RAILWAY ACCIDENT IN A TUNNEL.

Southland Times, Issue 557, 10 September 1866, Page 2

RAIL WAY ACCIDENT IN A TUN NEL.

(From the "Times.") The Gjeat Northern. has hitherto been re^.irdei as being ons of the Vest managed railway systems in thr kingdom, but at the present moment that system is almost entirely blocked by a disaster, the magnitude as well as the character of which, is entirely without precedent in the history of railway accidents in this country, and can only find its parallel in calum ties which may sometimes' hive been heard of on the other side of the Atlantic' That three heavily laden trains of merchandise should dash into each other in the middle of a tunnel almost simultaneously little more than twenty miles from London ; that such trains should have become ignited by the fire from the furnaces of their overthrown and shattered engines ; and that the tunnel, which is more than half a mile in length, should be converted into one huge furnace, and its air shafts into a species of burning crater, is a calamity so astounding <as to be almost incredible were it not that it is undeniably true. Tne scene o : this extraordinary occurrence is the Wilwyu tuuriel, about five miles bey oud Hat field, and between the :^t?l.wyn ! junction and Stevenage, and the narrative of the circumstances collected

on the spot is this .- — Shortly before eleven o'clock v. train of goods " empties *' ?tirfed on Saturday night from the Kin its— ross jjood a station for Hitehen. < n r ac i'lir the centre of the Welw\n tivnsel, either fron t!;e bursting of a in c <"T some ot'er cause, the. engine bro ! c d \vn. and the train was brought to a si.-uid. In this • emergency it would have been the duty of Kay, the gilard w'io was in the break in the rear of the train to hive gone back out of the tunnel, rmd given the stopping the signal. Ti; precaution from a cause not expl lined, and which, in all probability, never will be explained, as Hay, with his companion, was subsequently found in the break van dead, it is qwite clear they did not tike. This occurred about halfpast twelve a.m. on . this (Sunday mnrnine). and hid scarcely taken place ivhen the d>wn Midland goods train, the driver of the en me of win h had rec 'ived no signal of danger on the London s : de, mi into the tunnel and dashed inlo the rear of the already broken down tra : n of empties. The violen eof the shock was such as to throw the Midland engine and the heavy irain of goods which it was drawing, and which, among other merchandise, was known to contain several wagons lalen with casks of oil and other materials of a combust ble character, over on to the up line, piling fhem one upon the other in heaps reachiig to th % cruvn of ih.3 arch, and eoml^eteiv block'iig t!ie tunnel. Whether frm consternation, or from neglect, no sgml was given to the signalman at the northern «»nd towards Stevenage, and in an incred'blv short spa-e of time the Scotch m *at train came up. bringing up the dead meat fro*n the North for the simply of the Monday's Newgate mirket with other goo Is. This, which was a Great Northern train, entered thp tunnel, and dashed into the ruins of th<already capsized Mi Hand goods. In a few moments it was discovered that th eniri"e of the Great Northern train hid turned over, and fhit the goods an i wirgo'S of th^ Midland tnin had become ignited from the !>urn"ng coal and ci i-lers of the engine furnaces scattered about. Singul r to re la^e, both drivers and firemen of all the engines had es-aped cither unhur 1 ' or- wih but slight injuries, "a >d h ;vin ; signalled to the nearest s ations. both up and town what ha 1 happenel. the first step taken, was to look after the g':ard of the Vorth m train of empties E y, who was found in the midst of the ruins of his break fright fully crushed and c,!i te dead, and with hi n another man, a fir/ mm in the employ of the Metropolitan H-a-'lwav, whom it appears he was conveying surreptitously down the line to his ho ne, wlio although not quite dead, wain a dvingeon iifion, and wis not expected to survive many hours. The guard of t\e Northern up-train. Lacey, was also fouivl lHng on the. line n°ar the break, most s •■• f rely injured ab( ut the head, rfc was in the first instance removed to Welwyn but subsequently was taken to town and 1 ' -:h\ under ihe care of Mr J Te nph j ton Kir'cwoo 1, of ths Euston lo.id, surieon to t j Great Northern and Mi Hand Comp nies. Lacey, although suffering from a s3\*ere scalp w>und and other he id i .juries, it is hoped may recover. Information of the occurrence was at on-e telegraphed to Mr Seymour Clarke, the general manager of the line, who resdes a* HatfieLl, and also to the authorities on the northern side. At Knebbworth large bodies of men were employed to get out what waggons they could, but the suffocating character of the smoke, ami the heat of the fire from the ignited ruins of the carriages and merchandise, prevente I their efforts being very effective, with the exception of the Scotch train Further telegrams having been forwar le ; to London, about two o'clo k this morning, Mr Superintendent Williams, with <■ gang of some 200 men, ie;c!ied ihs scene of the disaster. By this time, however, i" was known thab thare were thirty-six carriages or trucks, thirteen of which Lelonged to the down Midi ,nd, all in a blaze. The repeated explosions rendered any attempt, even if the heat and smokihnd not prevented it, to enter the tunnel abortive. Fiom the air shift smoke, and at intervals flame, although .o ne fifty or sixty feet from the roailway to the summit of the sh.fr, together with soun.l.resembling theroiringof a i ightycatarac or riwr, indicated tie character of the conHagration tiiat wis raging underlie ith. rp *ie authorities h.viag taken counsel, in t*\ absence o Y ' w;tter and inxhility to ft ro.ch the s^at of c( n:iagration, it w.u-----d :med advisable to let it expend itself a d be [ rapired with aid to enter the tunnel aud dear the line of the ruins s so soon as it should 1a c d<me so. The fire continued to ra<,e throughout the whole of the day, and it was not until six r-.n. that it had be-ome sufficiency reduced to enable any oue to enter the tunnel. At this time a body of mci. arrived, under cotnim.nd of Mr Superintendent Williams, with the Batfield engine, lent to the company by the Marquis of Salisbury ; and a supply o{ water having been obtained, the enginewas set to work, but the ruins were still ! burning. Hundreds of navvies havearrived and it is hoped during the night to get the line clear. In the meantime the whole of the traffic has been carried on aloug the Hertford branch via Royst <n and Hitchen, and the Cambridge branch of the Great Eastern Eailway. It is a fortunate circumstance that the Great Northern Railway truffle on Sundays is» trivial as compared with thai on week d y;, otherwise it is doubtlul if the Great E urern could I aye taken it as well as the M-d aad, -nh'cb i» also stopped.