoped and crumpled up like a concertina, both carriages left the railway lines and were hanging over the side of the bridge. The next two carriages had windows broken and the rearmost carriages escaped. On the other train, showing the force of the impact, the buffers for almost the whole length of the train were driven into one another. There were nearly 200 passengers on the Henderson train but only a few workmen on the Auckland train.

Nine passengers sustained slight injuries such as cuts and bruises, several were badly hurt. A resident of Oratia was very badly injured and conveyed to the hospital. A railway employee named Thomas and a fireman on one of the engines were also injured.