ANOTHER RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

Manawatu Herald, Volume I, Issue 92, 18 July 1879, Page 2

ANOTHER RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

Considerable anxiety was felt in Foxton on Wednesday evening upon the non-arrival of the usual down train. A " special" had started off before the ordinary train, and as the time glided past and the train did not appear, it was feared that an accident might have occurred between the two trains. Shortly before midnight, however, the train ran into Foxton, Rogers being the driver and Hughes the assistant. The news at once spread that a serious accident had occurred, though providentially without any very serious consequences. As narrated to us by several persons on the train, the facts are as follow : — The train (which consisted of four trucks of sleepers, 2 passenger carriages, guard's van, and engine) left Palmerston at the ordinary hour, 8.25 p.m., and was proceeding as usual, but when between Karere and Oroua Bridge, about opposite Monroe's clearing, the passengers in [illegible] front carriage, which was immedidiately behind the fourth track, felt one end of the carriage suddenly elevated several feet, accompanied by a frightful jolting and oscillation, the carriage swaying to and fro like a boat in a heavy sea. Considerable alarm was of course felt, as it seemed quite probable on one or two occasions that the whole affair would topple over, fortunately, however, this did not occur, but when the engine was brought to a standstill, it was found that considerable damage was done. The two front wheels of the engine were off the line. The fourth truck experienced the greatest damage. The front wheels had become completely displaced, and instead of being across the line, one wheel was on a sleeper and the other had described a half-circle, and swung completely round, dropping on the road, which is alongside the line. The hind wheels remained attached to the truck, but strange to say. that on the same side had run on to the flange of the fore-wheel (which was resting on the sleeper), thus the hind wheel was found to be on top of the front one. The effect of this was to elevate one side of the truck about seven feet above the line, and three feet above its ordinary hieght. When the engine was thrown off the line, it had split one of the sleepers, and this having rebounded on to the line, was struck by the trucks. At last, however, it seems to have become driven under one of the sleepers, and, singular to relate, one of the front wheels of the first passenger carriage ran up it, as it it had been a sharp incline. After being raided in this manner, the truck leaning against it kept the carriage in this strange position. It will readily be understood that under such circumstances the passengers in the carriage referred to, made all haste to leave the carriage. What was their surprise to find that neither in the second carriage nor in the guard's van, was the accident felt. In fact when the train stopped, and the passengers in the front carriage alighted the guard called out, "Keep your seats, gentlemen ; we are going on in a moment." When it was found no one was hurt, the next thing was to ascertain the cause of the accident. It appears two bullocks were seen by the drivers to jump from the ditch on to the line. One of these was found on the edge, just outside the rails, a few yards behing the guard's van. The animal appeared to have been rolled over and over, as the head and legs were doubled up close to the body ; and at first sight the appearance of the carcass very much resembled a barrel. So strange was its appearance, indeed, that one or two passengers doubted for a moment if it could actually have been the cause of the accident. Of course it was "as dead as a door-

nail," and it looked at first sight as if it had been dead a considerable time. It had probably got under the engine and been turned over by each successive truck until thrown out at the side when the fourth truck and first carriage were elevated. The line was stained a considerable distance back with blood, whilst hair and splinters of bone were scattered about. A hundred yards back the bullock's heart was found lying at the side of the rails, as clean and whole as if just taken from the slaughterhouse. The other beast was heard lowing, as if badly hurt, but could not be found. Fortunately, besides the train officials, there were on board Mr J. T. Stewart, District Engineer, and two of his subordinates. There were also a good number of passengers returning to Foxton, all of whom, besides the Government officials mentioned, lent valuable assistance. The first work was to lift the engine on to the rails, which was done by means of screwjacks ; then the whole of the sleepers were thrown out of the damaged truck, which was then lifted bodily and toppled off the line on to the road. This was a work of some difficulty, as the trucks are very heavy, and the only means of lifting it was by main strength. At each lift, however, sleepers were packed under as "chocks," and eventually the truck was rolled over Everything being clear, a fresh start was made, and the train reached town shorty before midnight, having been delayed about 2 hours. We must not omit to state that when the accident occurred, Mrs Munroe, hearing the noise; at once hurried to the scene, to ascertain if any one had been hurt. Of course, her assistance was not required.