The Express.
London, England, 1867-11-18 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, MONDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 18, 1867.

ACCIDEAT ON THE LONDON AND NORTH
WESTERN RAILWAY.

An accident of a serious nature occurred on
Saturday morning, near the Dudley Port station of the
London and North Western Railway, by which ten per-
sons were more or less seriously injured, and considerable
destruction was occasioned to property. The precise
locality was between Dudley Port and filedgley Junction,
over which portion of the line the Great Western Com-
pany have running powers to Dudley, and the accident
occurred to a passenger train belonging to the Great
Western Company. This particular part of the line is
rather steep, the gradient being 1 in 61. About eight
o'clock on Saturday morning a heavy goods train was
about to proceed up this incline, and, as is usual with
such heavy trains, • second engine wan attached to the
rear of the train, to assist it over the incline. At the
same time the usual passenger train from Birmingham
to Dudley came up, and whilst going at the rate of thirty
miles an hour it ran into the London and North Western
engine at the rear of the goods train, smashing the tender,
and seriously damaging the engine. The passenger train
consisted of five carriages, ono of which, a first class, in
which, fortunately, there were no passengers, having one
of its compartments completely shivered to atoms. The
guard's van was also completely demolished, the part
where the guard was being the least injured ;
and a third-class carriage was thrown upon its
side, and the whole of its occupants were more
or less seriously hurt. Immediately after the
accident, Mr. B. Lowndes, the station-master at
Dudley Port, telegraphed to Birmingham, and Mr.
J. IL Roberts, the district superintendent of the London
and North-Western line, proceeded to the scene of the
disinter by • special engine, and within twenty minutes
of the occurrence four medical men from Birmingham and
the neighbourhood were on the spot, attending to the in-
juries of the unfortunate sufferers, several of whom were
conveyed back to Birmingham as soon as they could be
extricated from the debris of the chattered carriage. The
up line was, of course, blocked, but the ordinary traffic
was worked on the other until the afternoon, when the
line had been cleared. The following is a list of the prin-
cipal sufferers:—William Oliver, engineer, slightly in-
jured ; George Wright, New-street, West Bromwich, in-
jured in the back and legs severely ; Thomas Bannister,
Temple-street, West Bromwich, injuries in the back
and legs ; Charles Nixon, 7, Great Colmore-street, Bir-
mingham, compound fracture of the right leg, and
other severe injuries ; Thomas Sharp, Moor-street,
West Bromwich, hay and corn dealer, severe injury
in the back and other parts of the body ; John Wheatley,
New-street, Wert Bromwich, injury to the back and legs ;
T. W. Price, 182, Newtown-road, Birmingham, injury to
the back and legs ; W. Williams, 132, Bromagrove-street,
Birmingham, injury to the back and other parts of the
B
; Wm. Maldey, fireman, severe injury to the head
and other parts of the body. Of these, Mr. Nixon and
Mr. Sharp are so severely injured that it is considered
doubtful whether they will recover. The guard of the
passenger train also received some severe bruins in his
shoulder and other parts of the body ; but his escape from
death is almost miraculous, when the shattered state of
his van is considered. No explanation has as yet been
given as to how the
.passenger train came to run into the
goods train, but an inquiry will be made into all tho cir-
cumstances by the authorities. It should be stated, says
our Birmingham correspondent, that at the time the acci-
dent took place • fog hung over the district ; but in fact
' this disaster is attributable to what is called the "wisdom
of parliament," which permits two or three companies
radiating from • large town, and traversing • densely popu-
lated manufacturing district, to have running powers
over each other's lines and short lengths of lines. To that
alone is to be attributed the accident of Saturday morning.