The Express.
London, England, 1868-09-04 00:00:00

nix ACCIDENT 140 THE 143E11 MAIL
TRAIN.

ABERCiELE. THUM/MAT.

This morning Mr. Littler appeared for the London and
North Western Railway Company, and the interest' of
the demand. ware watched By Mr. Goddard, Mr. Gal-
braith, Mr. Kane and Mi. Wood. Mr. Raton, station- •
master at Llandulm, and Richard Williams and Robert
Jones, the brealcsmen charge of the geode both on the
day of the accident, were also repremnited by legal a/A-
tienien. It transpired that Mr. Hoberieloofsalgai.
M who esualljarrersente the
oath Western Railway yon these oenacions,
Le appeared on their baba! on the Bret day of the in-
quest, was on the evening of that day compelled to retie-
quith his charge of the case in oonsequenoe of a sudden
attack oflliness, oocasieued i 1 is behoved by a visit white
he had paid on the llaturday to the balL7 of the chunk
in which the bodies lay awaiting burial.
The find withers ailed was Mr. Humphrey, of fleitney.
Ile said he was engaged at the St. David's Works in the
manufacture of oil loan coal and shale. On the 20th of
August fifty barrels of oil were sent from the St. David's
Works to Dublin. They were sent from the works by the
pitk-up luggage-tthin" for Holyhead. It was the
ordinary quality of burning oil, or paraffin oil. It wee
called A I Cambrian oil. lam acquainted with the pro-
perties of the oil. It is not explosive, and no amount of
oonesesion would sawn it to explode. The application of
flame will came ectethostioa. He wished to state that the
oil would not ignite until its temperature was raised to
lab Fahrenheit. It is then indiunniable—more so than
ordinary oil—approaching more nearly to the qualities
of • spirit. The application of the fire from the
engine was quite sueeimt to canoe the conflagration
which followed the collision of the Irish mail.
The carriage of this oil by railway was not more danger-
ous than the carriage of naphthe.or any ationg,methylated
spirit. Spirits overproof were more dangerous to carry.
buong Irish whisky, for instance, would take fire more
readily, and born far more fiercely.
By Mr. Grantham—Thera is an act of parliament which
requires that this oil shall not throw off ineleunnuthic
vapour under 100 degrees, which is considered the safety
point. He had tested the oil when manufactunah and it
showed that it would not lire exempt at 137 degrees, 37
degrees of temperature above the safety point. He had
never known a ease where explosion or ignition of the nit
bad resulted simply from concession. They had had barrels
of the tame oil steadied during transit over the railways,
and no explosion had resulted. The men in the works
did not we covered lights, but worked with naked can-
thee. The fumes of the oil when ignited were not parti-
cularly nostous, being composed chiefly of hydrogen and
Carbon. The effect of any !ergo volume of smoke upon
human hfe was almost immediate saffonatiou. It would
burn out the oxygen, and leave nothing but carbon.
The witness produced • sample of the oil taken from the
bulk of that shipped by the luggage train, and performed
an experiment 'thawing the properties of the oil. He
poured a portion of the oil into a vessel and dipped a
lighted match into it, the effect of the oil upon the light
being exactly the same as if it had been dipped in water.
IN ben, however, at the request of the jury the witness held
the lighted match over the ?pod for a minute or two a
flame tioated on the top of the oil, which the witness said
was explained by the temperature of the oil being raised
by the dame. It evidently appeared that if the light
bad been sufficiently powerful to mime the temperature of
the oil at once, it would have ignited.
In answer to Mr. Wood, witness said he accounted for
the rapidity with which the flames spread in the following
manner : The barrels of the petroleum were all broken, and
the engine, driving over the wreck, ignited the whole mass
as it panted over it. There were about 1,700 gallons in all,
and the combustion would be very rapid.
Mr. Davies, solicitor, of Holywell, said he had been
consulted by the two breaktonen, Richard Williams and
Robert Jones, as to the propriety of their tendering evi-
dence in this case, and after considering all the circum-
@tames he had advisee! them not to appear as witnesses.
The Assessor—l think you have exercised a very proper
discretion.

Ralph Hall, locomotive superintendent, had examined the
engine of the mail after the accident, and stated that he
found the engine lying on the side of the embankment.
It had bran subjected to intense heat, and the whole of
the interior works were melted.
Mr. FAlw ardie Wood--Was the outside v arni,,h burnt off?
(Laughter.)
Witnese—Yes. (Laughter.)
Mr. Wood then proceeded, amidst the manifest im-
p►tieaee of the court, to cross-examine this witness at
great length on minute points connected with the appear-
ance of the engine.
Mr. Thomas Maguire, assistant engineer on the Chester
■nd Holyhead Railway, produced and proved plans put in
of the scene of the accident. It is (be said) titi yards from
Llandulss station to the Lliidaen siding. The length of the
longest line of rails of the siding is 216 yards. The
length of the other line of rails is 160 yards. 'ho length
of a goods train of 44 waggons, with break van.
locomotive and tender, would be 230 yards. If
the longer side of the siding had been empty
on the day of the accident it would have taken the
whole of the goods train. The longer side of the
siding is the nearest to the main line. I have seen the
point upon the rail where the three loaded waggons were
' kicked off" from the goods train. There is an incline
commencing on the If olywell side of LLuidula4 station,
and extends toward Abergele station for a distance of one
mile and a hull.

)Zr. Lee, resident engineer of the Chester and Holy-
head line, examined by Colonel Rich, said—The incline
from the east end of Llandukui platform towatsbi Aber-
gele is, for the first 4;0 cards, 1 111 06Usards for the next
tour lengths of 20 yards each, 1 in 203, 1 in 417.
1 in 110, and 1 in Itr2. The next length is
1,340 yards, and the gradient is 1 in 1014. The
gradient for the next two miles is 1 in 112, still falling
towards Abergele. When a goods train of 44 waggons
was standing with the engine at 1.11-faen siding, the two
last waggons would be standing ou an incline of I in 100.
If the waggons are in perfect order they will statul on a
gradient of '2OO. A train of six waggons would certainly
not stand on a gradient of 1 in 100, unlem the breaks were
on. I bate known the break of a van to be broken or
dislodged by a concussum. The blow might have the
effect of breaking the teeth of the break wheel, and so
wholly releasing the wheels of the van, or it might loosen
the break wheel and partially relieve the van. If the sic
waggons and the van had nut been stopped by collision, I
expect they would have run down to Abergele. The
point whew the collision occurred is a mile and three-
quarters from Llandulas station, and the incline is 1 in 412.
The accident took place in a cutting from 14 to 20 feet
deep. From the curve in the line I do nut think the
driver of the mail could see the waggons approaching till
they were within 20 yards of him.
14,10nel Rich— Soppos.ing these three waggons that were
kicked off from the train struck the tail cud of the train,
could they have started the tail end of the train, suppo,
jag the brake in the van was properly screwed down and
the waggons themselves braked

Witness—Certainly not.
Colonel Rich—Supposing the tail end of the waggons to
have been braked as you say they must have been in or-
der to stand upon this incline, and the three others
braked and sent
i gently down towards them, would they
have set the othersn motion k
Witness-4 think not.
Colonel Rich—ls it not customary to brake waggons
when they are kicked of?
Witness—l have not seen it done. It often happen%
that they are not kicked far enough, and have to be
shoved along.
Colonel Rich—ls It not customary when kicking wag-
gong' off to join others on an incline, for the brcaksmau
to accompany and break them ?
Witness—lt is not usual. _ _ _

iiolonelßiJisllnotctrettoinary, when the tail mid of
a waggon ia left standing upon the main line during the
prore,s of shunting, for a breaksmau to be left in charge
of the van Y _ . _ . _

Witne,s—Not unless it is upon a sharp incline. All the
waggons of the London and North Westeni Railway
Company have breaks attached.
" ' "

- .
By Mr. Wood—lf an engine had gone after the runaway
trucks on Thursday week, it would Imse run down on the
other line, andthe driver would have passed the trucks and
tried to catch them at the fret eremitic. If the breakenan
had been in the van he could have stopped the trucks as
soon as they started down the incline upon being *reek.
A chain or straps with a ring attached to the break-
wheel, so us to enable the breaksunin to lock the
wheel upon leaving the van, is a great additional
security. If there is no locking apparatus to a
i break it s liable to become dislodged by a blow or concus-
sion. It is not quite clear to my mind that the three
waggons kicked off did *Ake the tail end of the train.
Mr. Wood—Then if that was the case, the break van
could not have been left upon the main line in proper
order
Witness—No, it could not. I cannot say of my own
knowledge whether the break van of the goods trun had
a strap or lock.
By Colonel Rich —Even if the break had a leek it might
have been broken by a blow. The line was opened in
1848 ; the siding was put in at the beginning of 1850, and
the siding in 1864. The distance from Mrs. Dickens house
to the fence wall of the railway is 29 yards. Thu wall is
4 ft. 7 in. high. This she mounted by a ladder. Them is
then a slope 21 yards in length, and to the spot where the
tender lay ia a further distant* of 671 yards.

Joseph white, one of the breaks'sle; who worked the
goods train part of the journey on the day of the accident,
said he found that the break was in perfect working order
on the day in question, but it had no chain with which to
pin it.
Mr. Emmett, the wa: superintendent, said that break
vans ar:tenendly sup • with chains to pin the break.
He thought the bru , however, jest as safe without
chains. But they were supplied in rider to prevent guards
having a loophole of escape in case of accident.
Mr. Charles Mason, whtantmanager , said that, by the
rules of the company, when there are o breakemen, the
senior one ought always to be in or near his van at the
rear of the baba, ready for anything that might happen
and that if Richards, who was the senior guard, had ob-
served this rule, an accident would not have happened
when the trains were kicked off on to the tail end of the
train. It wee the duty of the Janice breakienan to follow
them on till they reached the stationary trucks, and to
break them if nereesary. If he had done this, witness
thought that the accident would not have happened. If
the men thought that they had not time to do the shunt-
ing at Landulu properly before the mail train was due,