Five Killed aud Forty Injured. FEARFUL SCENES AND SUFFERINGS.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 210, 9 July 1887, Page 2

Five Killed aud Forty Injured. FEARFUL SCENES AND SUFFERINGS.

The Queen's Jubilee day has been commemorated at Sydney in disastor as well] as demonstration. An excursion train conveying some 250 passongors to Peat's Ferry, on the Hawkesbury, on Tuesday June 21st, became uncontrollable, the brakes being, inoperative, with the result that five people were killed, including the engine-driver, and there, is a long and ghastly list of wounded. Within an hour of the catastrophe, which occurred at 2.40 p.m., a special relief train conveying medical men and medical ap* pliances was on the road to the scene in charge of the Commissioner foi Railways. Other medical practitioners were picked up en route, for tragic as the affair was, its effects were at firbt exaggerated. They arrived to find four dead persons near the wrecked train, and many of the wounded moaning near them. Those who escaped, and others who wore slightly injiued, told their tales of horror. Brieily, it was that they left Sydney at 10.25 on a pleasuro excursion. Nothing was not/iced wrong with the brakes, and no mishap occurred till within a few miles of Peat's Ferry, their destination. The increased speed noticeable as the train was descending the incline-,, -which extends for some miles, did nob at the outset causo any alarm. The engine-driver, the stoker, and the brake?HMsn only knew what was wrong. Ihuing the first few moments several passengers casually remarked that the em gine-d»iver was evidently making up foy lost time, a.« some little time before a delay occurred, the train having to be divided] into sections, owing to the inability of the leeomofcive to get it to the top of the hilL, after »irhich the two divisions of the traij* were rejoined. But tho speed continued to increase ; the guard, in the absence of»a braku- ran, was been to be desperately tunaing fcfee hand brake at the end of a snl(>ea carriage. He did so without effect. <?outeixtuaent changed momentarily to. mi-3-giviiigj, and misgiving in another moaieat into, terror. The train was rushiug madly on ; the carriages swerved ami oscillated as they only do at an unusually llijgh J rate of bpeed. The guard was stiHl ab the birake, but with the samo result as- if he ] were- turning on steam. It fiasliod upon , everyone that by some reason generally, unknown they were rushing headlong to destruction. " The brakes have gjivGn way " ! wi\s the cry at last heard, and ik iwa. along f rom carriage to carriage until all shrieked in their terror. Onward— stiEß onward, at increasing speed the train conifiou««l, and in this, lightning descent' the- locomotive whistle (which was turned on by tho enginedriver tho moment he realised tsho danger) was blowing. In another instant the horror-stricken passengers fo^ad 1 themselves enveloped in darkness. It. *cas a tunnel, and the whistle never ceased. 'She next moment they were again in daylight and whizzing downwards faster than the wind— at such perilous speed that thfo feroes could hardly be distinguished as fchoy were passed Fathers and mothers* frantically clutched their children, and isaany minds were bewildered by the reflection whether it would be safer to leap from tho train than to remain and hopefully await the end. Ifc soon came. Many remembered that Peat's Ferry was tho actual terminus of the line, and others better acquainted with it 3 contiguity exclaimed, "The River !" — two words" of potent meaning. The porter stationed at the Peat's Ferry btution heard tho continuous whistling, and a few seconds afterwards saw the ap proaclnng train coming upon him at the rate of 70 miles an hour. It vas a moment for presence of mmd — for action, not for bewilderment. His was noblo beyond all praise. Imagine his position. At tho station wero two lines, both terminating at tho embankment of the river. On the one line theie was a heavy train which had just discharged its contingent of passengers, and if the approaching train had been allowed to run into this the resistance to the shock would have been so great that as the one train telescoped the other they would have smashed up every carriage. In the other line there wore some light empty contractors' trucks, and heat once realised that a collision with them was the better of the two inevitable results. It was his duty to shunt tho train on to that one, but it wa3 a duty that required more than ordinary courage. If he allowed the train to go straight on it meant certain destruction. If, on the other hand, he attempted to shunt a train coming down without control at that enormous pace, the chances were equal that the points would not act quickly enough, and the slightest failure would have resulted in part of the train getting on one line and part on tho other, and a terrible smash up in which the porter himself would probably be involved. Had his nerve failed for a moment — had he abandoned the points or worked them insufficiently in his fear— the consequences would have been disastrous beyond contemplation. But his presence of mind was sure. A moment's reflection decided him. Ho turned the train on to the line occupied by the trucks and held his breath as he waited tho result. It was as he had expected. Dashing past the platform, the train went as he directed and collided with the trucks, scattering them to fragments. The locomotive toppled over the embankment, instantly killing Wilson, the driver, and burying him and itself in the mud of the river bank. The fireman had a miraculous escape from an equally sudden death. Pitched some distance beyond in mud and water ho escaped death, but sustained injuries so severe that he was in a dazed, semi-conscious condition at a late hour at night. The two carriages behind the engines were smashed beyond redemption, and in these were the passengers killed j and injured. The couplings having sepa- ' rated, they were not carried over the embankment. Strange to relate, these particular carriages before the delay occurred in drawing the train over a hill in two sections were at the rear, and were at that- time changed. Those who escaped rushed to the assistance of [ the less fortunate. Three persons who died almost instantaneously, two men and ! a woman, were laid aside. Tho body of ! tho engine-driver could not bo removed, | and we believe still remains under the engine. Two othors, a young man and a litfclo girl, succumbed to their injuries last night, and there are others in a dangerous condition. When the medical men arrived in the special train they attended to the injured, who were subsequently conveyed by special train to Sydney,

The Killed and Injured. Mr Ronnie, oveiseer for Messra Amos Brothers, contractors, was riding on the engine. Ho evidently saw that death was imminent, for as tho train dashed through the station he waved hia handkerchief a though to" say good-bye to those on tii s

platform. *B$ was kfffied 1 ttftfc tilW Mfartanatedriver»^rhomaB\V3son,.M4to i \i'»8 < cait!i|fhfc by the legs under a potttftbn- of the- engine. The carriage next ttftfhe 1 engine' tfostf in the air and then telescoped' int«M tiEta next carriage. The oceupanttr> of the' foriwer escaped, strange to say, vfrifcli-very littl# injuries, but those of the latt&rv whielnwatf an American car, suffered severely ;' twQi erf them, a young girl of about/^fyandiaiyout^ man apparently about 22 years old,.\veit« instantaneously killed, thefcr bodies bbiivg: s-uffeequently "found frightfully mangled. The girl's right leg was torn off about fclte' knee, her body was tnangled .uwl her upiJsir I lip cut through. The passengers - in^ tHo* 1 succeeding carriages were some^ therttan 1- . jured, but they fared better UisHi -those dm ' f ronfc. The bodies of the young man ;iird woman) were afterwards alno identified..- Their i story is a peculiarly sorrowful oae» The*girl waft one of several dauglitors •• of a widowed mother living at Peters>hasaw. Her 'name was Eliza Waters, and heir age- 10. The young: man was named Thonias-J'Oiiillips, , aged 20, a plasterer by trade. He* was-i engaged to- bo wedded to Miss Waters whon<| 'ho should come out of his time as apprentice. They started for Peat's Ferry on. Tuesday to &pend a happy day - tHoy* were corpsos> bof<wre 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Driver Wilson's body was discovered «in fclie water, jammed beneath the oucine, which but a moment before he hatl'boen* driving, and all efforts to oxtricai© • it' hitherto haw© failed. Tlio body- 1 of Mr Rennie, who was a fine handsome-lookinc man of abomt 40 years of age, was - seen lying near the permanent way; and 1 the bodies of the younsr man and! woman already refo*red to were in the sawio car riage. In the pocket of the formei 1 weie ifound two return tickets from Lovisham ; 'and as theso two young people bear tx family (likeness, it as suppose.! they veie brother jand sister. The body of the ghiTwas •huddled up in a corner, a torn, Lloodiyand; lifeless hcapt The engine which had been travelling 1 tender in fuotnfc performed a series of somewhat curiow* gyrations in its d'iSGcnt, and when it K^fctied down, the front, of th&> boiler was -where formerly the buck part of the tender Start been, that is to sfty> the engine had net only rolled over and over, baits 1 had reverse? its position lengtfiwiflG. TFiCi chimney buake off and did not fall into /tfic river, anQt the tender had aearly disap* peared f-B®m view in pretty deep wateusomc yai'fe^way from the bciler.

Lfeft of Those mined* T. WLfeon, engine-dx'iver. "W. R^jiuiie, engineer, in fcha-erap^'Qlf Amos Btioe., contractors. Eliza .Waters. Thosv. Phillips, aged 20, -jla&terer. Hy. "Slankins, clerk in I-ftihvay StaroDepartmosifej, Eveleigh.

List of the Injured)}. Hajsofd Barry, four >«&r&sold, jjght AHft broksu ; was taken to ite > residence of Mr Cowdery, engineer foi existing, lines, aft Petersham. Mfcs Eliza Huntor, May-&fcrceb, Sfe. Petars- ; combined fracture of the loft leg and severe laceratec 1 ! wound on thq Xeft thigh ; in a state cf. collapse and noA expected to live. Leg will hav^.to be egssiput&ted, but cannot be done iailjpssj.re-s#tion sets in. Mrs Blomgren, I%de Fadk Observatory, 219 Elizabeth-street, Sydney ;, contused wound under chiw and contusions ©# right shoulder. Takes* to Sydney Hospital for injuries to bo dressed, aud affcenvai'ds taken home. Miss Charlotte Blor^gre-u Slaughter of the above) \ dislocation of right hip and fracture oi left arm. Taken to Prince Alfred Hospital. Miss Surah Blomgven (sbtov of the above) ; slightly injured. Joseph W. Bannister, 27, vosiding at 21 May-street, Pyrmont ; spraiued ankle and bruised knee. Charles Potter, 45, 7 "Derwent-street, Glebe ; sovere shaking and compound fracture of the left leg. Taken to Sydney Hospital. Mrs Potter (wife of the above) ; contusion of both legs and good deal shaken. Taken to Sydney Hospital. Jas. T. Thornton, 123 Lachlan-stvoeb,, Waterloo ; injury to shoulder. J ohn Pye, of Petersham, fireman of the train ; cut on scalp and abrasions (vn back. Harold A. Bishop BroM n i qf Ashtield j deep cut on right cheek. Charles Maillay, of. Wuollahra ; graze on shin. Miss Chnntler, of 3G Wynyard Square, Sydney ; severe fracture of left leg. Sydney Conyers, about 26, residing in Wynyard Square,and employed in Existing Lines of Railway* Department ; fracturcj of right leg. George A. Bailey, 60, of 135 Queen-street, Woollanra ; considerably shaken. Miss Elizabeth Crouch, supposed to reside at Pyrmont ; bruised shoulder and right side ; good deal shaken. Miss Elizabeth Pay ton, of 32 Charlottestreet, Enmore ; injury to back. Miss Harriet Pay ton (bister of the above) ; left shoulder bruised ; much .shaken ; left side injured. Miss Ada Pay ton (sister of above) ; left ankle sprained. Miss Alice Louiigan, or Lonergnn, of 203 Dovling -street, Moore Park ; sprained ankle and slight bruise over left eye. Miss Mahonoy ; left* arm and right hip dislocated. Miss May Mahoney, 17, of Young-street, Croydon ; fracture of right tibia and small contused wound on loft leg. Taken to Prince Alfred Hospital. Miss Zitelle E. Bailey, of Queen-street, Woollahra ; severely injured. Miss Louisa Hough, of Waverley ; both knees bruised. James Malcolm, 22, of Graham-street, North Shore ; shaken. John Nash, 25, of the Lands Depai'tment, residing at Burwood ; fracture of left thigh and leg. Taken to Prince Alfred Hospital. John Harvey, coach builder, Shepperdstreet, Darlington ; lacerated thumb and bruised hand. Miss Elizabeth Stapelton, of Woollahra ; contusions and shock to system. Miss E. A. Hough, of Waverley ; injury to hip. James H. Hargreaves,of 81 Forbes-street, Now town ; bruised wrist. 0. H. Kced, of Balmain ; abdominal inHenry Lane, of Amos-street, Macdonaldtown ; bruised hand. James West, 32, of Abbatoir-road, Rosella Bay, Balmain ; contusion of right leg and shaken. P. Bowles, 2G, living near Mort's Dock, Balmain ; incised wound over right side of forehead, lacerated chin, contusion of left forearm, and much shaken. Marion Turnbull, 24, of Goodsir-street, Balmain ; injury to left forearm. A few others were more or less injured, but their names were not ascertainablo.

The Guard's Statement Alfred Clissold, the guard of the train, gives the following account : — After leaving Hyde the driver found lie was short of water, and could not take the train up tho bank. He put back to Ryde, took in water there and got as far as Beecroft Cutting, where the train again came to a 1 standstill, and we found it necessary to divide it and take half the carriages on to Hornsby at

ojNq; feHjjj. and return f<w tlie other BttlF TL'&i wa# done, and th# carriages whifeht' wer<# l*v front on leaving? Sydney were*iti» the *eai' of the brain for tih© rest of tH& journey:- The train was' tfe-united and* I started! again., but af fcer leav&fe: Hornsby i& ! came to» ais-tand again. I gafcont and rarM towards tflie 1 engine to ask the* driver what' was the rxwtftfer,, but before 1 sot to him ' he succeetlted- in storting the *am again, . | and I juirjpad' on to the nearssi carriage, a first-clasas soltoon, the third frfta the engine. As soon nx we began £«>go down the bank (tPw* fe,,tlie decline) £ saw' by thespeed at wbiah. we- were travell'hg.nt that the driver havUlbat control over tt*«terain. I applied the bsake of the carriage* JLwas on and hung on twit-with all my migV fri-I could l'j not get to any ef the other carria'jes to put ifehe brake on tsi«na^, as I was interrupted at tieach sido by th& ordinary fourvwheeled fjearriages with no passage tlirowjiiii The jiSi'ain was going- -a-b a tremendous rafee^ ,and ||iil} fc-wayed baclomu-ds and forward. -so as -, Ko> faifce me oft' my legs two or three-, sfcimes. \\J hmrng on till engine caps«a«L I - sometliingr roll down thus bank, i-whicJi must have been the engins. Tliie carriage I was^ on was nearly capsized. It was hanging naoiT) than half v,ay over, otui I believe it -was only the .str.«gtli of . ;tlic eonpling saved it frons. falling 'ovoi* irifco the rives. It was nearl.^yfull of people, and they wore trying to out 'througb the upper windows. J p-wpped it tup- with a sleeper, and helped to get fclie passenjjeis out. I have been 37 or 28 yioj-s on tl>o line, and never had xn accid«utb before of any kind. If I had' been ©Hi blxe rctiv caniago instead o£ one in ttie- midtlle of the train, it wo-aM have been impoK<ible for me to apply '&D brake : ib»iaoro than one carriage. It isiis been i, said tliai some of the people wei -^screaming as they came through the tunn<a&, being i'afi'aid at tho speed of the train _ This is ! not trnev so far as I saw. Some ttoise was oau&cfl S>y youths and boys sky" dyking as i'TRe- got into the tunnels. The 'mai thing I saw after getting out of the unm after 'itihe accident was the body ofr Inspector {R'ennie'lakl on the bank.

I Statement by a Passenger. | 31r W. J. Parks said : I \vr& In one of [the ttrst-elass carriages. Ths- train left Redffcra at 10.25 in the mornin £. and everything: went all right until \v c wi&w *i& approachling tb« Peat's Ferry Station Suddenly •blit) train commenced to gain \ extra speed, jwhici* rapidly increased. YY& were going jdbwa bill at the time, a siteep incline. 'The- speed became terrific/; so that our breath scorned to be take $ away. The . women screamed and the tfxs&engera rose . feo> fehoir feet. It all appear j*S to be a matterro& & very few minutes, foi -hardly were "\^e aJble properly to realise fcL&twe were 0^3., runaway train before we ofiashed into a Job of ballast waggons with f&frific force, T]ie ; carriage seemed to doul<& up into a j amd we were thrown wi-fe, horrible vicJ^npe | against each other and gainst the si'^s.or j roof or seats of the carri !£ro,l can't say which — jwrhapb all. The ea- piage wa^ 011 i & side, or such of it as was w>©le,~and through the broken windows tb?ee who \vcsi able, clambered out, It \%s a scene <J>fearful commotion, and bcj^wrib and gr^ns and cries for help were laeard all roi^pd^com-. bined with the lnss^ig of the sigam from., the engine, which -^© afterward^ffiivid had 1 tumbled into th> rivei*. O^y- two of"? the first-class images we^. a(fected. ( and these wew telescopec^ into one. another. I mi^iaged to cl^nb fchrciigh, one of the widows, and x>y the timeI did so there were many wll^pgto as&isfc us. i escaped most iniraculjwply with nothing worse than a bruise en fche* a*m and tile-ankle, but several of tlioss in, the carriage were ]>innco(J to the fjtaor by broken seats and piece* of the> carriage, which hatf to bo cut iwny in wd'er to release th^m. There was a lot of confusion at the Ume,and the er&s of these- who- were injured were heartrending to, hear,, It was a perioct wonder tj&at more, of us wore nob killotl or more seveiely injured. The injured were removed to a publio-house noar and attended to v,a well as was po3 siblo.