LOCOMOTIVE HITS SHUNTING BLOCK

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 109, 29 July 1927, Page 1

LOCOMOTIVE HITS SHUNTING BLOCK

NEWMARKET MISHAP MINOR DERAILMENT A MODEST two-ton mass of con* Crete, used as a stop at the Newmarket Railway Yards, got the shock of its life this morning, when an engine tossed it 10ft or so. THE locomotive concerned was at the head of train No. 6. Kumeu to Auckland, which is due at the city station at 7.30 a.m. Entering the Newmarket yards from the Northern line, all trains for the city double back, on what is called the “back-shunt.” so that from there they can back in alongside the Newmarket platform. DID NOT STOP The back-shunt runs parallel with the main tracks below Newmarket, and is built on a scoria embankment. It is not over-long, and there was just room for No. 6, with its locomotive, van, and freight cars. Unfortunately, the train did not pull up in time, owing, it is said to the slipery state of the rails, and the engine, which was running tender first knocked the block off its perch at the end of the embankment. Following it a few feet, it settled down with its wheels in the scoria, thus taking on a tilt which lifted the front part of the first passenger car. The cowcatcher of the engine was ripped off by the impact, its undercarriage battered a bit, and the track torn up for 12ft, but otherwise th-s damage was negligible. ENGINE-MEN UNHURT The collision with the block was not forceful, and few of the passenger*., who were brought into Auckland on another train, were at first aware of anything amiss. The driver of the train was Mr. J. Coglan, an dhis fireman, Mr J. H. Peters. Neither was in any way hurt. The engine was WS 767, a heavy locomotive of the tank type. It was hauled back on to the line, with a direct pull from two other engines, later in the day.