RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1762, 15 August 1884, Page 2

RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

(From the Post)*• • '■■ ■• ■jk An' accident, fortunately unalteild i with any loss of life, happened this momi ing close to the lower Hutt station, to the • train which left Wellington at 30.15. An ;. account received from a passenger states that the train was made up of. about 18 ! truoks, which were next to the engine, .u* ; and four passenger carriages and one vam fT' , It was drawn by a Fairlie engine of class . R, _ Three of the trucks, those next the i engine, were loaded with general goods, i the others were empty. ;;I&Vthe';c'a«iageß i were six ladies and about' a'dozeti gentlei men,.as passengers. :Driver John Shorten was the engineer, assisted by- Btoker | Thomas Flaws, while. the train was in i oharge of Mr Goiigh' : as,guard,/ When : about three hundred ynrcitf'ffom the Hutt 1 station the train had to pasß over, the j pointß.of asiding.; Having, received the , signal "all clear," the/(train ran on to . these at a good rate of speed. Bteam 3 having only just been shut off with a- view ; to the_ stoppage at the station. It :has ; been since ascertained that these'points 3 had not been; locked since the 9 o'clock : goods train had left the siding fo'rWei-' lington. The probability is. that thefhad 1 not fallen back, but had remained at > " half oock," Whether this is so or not tho engine on reaching them mafljfe bound and left the rails, dragging aft™ eight of the trucks, For about fifty -v yards the engine ploughed up the Jp; permanent way, ,and then came .to a f standstill in a tilted position, half on i and half off it. The trucks were piled up in a regular heap all over the track, being smashed up, many of 3 them very completely. The passenger carnages were, of onurse brought to a , sudden stop,' and although none of the 3 passengers were seriously hurt many of j them were a good deal shaken' and ■ bruised. Immediately ir, was ascertained that no-one was injured measures were taken to communioate with the .'authorin ties in Wellington,'arid also to warn the B down train from the Wairarapa. A special engine was at once sent to the scene of 3 the_ disaster from Wellington, and the B Wairarapa train, instead of waiting for , the Wellington train at Haywardß, aa usual, came on direct to the Lower Hutt. ' Here the passengers were put into the i passenger carriages of the 10,15 train, and t were thus enabled to he in town only 20 . minntes later than they were due. A t large gang of men were at once put on to remove the debris and repair the permanent way, which was cut up verybadtßt and it is not likely that through trlpl/L r can tie resumed until late this eveningflfi s The question of whoiß.resppnßib.le.:for..the 1 pnintß being out oforder demands instant enquiry, and the negligent.., official, 3 whoever he is, may thank his stairs that a ( charge of manslaughter is not hanging over his head. If, instead of 'trucks • being next to the engine, passenger ■ carriages had occupied that position, it is ) certain that a terrible catastrophe wonld 3 have had to be recorded, The engine is i said to be badly injured, i I .. ,