SLEEPING-CAR SMASHED

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 787, 7 October 1929, Page 1

SLEEPING-CAR SMASHED

Mishap on Main Trunk BOTH LIMITEDS INVOLVED Engine Crashes Into Carriage Press Association PALMERSTON NORTH, Today. PASSENGERS in a sleeping-car on the South bound limited express had a narrow escape at two o’clock this morning. At the time of the mishap the train was stationary at Pokaka, and the north bound limited struck the sleeping car, which was not quite clear. The car was badly damaged, but no one was injured. One man it is stated, crawled out of a hole in the side of the V carriage.

With the rear sleeper and guard's van tailing over a loop in the line at Ihe end oE the train, the south-bound Limited express was drawn up alongside the platform at Pokako, 10 miles trom Ohakune, early this morning. The front portion of the last de luxe sleeper in the train was beyond the points, hut the other section was behind.

Apparently flagged to proceed, the north-bound Limited, which had been Handing at the station, moved out , ravelling at about ten miles an hour on the outside line. It crashed into the part of the other Limited express overhanging the points crossing. There was a terrific impact as the big engine smashed into the side of the carriage low down toward the rails, below the level of the sleeping : berths, ripping and rending Its way along one-third of the length of the ear before it finally came to a stop embedded in the wreckage. The outer wall of the sleeping car ■was badly ripped open, being practi- j rally sheared off In parts, but miraculously none of the passengers was hurt.

Actually, the engine did not penetrate to more than a few inches as It tore along the side of the carriage. The people in the bunks were startled, and some were thrown out violently, one man’s head being injured. The side or the car was torn like a Sheet of paper for a third of its length. Where the engine struck it ••vas a mass of splintered woodwork and tangled iron. The force of the smash canted the sleeper over to an angle of 45 degrees and it remained balanced precariously, being held evidently only by twisted couplings. That it escaped complete demolition is remarkable. All the wheels on one side were 3ft in the air. Those on the other side remained on the metals. The guard's van was sufficiently clear of the points to escape damage but its wheels were forced off the metals on one side. The sleeping car was struck on the side opposite the corridor, the point of impact being nearest the sleepers’ tee t.

Included among the passengers in the carriage were several ladies, two children, also Major Isitt and Captain Wallingford, the latter being newlyappoined to command of the Hobsonville air base. Although none of the passengers was injured, several were thrown violently from their bunks. One man suffered a nasty knock on the head. When the impact occurred the Bleeper was plunged into darkness and contusion, but there was no panic. After realising the damage and the nature of the occurrence the passengers in the car hastily dressed and clam-

bered over the sharply-tilted platform to the ground. Most of the passengers in the other part of the train were unaware of the

mishap. The morning was very cold with a thick frost and the incident created

a spectacular scene with the glare of the onl flares and the glittering frost. Difficulty was experienced in extracting the engine from the wrecked car, in which it was firmly embedded. The damaged sleeper was shoved up with timber-jacks. Meanwhile another engine had been attached to the rear end of the North express and the engine in front withdrawn from the smashed carriage. The engine which hit the carriage was slightly damaged. The guard’s van next to the sleeper was shunted off, leaving the former in its original position. The latter was left behind. The trains resumed their run following a delay of two hours. DRIVER’S VIEW OBSCURED POSSIBLE CAUSE OF SMASH “There was a .heavy cloud of steam escaping from the cylinder of the north-bound engine on the side which struck the sleeper,” said a passenger on that train to a SUN representative when the Limited arrived at Auckland at 12.30. “The vapour condensing in the frosty night air formed a thick screen and passengers had suggested that the driver's view had been obscured.”

Another passenger said he was standing on the platform and enjoying the night air. He was looking ahead and saw a green light before the collision. As a layman he thought the flash meant “All clear.” There was nothing suggesting a panic, this passenger said. Naturally the eight travellers in the damaged car were greatly alarmed and quitted the carriage as soon as they could pick themselves up. “Yes, it was a miracle that nobody was injured. It was a startling smash, all right.” “1 was awakened and got out with several others to see what had happened. Most of the passengers in both trains, however, continued to sleep for some time and a number had no knowledge anything had happened until several hours later, when they found the train was running late.” The damage to the South-hound express was confined to the last sleeper, said the passenger. The side was ripped out for a third of its length and the car thrown to a startling angle.