TERRIBLE RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3699, 31 December 1890, Page 2

TERRIBLE RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

Ton 14709 Los(,

Melbourne, December 10,

- Tho following telegram has'been received by the Argus from Albany, dated London, November lith

A terrible disaster occurred, on the Great Western Railway, at Morton Ktzwarr'en, near Taunton, early on the morning of November lltb, when ft special train conveying the passengers ex the Norham castle, from Fiymouili tC L'O!!: 10 !)! collided with a goods, train that was standing on the fine, Tlje' passenger train left Plymouth shfirtly before midiiight |i t|e o'clock ju (ho piori)iiig.' pifqlj: dark, and tho ra»j wfla ?onwg IOTR smartly, The goods train was on tjjß way from Taunton to Exeter; but in prdov to allow tto down aigU mail

to pass she was shuntetlou to tho\u '> up-line at Norton, Tho'hight mail,f r which left Paddington at 9 p.m, - passed safely, and before tho goods . train could be' moved to tho down v, v , line again the special train came r? ■ up,; Tlio di'ivar of the special seeing • that the signals wero all right was ,■.■■■■> letting his train run through the , station at the rate of aboutjifty,. miles an liour when it came -into collision wilh the goods, tram. about f ; : lOOvtls on the-Taunton, sido' of'' Norton. ;.The-..flignalman,-«,George-. Bice; who had been iff the employ'of the Company for tbii'ty-eiglit years, had forgotten :tha ;goods' triuii, and< ; gave the signal to tho' - , special. The driver .and stooker, of thegoods ti'iunj seeing the specials approaching, at once apprehended danger, but thereMyas no/ to give tlie alarm, 1 ana the'' express ■■■.>..■ was upon thefov m^a,. i . i second. i | The impact; -was terrible^!. ftpi,'; compartments being telescoped outright. The .force'.'-of.' tlw collision was so' great' that tho'/jV tender of the' passenger engine was forced" through the first three,; compartments of the carriage next* it.. The Bmashed; inatchnood, pieces being fouud'lying; • in a field at a distance of quite; thirty! yards from the scene of the accident,: The men who were sitting in the compartment have beon killed instantaneously, and . their bodies were wedged into the side of the carriage, mixed up with debris, '■ Those in the second and third compartments were frightfullyinjured jftud seveii sucoumbed dfter liiigering in terrible agonyfor an hour or moro.. The horror of the situation was ' heightened : by the splintered w00d.,:, work being ignited by the fire" froin the engine.' The whole carriage was speedily in a blase, and six. of its. occupants perished miserably ,by burning, being unable, to extricate, themselves from the wreckage, If was several hours before', all ' the passengers wero oxtrioated, and it was found 'tjiat ten had>biSeji kijle'd, while eight were seriously and about a dozen slightly injured, At tho inquest a verdict of manslaughter * was returned against Rice, t ths signalman, who is sixty-four age, and : was recently run over by a train and seriously injured.' )| •