The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1878-02-12 00:00:00

FATAL ACCIDENT IN THE QUARRIES.

Robert Lake, &quarryman met with mortal inieries in
U.. pursuit of his occupation on Wednesday after-
noon. He was employed in a quarry near the Winne
Church, lifting • large stone, about half.past three, when
the "Jack" gave war, the stone fell, and cuihe.l the
poor men's thigh. Everything that was available was
done for hi. relief : but he only lingered till
Thureday morning, and died about one o clock, Demiseed
was a woad time married, and had at least one child—our
informant thinks two. The inquestlwae held at the Prince
of Wales Inn, Thursday last, before Hr. It. N. Howard.
John Lake Combos, nephew of the deceseed, said deceased
wee 57 years or are lsot November. Yesterday sdternoan
between three and four they two were working together
at • quarry in Trade, had • rock down, and • piece of
roach formed part of the rock, • piece of block stone being
attached, and they wanted to separate the two, took •
jack, and put it under the stone to heave it up, and did so
lame three or four feet, when the roach fell from the block,
the jack being into the block, the latter nerved round
when the roach fell. and knocked the deceased down, and
then turned hack. Witnen bail his hand on it at the time
and it knocked him, fortunately away from it, and
witness got up directly. Deceased said "I am done for,"
witness took him in his arms. Thomas Comben, who WAS
alongside, came with some others, got him on a ladder,
and brought deceased to his bowie. The "surging "of the
roach, which they did not expect, was the came of the
accident. The block and roach together weighed over six
toes. Deceased died about miilnighl—Dr. G. A. Rae,
went about ball peat four, on Wedn.sday afternoon to the
residence of deceased, and got ready what he thought
would be required. In about twenty minutes deceased
arrived, and was taken to bed; be ern only partially
conscious and was niutterinz ilelinuts. There WM •
punctured wound at the back of the right thigh, the house
was broken in two places, the heart was in a state of
collagen and irregular in action, and the extremities of the
body were cold, showing he was @offering from internal
ehock, the result of the accident, and no doubt there were
internal injuries. Wit,,,, did all be could, but saw at
once he Gould not recover. He was not sensible at all,
and gave no account of the accident. The cause of death
was nervous shock, the reoult of the serious injuries he
received.—Verdict "Accidental Death."

VINIDICATION OF THE "CONTINUOUS BRAKE."
The opinion expressed by "Dirges" in "Notes and
Hints" that paavenaers need not, on account of the last
shock to the Portland train, lose faith in the " continuous
brake." has been fully io,ttOed by the report of Colonel
Trained to the Board of Trade. After describing the line
be says the collision was not due to anylidefectin the work-
ing or position of the earls, but in the return forwarded
to the Board of Trade it wae stated "it war alleged to be
due to the failure of the continuous brakes" He gives the
evidence taken at the enquire, and concludes with these
remarks :—On examining the fin carriages, which had not
been taken from the station for the purpose of being
rep*lr, and which had her fitted with a modification
of Fay's brakes, I found that one of the square iron rode
which serve as connecting links to make the Issigitudinal
that ts under the centre of each carriage continuous
through the whole length of thaw* carriages had been bent
close to the coupled joint. I should explain that two
square iron rods, five or six feet in length and about two
Inches *quarts are mad* use of for the coupling between
eny two adjacent carriers. Err rod works in a square
socket of • lonsitodiuid shaft under each carriage, and the
socket is made long rough to receive the ends of the rods
when the buffen of the carriages are drii en no, and the
outer ends of there square rods are coupled together and
fastened by pins one of which i* stated in the evidence to
hate broken on one occasion. Not only had one of them
square rods loloneitie to the carriage next to the leading
heel,. crew, been beat, but the outer end of the socket
In which it worked had been cracked and had opened out.
wards, and the bracket from the under framing near the
end of the carriage which suppred the longitudinal shaft
had also been broken, so that Ur longitudinal shaft was
no longer straight bat bent, when the square rod was
bent., and had a tendency to drop from its unsupported
weight at this Part. Notwithstanding the damaged state
ofthe longitudinal shaft there was no difficulty whit...tee
In putting on and taking off the contintious brakes on
! these er carriages, although the effect of the aforesaid
damage was to imiusoo slightly the labour of working
the brakes I also found it bad been usual to disconnect
the wheel in the leading brake carriage from the
archinery that causes the longitudinal shaft to revolve,
mid put 00 and take off the Makes : in other words, to
put it out of gear; and, on the other hand, to pat the
wheel in the rear brake carriage into gear, before the
1 train started from the terminal strionsat Warmth and
Portland. A guard might forget to put this wheel into
gear, and he might (on turning the wheel fore bee,
time without discovering that it was not in gear, inasmuch
as at the present time these brakes are not brought
sufficiently quickly into action, requiring no lees ULU 43
turns of the wheel to place the beak, block, fully on the
wheels. Thia defect is I understand to be altered, and
the brakes made to act more promptly. it teemed to use
that aright mechanical arrangement might be introduced,
that would prevent the wheel from turning at all galas it
▪ in err, and the guard would at once know whether
be beal dose what wee neoreary for the effective working
of the brakes As the malt of my enquiry. I bare not
any doubt that the bending of the square rod, the crack* ,
lag of the socket in which it worked, and the fracturing 1
of the bracket whir upheld the continuous brake .
=drat abaft, were all the result the shock of the !
that occurred at the statioft. I else think that the'
collision was canned by the airlessness and negligence of
the driver and guard of the train the former, in approach.
Is. Portland terminal station at too high • rate or seer,
and the latter in having failed to apply the continuous
brakes with which the Male rim fitted, and which were
still In working order whet& I made ray enquiry. The
driver's statement, that he was only travelling at the rate
of two miles an hoar when the collision oocurred, meat he
altogether Inaccurate, a, the buffer meting, on the empty
would not have been broken by any such speed."
Slimily after the occurrence our correspondent noted the
anthem of pert at the ironwork on the line not far from
the Ferry-bridge, and added—" Whether it wee droPPed
cm the return journey, our informant earth not' The
Ides that had occurred to kint was that, having been
broken in the collision, the broken part might have been
✓ase off by the vibretion when the train went bor. Yet
der baying published as above, our 04M10.1111•4 mars
sablsolmits listaaittg No scoldag. Os rookt