The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-10-12 00:00:00

THE KIRTLEBRIDGE COLLISION.

The carluge Journal gives the following description
of the scene at Kirtlebridge after the accident

The two powerful engines which were drawing the expreee
lay in confused heaps, belching forth steam wildly, while the
escaped water from the boilers of the engines poured upon
the blazing fire, thus throwing up and ell around clouds
of smoke, which intermingled with the M.om rind quite
Lid from view the alarming magnitude of the catastrophe.
In the course of about ten minutes, however, the smoke
cleared away, the disabled and battered engines exhausted
their steam, and a scene which only those who witnessed it
can properly describe was opened out to the gaze of the
startled few who happened to be in the immediate vicinity
CT the station. Their first thought, however, was for the I
passengers—bow many were killed and hone =ay blued,
It was • difficult matter to ascertain, as many who had been
fortunate enough to escape uninjured rushed about in a
frightened state, leading those who went down to the station
to believe that they had sustained serious 'Aeries. Those
who were really iejtured, however, were still struggling
among the hetspeof rubbish, unable to render themselves any
assistance. They were extricate las quickly as possible, and
medical men telegraphed for in all directions. The true ex-
tent of the catastrophe was by degrees discovered as one by
one of the dead bodies were recovered. The first body rescued
' was that of • well-dressed young woman. She was lying
among the broken fragments of the earring.. This turned out
to be the body of Caroline Spicer, apparently about 25 years
of age. She was much injured about the head and body,
but no railway ticket was found in her possession to indicate
In what class of carriage she was travelling. In her pocket,
however, was found a photograph of herself, and by the aid
of this and the disfigured feature., • Mrs. Crawford, who was
travelling in the train, but escaped uninjured, identified the
body as that of Caroline Spicer, of Dudley-road, near Bit-
minghem. Near her was found a tine little girl, about six or
wen ream of age; she was alive when extricated, but shortly
afterward expired. At tint It was thought that this was the
daughter of some relation of an elderly lady, name unknown,
who was subsequently found dead, bet inquiries. made in the
course of the afternoon proved beyond doubt that the child
was the daughter of Sergeant Baker, of 12, Arundel-street,
Hamilton, and, accompanied by her mother, had been
travelling homewards. Mrs. Baker, the mother of the
child, had been taken out among the fragments of broken
wood seriously hurt, and was conveyed to Lockerhie uncon-
scious of the and fate which had befallen her child. Next
was found the body of Alexander Kennedy, • small farmer
from Balmaglaster, on the Cralgard estate, Inverary.
He was quite dead, and the Wiwi.e he had received ap-
peared to be about the head and upper portions of the
body. Ile had been taking care of acme sheep for Mr.
Hutchinson, a farmer and sheep-dealer Hying in the neigh-
bourhood of Penrith, and was returning home, having •
railway ticket for Perth in his possession, when he met
with his death. Lying underneath the second engine,
quite dead, and in a fearfully mangled state, was next
found the body of John Gordon, the driver of the express
pilot engine Ills shoes were nearly torn off his feet, his
trousers much torn, his legs bruised, and his features
much disfigured as well as being blackened by the smoke and
fire emitted from the engines. Gordon resided in Charlotte. I
street, Carlisle, and leaves, wife and family. He was the
son of Robert Gordon, gatekeeper at Lockerbie. The body
of a woman, apparently about 60 years of age, was next re.
covered from among the fragments of the three carriages
which were broken and piled one upon another. She
also was dead, and appeared to have sustained Warta;
to her head and body. No clue to her identification could
be found, nor was there anything found in her possession
from which the officials could obtain her name and residence
no railway ticket was found in her pocket, in which were
• about twenty shillings in silver, • small bottle of ehloro.
dyne, • small piece of tobacco, and an empty flask which
had contained brandy; on one other fingers were two gold
rings—• wedding ring and a keeper, and she wore a
brown winsey dress, Waif petticoat, and • brown woollen
shawl. The next four bodies, making up a total of nine,
were one by one taken from among the heap of ruins.
That of Thomas Lloyd, Broad-street, Montgomeryshire, was
found, perhaps, the first of the four. If not dead when re-
covered, he only survived • few minutes, In one of his
pockets Was found a third-class ticket from Iffirewsbury to
Glasgow. The body of Allan Monroe, Jun., except about the
head, was not much diellgured, nor was his underclothing
much diaturbed. He was, son eta partner of the firm of
Memos. Anderson and Munro, Venetian blind manufactures,
Bothwell street, Glasgow. He was • young man about 26
years of age, and unmarried, and bookkesper with Masers,
acbrader and Mitchell, leather, bark, and hide factors, 60,
East Howard-street He had been in their service
in various capacities for upwards of ten years, and
was very highly esteemed. He had been returning
after his holydays, witch he spent in taking part in
the Volunteer fetes in Belgium, and wore part of the
undress uniform of the let Lanarkehire Rifles. He breathed,
it Is said, alter his body was recovered, but life was soon
afterwards found to be extinct, ant he was at once removed
to the shed among the dead, The body of John Carson Ban-
nock Sanquhar was also taken from among the rubbish. In
his pocket use a ticket from Liverpool to Glasgow. He hod
also a ticket for New York, it beim his intention to sail for
the latter place by the steamer A agile, the body of William
Myerscoughof the /Men Nlyddieton, near Manchester, travel-
ler for A. Bouck and Co , Chyrnists, Miles Platting, Ma.hmter,
completed a list of nine killed, and it was new thought that
the whole of the sad tale had been told. This was not so,
however, for after the lapse of some time the legs vi a
wonnos were seen protuding from amoug some fragments, a
portion of which had been removed. The rubbish having
been taken away, the body was found to be that of hire.
hind, of Carlisle, and near her lay the dead body of her sou,
seven years of age. Mother and son, both much bruised
about the head and body, were at once conveyed to the goods
shed, and completed the list 0111 killed. They were laid out
in one long row, and with their maugled features and torn
garments presented a sickening spectacle.

"Mr. W. M. W., Staff-Surgeon, Army Medical
Department," writing from Skairtield, by Lockerbie,
Oct. 2, pap! the following well-deserved tribute to
Mrs. Crawford :

The fortunate unhurt passengers looked on such a scene of
horror that they are not likely to forget. As might be
expected, there was such confusion that it was difficult
to know where to begin the work of assistance but
thstiks to the aid of two persons in the train, some aid
was soon given to the extent afforded by the scanty
means at hand. Stretchers were made of doors, beds of
cushions, pads of the horsehair from those cushions,
and splints from fragments of the broken earriages.
It is to bring to notice the services of the two persons
alluded to that I chiefly write this letter. One is Mrs.
Crawford, a trained superintendent of nurses from the
Nightingale Institution at Liverpool Herself much bruised
and cut about the face, no sooner had she re-
covered from the momentary shock than she called from
the carriage window that she could render aid, and on
my announcing my profession she volunteered to work with
me, and we were joined by Mr. It Simpson, a nephew of
Sir W. Simpson, a student of Glasgow University This
gentleman, much bruised and shaken, was untiring in his
labour, in spite of the nervous shock he might experience
on finding himself the sole survivor of all the passengers in
his compartment. Of Mrs. Crawford no praiee can be too
high. she more than any one in that trying scene showed the
presence of mind to give prompt and useful aid, and • readi-
ness to utilise the morale at hand, scanty as they were. Gaining
access to her luggage, she took from it the articles of under-
clothing in it, and without a moment's hesitation, sacrificed
them for making bandages and dressings for the wounds.
Having used, as did others, the scarf ribands and handker.
chiefs, she cut from her dress the crape and with It made
temporary bandages. In short, everything of her wearieg
apparel which could be utilized she gave unasked, and aided
not only In dressing and setting, as far as could be done, the
broken limbs, and by helping to place men, women and
children in the utmost comfort possible. She was quite
averse from giving me her name, built is only right it should
be known, if for no other reason than that from some
quarter or other she may be reimbursed for the looses she
sustained. When I left Klrtlebridge, she, having left none
uncured for, was going to the engine-driver'e house to rest,
and there wait for means of reaching the house of her slater,
Mrs. Forbes, Avenue-road, Kinross.

An eyewitness, in describing the fearful accident,
shortly after it happened, also writes as follows :

" All went well with no, and we seemed to be keeping up
to time until we reaohed Oxenholme, • station near Tebay,
I believe. We were informed that we should have to wait
some time in consequence of an accident having happened
to a waggon a-head of ins We were there upwards of an
hour. We then went on and reached (Airtight two
hours late. When we started again there were in
the compartment with me four gentlemen. The gen-
tleman opposite me— I having my back to the engine
—was from London, on his way, by Glasgow, to New
York. A dark gentleman —an American. I thick—sat
next him and in the far corner eras a Scotchman, going to
Perth. On my side there was only one person, a Scotch-
Man, also going to Perth. We chatted pleasantly as we
went along, and I was Just composing myself for a little
rest when there came a fearful crash. I recollect being
knocked about with great violence, and then the back
of the carriage where I was sitting came In with dread-
ful violence. I shrank back, I believe, to avoid the crash,
and then distinctly remember the floor being torn up. and
some iron bar of large size corning through the fluor.
Everything about me seemed breaking up with fearful
crashes. I then slid instinctively through the opening in the
fluor and found myself, alters fall, I believe, through the
door of another carriage, near some wheels and a broken
door. I crept through them, and, thank God, found my-
self clear of the wreckage and on open ground. I felt very
much stunned and bewildered for a fee minute., but was
recalled to my senses and toe consclousnees of my duty, being
a student of medicine, by seeing a poor woman with two
children, one a baby, and the other a little girl six or seven
years old, Jammed in between two masses of broken wood.
With the amistance of the guard and some others we got
out the baby, which I held for some time, and afterwards
the woman and little girl. The poor mother was much
bruised and frightened. The girl was dead. I shall
never forget the heart-rending cries of the poor mother
when I Rave her the baby, whir& was not injured. As I
was hurrying along to see If others were hurt. I met • gen.
tiemau who told me he was doctor of Letley Hospital .
I offered him my assistance, and we commenced attend-
ing to the wounded The first case we came across war that
of a soldier, who had sustained a simple fracture of the
leg. We made splinta of pieces of broken wood, and made
ads of the horsehair which we got from the railway
cushion. I must here mention the noble conduct of • muse
who happened to be a passenger by the train. lier name
was Mrs. Crawford. She worked very hard to allevia:e the
sufferings of the wounded, and wan an invaluable aid to the
doctors. She tore her dress to make bandage.. We got the
deal placed in the waiting rooms where they were found,
and frightfully mangled most of them were. We got at last
lint and bandages, and I found my case of instruments. We
then set to work on the other Cases with renewed energy.
Several doctors arrived and gave me great assistance.
I was doing what I could for • poor fellow named
lyerscougli. when he suddenly went into convulsion. and
died. All the wounded bore up under their sufferings with
the greatest courage and manliness. We had some morphia,
which contributed to take away the pain from many of the
sufferers. After I had done all I could I telegraphed to my
friends iu London and Glasgow, and then went to look out for
my luggage, which I picked op in a most deplorable state. The
little portmanteau which I had used as • pillow was in rags
and the framework twisted in all directions. I got what I
could find into the van of • special train which started for
Glasgow. lily poor fellow-passenger who intended going to
, New York was, when I left him, in a meet hopeless state.
He had sustained concussion of the brain and spine, and a
! portion of the collar bone was driven into the right Mug."

Mation

Captain Tyler finished his investigation on Friday, and has
drawn up his report to the Board of Trade. In his report,
which be has already sent up, he Mids considerable excuse
for the station-master. The accident was, he lays, directly
occasioned on the score dbl. not having been provided with
the simple arrangements by which it might have altogether
been prevented. "There seems no doubt," says this officer.
" that the men doing those duties of working points and
shunting trains are only too apt—ss experience has con-
stantly proved—to make mistake, at one time or another in
the course of years of service, and when a simple means of
mechanically preventing ouch mistakes is evadable it seems
strange that it should not be adopted, especially on lin.s of
importance, and on which the foxiest trait, in the country
are daily running.' Captain ryler will recommend to the
CaledoLlan Company the necessary detailed improvements
at the particular station in question, and, further, he will
mak, as. .1 this accident an a means of inducing not only
this, but other companies also, to accelerate the adop-
tion of similar improvements over their lines of railway. For
'estop.' he has been urging upon the railway companies
the adoption of the simple apparatus for Interlocking
the points with the signals, by means of which the accident
at Kirtlebridge would have been rendered impossible.
Under the locking system it Ls mechanically impossible
for a pointsman to set his points in a wrong direction
when the signals are lowered for • train to path, and ills also
Impossible where the points are ins wrong direction tor the
idgnala to be lowesed. Notwithstanding this bard fact, tome

companies have been reluctant, others have been neglillink,
while othen again have protested whist the
Mu so made to them, and the result is that, riZttaTSK
after the fully proved success of this apparatus, an Un-
necessary danger is tally incurred by trains travelling
through the country at speed. of 45 and tO miles an hou
from want of its adoption. It will be remembered that in
the celebrated case at the Walton Junction, on the London
and North-Western Railway, a recommendation was made
by Captain Tyler on that occasion for the locking apparatus
to be adopted, and that a year or two afterwards a fatal
accident occurred at that function, which, horn Its nature,
would have been prevented had the apparatus been adopted
by the company This, however, is only one example of the
constant neglect of the recommendations which are made
by the officer. of the Board of Trade on this particular sub-
ject, and it is to Ic hoped that another such lesson as haa
been received at Kirtlebridge will not he required to further
enforce the recommendations of the Board of Trade in-
spectors, especially when it is remembered that the expense
of fixing the interlocking machinery is comparatively 110111i-
aal.

by the CI
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