MAIN TRUNK SMASH

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1067, 3 September 1930, Page 1

MAIN TRUNK SMASH

Limited Nine Hours Late SLEEPERS AND RAILS TORN UP Timber Thrown Fifty Feet From Line MO railway passengers from Wellington will arrive in Auck--11 land today until 5.30 p.m. The derailment of 26 trucks heaped m hopeless confusion, in a cutting near the Manga weka viaduct, has resulted in the blockage of the Main Trunk line. Passengers have had to be carried round the torn-up section of the permanent way by motor-cars, and the express 1S t i med , to ar rive in Auckland at 5.30 p.m. and the Limited an hour later. The sleeping-cars pn the Limited will be required again iTJTw el f -° r toni&ht ' s south Limited, so a social be kSPt m readuiess t 0 Prepare them for the v tifo anticipated in a late message from Palmerston North that the line will be clear by 5 p.m. today.

f Special to THE SUN MANGAWEKA, Tuesday. Quiet little Mangaweka was startled at about 6 o’clock this evening by a loud crash on the railway line between the viaduct and the town. The cause proved to be an accident to the goods express train of. about 50 trucks. Apparently the 20th truck left the rails at about 400 yards after crossing the viaduct, with the result that a very bad smash occurred. Twenty-six trucks are piled up in an amazing fashion and coal, goods and timber are scattered in all directions. The smash took place on a down grade in a cutting, and timber was hnrled 60ft up the bank. The rails, for 100 yards, are twisted and torn up and two rails can be seen sticking 15ft in the air through a truck. Fortunately, the last four trucks kept to the rails and the guards escaped with a shaking. There is no passenger carriage on this train. CLEARING WRECKAGE News of the smash was telephoned to Taihape and the district engineer and staff were soon on the spot. A gang of railway men and local labourers soon made a start to clear the wreckage, but little can be accomplished until a crane is on the scene and it is probable that it will be some days before the line is completely repaired. Arrangements are being made for express passengers to exchange trains at the scene of the accident. Eioth expresses travelling North will be held up at Marton and will arrive at Mangaweka at 4 a.m. to transfer the passengers to and from the Southern Limited due at that time. Motor trucks and cars have been engaged to convey passengers from Mangaweka station as the .scene of the accident is in very rough country.

TRAINS RUN LATE

fassengers spend night at MARTON track clear shortly The derailment affected all f.wir Main Trunk expresses, but the southbound trains suffered much less than the two trains for Auckland, which are running, the ordinary express XI Ihte, and the limited nine hours The smash occurred about six oclock last evening two miles north ot the Mangaweka Railway station, and the express from Wellington, reaching Marton, 32 miles south. * after, was held there until -■'lo a. m. when it went on to the Mocked section of line to meet the first express from Auckland. Passengers on the two trains were exchanged by motor-cars and mails were transhipped on lorries, the express for the north leaving Mangaweka at 6.41

a.m., about 11 hours late. The southbound express left the blocked cutting at 6.49 a.m., the south-bound Limited following ten minutes after. Both trains were about two hours late. During the long wait at Marton many passengers went to the pictures while passengers on the north bound Limited, which was held at Palmerston North, strolled round the town, keeping within easy reach of the train The Limited proceeded on its journey at 3 a.m., after a waiting time of five hours. The north-bound Limited left Mangaweka at 8.50 a.m., nine hours late. Several local goods trains were cancelled on account of the block and a mixed train, timed to leave Marton for Taihape at 7.35 last evening did not run. ROAD RUNS NEAR LINE Although the derailment occurred in hilly country where there are many cuttings and some fairly dangerous bends, the road follows the permanent way closely so that the transhipped passengers would not have had far to walk across country to join the motorcars and traverse the gap. The trucks derailed were 21 L. and DA types, two RI and one A covered type. The train comprised 44 trucks, two engines and a guard’s van. The first 18 trucks, not affected by the accident, were taken on south to the Mangaweka station, two miles away. It is possible that, as the accident occurred In a cutting, it may be necessary to, carry the wrecked trucks along the line to the open before it is possible to dump them to one side and clear the line. According to the latest report received in Auckland the line is expected to be clear for passenger traffic by 2 p.m. today. SITUATION IN AUCKLAND There was an unusual air of quiet and Inactivity on the Auckland No. 1 railway platform this morning, and the reason was not far to seek. A board conveyed the message: "ordinary express from Wellington, due about 5.30.” The acting-stationmaster, Mr. W. Thomson, said it would be necessary to keep an emergency staff ready for the arrival of the expresses. The ordinary express, which was arriving first, carried only one ordinary sleeping car, but there were two de luxe cars and an ordinary sleeper on the Limited. The two de luxe cars would have to go out with the south-bound Limited only about half an hour after they arrived, so the preparation of the cars for the return journey would have to be accomplished in the shortest possible time. There is an unusually heavy train this evening, also, as in addition to the usual number of passengers, there will be 10 officers and 150 seamen from the Tahiti travelling to the South. The first express from Wellington is carrying 250 bags of mail for Auckland, including 24 bags of letters from Australia and the East, which were to have been delivered here today.