SHOCKING & RAILWAY ACCIDENT

Temuka Leader, Issue 2738, 15 November 1894, Page 3

SHOCKING & RAILWAY ACCIDENT

The Australian Star gives the following particulars of the ltedferu railway collision : The accident occurred at 930 am exactly. The first c»r of the incoming train (BurwooJ suburban), which w,u n first class smoking c»r, w.ts telescoped row ooih ends. The engine broke away ha wood wo. k and crashed into the fnterior of the carriage some teu or welro fwt, «ud tiw aarriagea following

I were forced through it from the rear. The j steam tubing and pipes of the engine were ! snapped, and the end of the firebox was completely torn away. At the other side i the heavy eugiue broke through the iro iI work of the smaller locomotive, crushed the compartment used for carrying coal, tore away the buffers, smashed the cranks and other p-*ta of the machinery, and forced its way completely under the boiler. , , The soeue of the wreek was enveloped in escaping steam from the broken pipes, and the damaged cars were filled with the scaldiug vapor, and by this.menu several of the passengers who were fortunate enough to escape jnjury by breaking timber were terribly disfigured. Those on the station described the cries of agony as hertrendiug, and as some of the passengers dragged themselves from among the.lebris, bleating or scalded, the scene was a terrible one One gentleman who seems to have come iu din ct contact with the steam pipe, got out, and blindly groped his way about, complaining of his agony. The steam had scalded him fearfully about head, face, and hands. He preseuted a terrible spectacle. The whitened skin hung from his face in great wreaths, and dangled from his hands like a pair of gloves only partially pulled on. Others who were unable, owing to their injuries, to release themselves, were taken out by willing hands who had gathered to render assistance. Bruised and covered with blood, and in Bome cases with injured limbs, their friends did not recognise them. Without delay conveyances were procured, andthe ambulance was brought round for the more seriously injured, and the whole of them were taken off to the hospital. A gentleman who happened to be on the Rodfern platform at the time says the scene was a terrible one. His attention was attracted by a rattling noise, and looking in the direction of the departiug train he saw a milkcan on the platform. For a moment he thought this had been thrown out of a tran, but a moment later he discovered what was really the causa of the noise. He rushed at once to tho spot where the wreckage lay, the brokeu cars being almost hidden by the hissing steam which was escaping in great volumes from the broken pipes. The cries of agony fron the injured passengers were heartrending, and frantic efforts were made to release the imprisoned passengers, and willing hands worked hard towards the end. He described the shocking spectacle of some of the passengers with the skin hanging from their hands and face iu great loose shreds, and the horror of the blood-covered persons who had been crushed or struck and injured by the broken timbers. Some of them walked about hopelessly in a dazed faahiou, unable to understand what had happened. The work of takiug them off to the hospital was gone on with as rapidly as possible, and our informant took charge of one gentleman and had him removed to the hospital. The whole of the damage to the railway jroporty was that caused by the telescoping of the carriages. Parts of the two Migines were curled and twisted juat as if they had been made of paper instead of iron. No injury was done to the permanent way. The suburban train, comprising seven American cars (four first and three second-class), left Parramatta at 8.50 a.m., and was due at 9.30 am. It was running to time and . speed was Blakened at the Wellstreet bridge. It was proceeding at about the usual rate of speed, viz., six miles an hour, when the outward train ran iuto it. The latter had only traversed about 80 yards, and it had not attained a speed of above three miles an hour. _ The collision occurred right under the signalbox. There was a considerable amount of telescoping. The cars went tearing into one another. The seats were ripped up, windows—the whole of the glass in some of the carriages being broken—and the walls aud floors were destroyed as if they aad beeu construe ed of only matchwood, i'heu the large quantities of steam which escaped from the engines soon filled the enr spaces. Nearly three minuteß elapsed, *' > some of the passenger* state, from the .moment the collision occurred until the O'tri were steadied. In the struggle to get out of the cars the unfortunate passengers —men, women, aud children —found that the doors were locked, while escape through the windows w»b impossible on account of the iron bars on the outside.