The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-06-14 00:00:00

FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT
SEVENOAKS.

Early on Saturday morning a collision, attended
unfortunately with the loss of two lives, occurred at
the Sevenoaks Station on the South-Eastern Railway.
At 20 minutes to 2 on Saturday morning a heavily-
laden goods train with Continental goods from Folke-
;tone to London, stoppeil at Sevenoaks station as
usual for the purpose of taking in Niiter, and for this
the driver is allowed five minutes on the time bill.
But scarcely had the train been standing a minute
before another heavily-laden train from Deal dashed
into it with great force. This ttain also consisted of
about the same number of carriages as the other, and
was drawn by two engines. The line is on a gradient
some distance from the station, and the moving train
was running at a speed of neatly forty miles an hour.
The collision caused the two engines drawing the Deal
train to rear up and topple over on to their sides, one
falling on the platform of the station. A shunter was the
only person on duty at the station at the time, and he
ran to the spot, and found the driver Of the first engine,
named Robert Ware, jammed in between his engine
and the tender, while the stoker, Mark Jenner, lay on
the foot plate of the erugine, both apparently dead,
Dr. Wisdom and another medical gentleman were
quickly on the spot, and pronounced life to be ex-
tinct. Portions of the engine had to be taken to
pieces before the body of the unfortunate engine.
driver could be extricated. The guard of the Deal
train received slight injuries; the driver and the
stoker of the Continental train Were shaken by being
thrown down. Those on the second Deal engine had
an almost miraculous escape. The portion of the
platform on which the engine fell was much damaged,
and in falling the engine tore up a portion of the per-
manent way and completely blocked the line. The
bodies of the driver and stoker were removed to one
of the waiting rooms, and by 7 o'clock traffic was re-
sumed on a single line. The guard of the Continental
train, who was standing in his brake van just before
the Deal train dashed up, saw the danger he was in,
and jumped out. Directly afterwards the van was
smashed to pieces.
The bodies of the driver and fireman were subse-
quently removed to a neighbouring hotel to await the
inquest. The former leaves a widow and eight
children, while the latter had a widowed mother de-
pendent on him. AU the wreckage was cleared away
by Saturday afternoon.

The inquest on the bodies of John Ware, the
driver, and Mark Jenner, the stoker, of the pilot-
engine attached to the Deal fast goods train, was
opened on Monday at Sevenoaks by Mr. T. Buss,
coroner for West Kent. The South-Eastern Railway
Company were represented by Mr. E. Willis, solicitor,
and Mr E. J. Seers, the superintendent. After
the jury had viewed the bodies, which were lying
side by side in a stable at the rear of the hotel,
the coroner said he only proposed that day
to take evidence as to the identification of the
bodies. The Board of Trade had been communicated
with, and had signified their intention of instituting
an inquiry into the collision. Both Mr. Willis and
Mr. Seers said the company deeply regretted the
death of the two unfortunate men, and would use
their best efforts to find out how the collision
occurred. They were most anxious to assist th jury
in every possible way. Evidence of identification
was then taken. The witnesses stated that Ware was
38 years of age, and had a wife and nine children.
He had been in the company's service for twenty
years, and lived at Tunbridge. Jenner, a single man,
25 years of age, also lived at Tunbridge, and supported
a widowed mother. Medical evidence was given
showing that death in both cases was caused by the
lower part of the body being crushed. The inquest
was then adjourned until the 24th inst.