The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-10-16 00:00:00

Ilit KIBWORTH RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

• The following particulars have been given respecting the
llißion which following
dto the Scotch express, near Leices-
ter, on Saturday evening An examination of the carriages has shown how
terrible the force of the collision was. The carriages
llext the rear brake were telescoped, and the buffers
virTere bent and twisted like tin. The Pullman cars,
and reap and Transit, had the platforms at the front
their reY
and
, the buffers smashed to pieces, and but for
they slag exceedingly heavy in their framework
anately
Fort, Inust have been completely crushed up.
front
the mineral train was standing still. The
and
;eLPaart of the last carriage was filled with luggage,
o__ dit been a passenger compartment all the
2apante must have been killed: for the whole of the
!-Taapartinent was knocked to atoms, and the luggage
..firown through the roof of the next carriage. Mr. J.
cott, ' who lies at the Leicester Infirmary, suffering from
it(loaPouud fracture of both legs, has given the follow-
'og account of the accident :
„ T
- am a native'of Edinburgh, and am traveller for
aoessrs. Browning :and Co., 26, St. John-street, Lon-
-40) oil merchants. I travel principally in Leicester-
lre• Nottinghamshire, and Yorkshire. I had been
"437i11g at Leicester, a.nd had gone up to London to do
4
~onie business, and was on my way back. I and
110tlier gentleman were in the rear compartment of the
r„e4rtiage next but one to the rear brake. The gentle-
Za,a with me was lying on the cushions, but I was
in a corner of the carriage with,Qay legs down.
got on all right in good time to Kibworth, and I
aoticed the train stop, but I paid no heed to it, as it
Was near midnight, and I was very tired. The train
ii-egaato move, and I thought we were going ahead all
ght until all of a sudden there was a terrible crash, and
t shall never forget what I saw and felt. I had no time
do anything, for in an instant there was a frightful
ashing of timber and smashing of iron. I knew we
Were in a terrible collison and I feared every. moment
Would be my last. - The end of our carriage was
'4lllashed to pieces, and I had just time to see another
carriage come crashing through the roof of the one I
Wa's in. The front of this carriage must have been filled
With luggage, for to my terror I saw the end of the
-4,,..triage smashed off, and then a great pile of heavy
or tin cases came crashing down upon me, and I
i,'La3 in great agony and was held tight as in a vice.
zi.ibeiosous made
was awful, and the pain and DDSs
me very faint; but it is a miracle I was
o,t killed. How my companion escaped I do not
but he was only slightly bruised, and he called
nelP, and afterwards several ladies and the
tli.s were very kind to me. It took them more
an hour to get me out of the wreckage, which
."8 so great that they had to cut me out of it."
Al' E. J. Oppenheim, of Leicester, one of the pas-
says
' ee„'t cannot .sufficiently express my gratitude for
lieol" .12°. I was standing in the same carriage withaVlr.
but (whose coolness was surprising), when the slow
Th certain crumpling up of the carriage took place.
opboe ,13;a,Ille buffer that jammed my legs against the
seat unfortunately fractured those of my
couiNaillon• With the slightest further pressure we
hardly have escaped with our lives. I heartily
hee;..inr„in praising the officials of the company, and
111-1-' 'hank the guard and others, who extricated me
ess than ten minutes, happily without a scratch.
frae sight of the wrecked carriage and the blaze of its
ill plents will not soon be forgotten."
11,.°„‘-• E. Atkins, science and mathematical
‘. Neb-2 WYgge_ston Boys' School, Leicester, says :
tide e went alt right till we got a little way this
Kidworth, when the engine of the express
though we knew we were nowhere near the
bkep.tou
Junction. Suddenly the train began to
tal„;`. I looked out of the window while backing, and
The la the distance behind us a train coming along.
beitin, we heard a whistle and I sat down, the brake
The,6t a,PPlied and the speed of the express lessened.
1116; "le collision occurred. I received a violent
kslep °II coy head, and Mr. Borthwick, who was
oe on the seat opposite me, was pitched forward
brie the floor, and- received a severe bruise on the
laextge of his nose. Another gentleman who sat
Ive }lll° also had his head hurt. Immediately after
laeet ear al cries of Help ? ' in the . end com.part-
our carriaze which was smashed to pieces.
aceidgentlernan tin:lt compartment, just before the
aed eat, stood up to read, so that he might see better,
Nitti„escaned injury. but another gentleman, who was
had Zge on the seat from which the first-named got up,
e luggage-van behind our carriage had been
thaeloth hi ,s legs broken. When we got out we saw
vers, th
torOnch damaged The force of the collision had
ww4 t
:r;
eieaerteb ood
sday, f
_the. vehicle from the wheels, which,
k ept the rails' while the carriage itself
the platforms of the Pullman cars
eol4r_aalso smashed. The passengers in the broken
thehP rtment were extricated and attended to and
W came on to Leicester. Itis a fortunate circum-
-1:4 that before the collision happened the brake
or thea applied to the expx ess and its speed lessened,
terioit;
„consequences would have been much more