The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-09-18 00:00:00

SUSPECTED ATTEMPT TO WRECK
A RAILWAY TRAIN.
(Fro:n Tuesday's Times.)

"About seven o'clock yesterday morning a discovery
was made by a. party of platelayers near the Bushey
station of the London and North-Western Railway
which naturally excited considerable alarm. They
were engaged in their daily duty of inspecting the rails,
when they found at a spot some 200 yard from the sta-
tion that the fish-plates joining a couple of the rails
had been removed on both sides. Close by, but not in
contact with the metals, they picked up a parcel of a
substance under 21b. in weight, but which rumour soon
magnified into twice that quantity, and which bore a
most suspicious resemblance to dynamite. Attached
to this parcel was an indiarubber tube containing gun-
powder and a number of percussion caps. Another
find was a most unmistakable burglar's 'jemmy.' It
was at once concluded that a plot analogous, in its
nature at least, to the Moscow attempt of the Russian
Nihilists against the life of the Czar, had been laid to
wreck the 5.15 express train from Euston. It was
even reported that so nearly had this atrocity been
consummated that the flexible tube had actually been
severed by the wheels of the passing train, which
must infallibly have been blown to atoms had not the
rent taken place at a part where, providentially, there
were no percussion caps. It was soon found, however,
that rumour was outrunning the facts of the case.
After the interchange of many messages between
Bushey and Euston, it was at length resolved
that Mr. Copping, Superintendent of the kon-
don and North-Western Railway Police, accom-
panied by one of the most efficient members
of the company's detectives, should investigate
matters on the spot, and they accordingly started for
Bushey at 4.15 p.m., having received about an hour
before a written report from the station-master there.
They returned to Luston by the local train from Wat-
ford, which reaches the terAninus at 10.10 p.m.,
having made within the interval the fullest investigation
in their power, and bringing with them the jemmy and
considerable portions of the mysterioussubstance which
had been identified, not unreasonably as they thought,
as dynamite. It was contained in a number of long
paper bags shaped like tolerably large sausages, and
resembling miners' charges of the terrible compound.
It was certain that not only had no wheel passed over
any one of these charges, but none had been found.
sufficiently close to the metals to be in danger of com-
ing beneath the wheels of a train. Nearly all the
charges were found broken into two or more pieces.
The colour of the stuff is described as reddish, and by
another observer as pale pink. Of course, by night
all are more or less colour-blind. No chemical analysis
has been made. No wheel had ever passed over, much
less cut, the tube. Further inquiries will be made
into the facts connected with this remarkable dis-
covery."

(From Wednesday's Times.)

"The most unremitting efforts are still being made
by the heads of the police of the London and l'orth-
Western Railway to account for the mysterious
deposit of combustibles near Bushey Station, on their
line, seemingly placed there for the purpose of wreck-
ing one or other of the company's trains. The dis-
covery of these explosives, the bulk of which was be-
lieved to be dynamite, was made under circumstances
detailed in the following report from the deputy
station-master at Bushey to District Superintendent
Eddy, at Euston

" lhave to report to you that platelayer Heath, of 20 gang,
who was going to fetch the up-distance signal lamps about
7.10 a.m., found a parcel of some explosive material of a
reddish colour in a hole which had been dug by the side of
the sleeper at the joint. The two fish plates had been taken
off, and an india-rubber tube filled With gunpowder, and
long gun-caps fixed at the end, was attached to it (the ex-
plosive material). A " jemmy " about 18in. long was also
found beside it. Heath says that by the look of the tube
when he found it he thinks the " jar "of the train must have
jolted the end with the gun-caps in it off the metals, thus
avoidiu; a terrible explosion. It (the explosive substance)
was found on the down fast line. The ganger of Heath's
gang took the stuff to Watford and handed it over to In-
spector Keys.'

"It should be stated that the cartridges charged
with the stuff supposed to be dynamite were found
wrapped up in an external envelope made out of a
copy of the Standard newspaper dated the 31st of
August last. Samples of this questionable substance
were yesterdey sent for chemical analysis to the
Laboratory Department at Somerset-house, for whose
report, however, we must not look immediately, for
dynamite is a very complicated paste, being a compound
of nitro-glycerine with guncotton, the constituents of
gunpowder, infusorial earth, and one or two other in-
gredients, the disentauglement of all of which presents
a knotty chemical problem. Meanwhile, the presence
at Bushey of gun-caps in juxtaposition with the cart-
ridges really seems to support the theory put forth by
those who are investigating the matter. Contrary to
the popular notion, the great recommendation of the
use of dynamite for mining and other like purposes is
its safety, arising from the fact that it can only be ex-
ploded by a percussion-cap. Ignorant miners daily
handle it with impunity, and when ignited by ordinary
fire it merely burns away with a slight hissing noise.
"Yesterday Superintendent Copping and Inspector
Pearson (of the detective department) spent nearly
the whole ef the day at Bushey, returning to Ruston
for only about an hour in the afternoon, which was
mainly spent in organizing a strong body of de-
tectives, with wham they again left for the field of
action at 6 p.m. Their investigations as they pro-
ceeded had more and more impressed them with the
reality and seriousness of the peril which had been
escaped by a whole group of the company's trains.
The new items of evidence were not numerous, but
some of the facts were of great interest and importance.
It was difficult to say what interpretation was to
be put upon the discovery made on Monday night
by Alfred Boddy, as he was on duty attending to the
signal lights near the spot where the explosives were
found, when he picked up a portion of an engine-
driver's lamp. But when it seemed clear from the
testimony of two credible witnesses that there actually
was an explosion at the place, not early on the Monday
morning, but on the Sunday night, between nine and
ten, just about the time when the Irish mail, the
limited mail, and an express train would be passing in
rapid succession, a new light—lurid, but strong—ap-
peared to break in upon the darkness. One of the wit-
nesses in question was on duty at the time as the watch-
man at the Watford Brewery, which is adjacent to
the spot at which the combustibles were discovered,
and the other was about -four hundred yards away.
Both affirmed that they heard about half-past that) on
the night in question a very loud explosion, quite
different from an ordinary fog-signal, with which they
were perfectly familiar. That further revelations may
shortly be expected appears indisputable, and that
clues not to be prematurely disclosed must be in the
hands of those who are most interested in arriving at
the truth will also be well understood."

The Daily Telegraph of Wednesday said :—" John Heath,
who belongs to gang 20, has made the folloWing statement
respecting the finding of the dynamite: 'I have been in the
company's employ eleven years come November next. On Mon-
day morning I set out to bring in the Bushey Station distant
signal lamps. When returning with the two lamps I noticed
a brown paper parcel, about 14th. by Bin., lying in a little
hole dug out alongside the sleeper on the outside rail of
the down fast main line. On top of the parcel were
placed the fish-bars, which I at once saw had been re-
moved from their place on both rails of the down fast main
line. The sleeper against which the parcel lay in the ground
was the one next the end of the rails from which the fish-
bars had been removed. Theire was also a piece of India-
rubber tubing about one yard long, one end of which was
inserted in the parcel, and the other was by the side of the
outside rail. On top of the parcel were the fish-plates,
with the bolts in the outside plates, and the nuts lying
in their places. I tore the wet paper off the parcel with
my finger, and saw what I thought was some old
lead. My impression then was that the parcel and the pip-
ing belonged to some of the telegraph repairs people, and
that they had left them there in order to go to Watford to
inform the railway officials they had found two fish-bars off.
Knowing the bars should be put on at once, I picked them
up and put them in their places, screwing the nuts up with
my fingers, as I had no spanner. I then hurried back with
the lamps, as my instructions are to get the lamps in as
quickly as possible. On my return I met the ganger, Joseph
Holwoid, going his walk, and I told him that I had found
two fish-bars off about one hundred and twenty yards from the
distant signal station, or about half a mile from Bushey
Station, and also a parcel of Ted lead lying alongside the rails.
Holwood, I believe went d6wn the line and screwed the
nuts up with a spanner, and he brought the paper parcel
back When I first saw it it was partly open, and had been
loosely tied with strong cord, which was lying beside it.
The paper looked so wet that I think it must have been out
in the rain on Sunday night, for it was a tine bright morning
on Monday, and the sun was shining very early. At least
there was An rain from half-past five in the morning. My
own opinion now is, on learning that there was dynamite in
the parcel, that some one was trying to blow up one of the
early trains from Euston.'

" Holwood, the ganger, on leaving Heath, proceeded to
the spot and fastened the flsh-bar nuts with his spanner,
and then picked op the dynamite package, together
with the crowbar and the indiarubber tube. He attached
more importance to the discovery than Heath, and at once
communicated with the officials at Bushey and Watford. He
found the indiarubber tube was full of gunpowder, and that
three or four guneaps were jammed on the end lying nearest
the rail. It is thought that the fish-bars were used to hold
the India rubber tube and the end that contained the caps
against the outside down rails. Fortunately the vibration
produced by the first train must have shaken the fish bars off
the rails, and in their fall they carried the tube. It may be,
however, that the fish bars were knocked off by the engine
guard, and the explosion averted in the very nick of time."