BATHURST RAILWAY COLLISION.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 471, 14 May 1890, Page 5

BATHURST RAILWAY COLLISION.

SEVERAL FATALLY INJURED. ACCOUNT OF THE ACCIDENT. The following account of the terrible collision at Bathurst, New South Wales, which occurred on Friday, 25th ult., and of which we have so far had only cable reports, will no doubt prove of interest. • The terrible accident occurred between 6 and 7 o’clock this evening at the Bathurst railway station. A great crash was heard like a boiler explosion, and on proceeding to the railway gates it was found that there had been a fearful catastrophe. On the station side there was an engine with the front crushed to atoms, and on the Kelso side were several sheep trucks and carriages. The first sheep truck was literally smashed to pieces. On a search being made several bodies were discovered. It appears that a goods train was proceeding towards Raglan with several trucks, when the coupling gave way, and many of the trucks came down the decline from Raglan at a greatspeed .through Kelso station. At the Bathurst station the engine which brought the Bourke train in was shunting, but had not time to get out of the way of the runaway goods train. When an examination of the scene of the accident wa3 made it was found that a guard’s van and passenger carriage had completely telescoped with the engine of the Bourke mixed train, and in fact no traces of the composite carriages could be found other than splinters. It is surmised that the goods brain with the composite van had arrived at Raglan station and wa3 starting away, when the coupling of some of the trucks broke, and several trucks with the van ran at lightning speed down the line, through Kelso station and towards Bathurst. The guard ot the train is thought to have got out at Raglan and the runaway cars started without him. On coming into Bathurst station they collided with the train from Bourke, which was shunting, and hence the terrific smash. So far as could be ascertained, two children of Mr O’Connor, ot Brewangle, innkeeper, were returning from school; one was killed and the other seriously injured. A Mrs Franklyn, of Tarano, is also reported killed. The engine-driver of the Bourke train was killed, Mr Noonan and child seriously injured, and one or two others much injured. The accident"was due to defective couplings. The station master at Raglan seeing the runaway trucks coming from Raglan station, wired to Bathurst station of the impending danger, but the runaways were going at such a startling speed that there was no time to clear the line to allow of their passing without accident. Another little girl, name unknown, died shortly after the accident, and a Miss Godfrey was found so injured that she was considered unlikely to recover.