Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-01-04 00:00:00

FEARFUL COLLISION px THE EASTERN
I COUNTIES- RAILWAY.

Avery serious collision, involving injury to a large
number of passengers and the loss of considerable pro-
perty, took place on , Sunday evening, near the Tilbury
junction of the Colchester section of the Eastern Coun-
ties Railway. Considering the circumstances of the
accident, it is a perfect miracle that several lives were
not lost. The junction is about half a mile on the Ilfbrd
side of the Forest-gate station, and connects the Tilbury
branch with the main Colchester line of the Eastern
Counties. ,It is protected by the usual semaphore and
disc signals, which, it is alleged, can be seen some dis- •
tance down the line. Since the opening of the Bow and
Barking branch the passengers from Tilbury for
Bishopsgate have to alight at Barking and take a fresh
train. This was the case with. the train which left
Tilbury at 6.30 on Sunday evening, and was due at
Barking at 7.10: It was rather behind its time, which
necessarily made the train for Bishopsgate late in leaving.
It proceeded at its usual rate on to the junction, when
a train, which proved to be the Norwich and Colchester,
and due in London at 7.50 was heard coining up. The
Tilbury train kept on its course round the junction, and
the foremost carriages had passed on to the main Col-
chester line, when the engine attached- 'to the Norwich
train struck in a slanting direction the side of the last
of the Tilbury carriages. The shock is described to have
been of a most frightful character. Most providentially
there was not a soul in this last carriage. , It was
literally shivered to atoms. 'The next carriage, which was
full of passengers, 'was thrown off the metals and
dragged sideways along' the permanent way until it
came in contact 'with a telegraph post, which snapped
the coupling; and it:tarned over on to the embankment.
The remainder of 'the Tilbury train escaped injury.
It had acquired •oonsiderable speed, but for which it
is almost impossilke to conjecture the extent of mischief
which would have followed. The engine of the Norwich
train, after coming in collision with, the Tilbury car-
riage, -sprung mound and shot across the permanent way,
over "the down line of rails, and partly buried itself in
the opposite 'embankment, the driver arid stoker holding
,on. The tender got disconnected from the engine, and
'was thrown across the permanent way, and the break-van,
which was next to the tender, was thrown off the rail,
and was hurled along to the abutment of the bridge,
'where it was turned up on its ends, and crushed in a
2nd-class carriage which was next to it. The passengers
in this train describe the concussion to have been most
-severe. Many of them were much bruised and shaken—
indeed the whole of them we are informei were more or less
hurt. The crash was heard a mile from the spot, and the
scene, with the cries of the passengers, fora time was of the
mest alarming description. It was a considerable period
before the full extent of the mischief could be gleaned.
After a brief examination of the wreck and the injured
.passengers, the guard took immediate steps to prevent
the approach of the up and down trains, and to obtain all
the medical aid the neighbourhood could afford. The
whole of the passengers alighted, and took up a posi-
tion on the embankment, the darkness and severity
of the night, the wind blowing hard, with rain, adding
much to their 'discomfiture and alarm. It is stated
that direct means were taken to communicate with the
officials at the Stratford station, in order to obtain
the speedy removal of the passengers from the scene of
the accident. 'The authorities assert that a special train
was dispatched to the spot in about three-quarters of an
hour after being apprised of the collision, but the pas-
sengers declared 'that after waiting a much longer period
than that, and not obtaining any satisfactory informa-
tion from the guards as to when assistance would be
afforded them, a large portion made their way over
ploughed fields and hedges on to 'Stratford, where they
got medical relief. Owing to the disturbed state of the
road, the Norwich train could not be sent through; the
passengers were subsequently transferred to a special
train, and brought on to town.
On inquising at the Bishopsgate station, we were in-
formed that the directors intended to investigate the
circumstances attending the accident in the course of
this day, Vihen it will be decided-as to what steps shall
be taken, From what has transpired, it would appear
that the accident resulted from -some omission on the
part of the company's servants. As before observed,
there are -signals at the junction, and we understand
that the signal man put on the danger signal to stop
the Tilbury train coming through the junction, and
signalled the Norwich and Colchester to come on. It,
is but just 'to remark that the banks of the cuttings
precluded the drivers seeing the approach of
each others train until they had arrived within
a few yards 'of the point. Both trains were travelling
at the allowed speed; and the driver of the
Tilbury, asserts, it is said, that the danger signal was
not put on until he was close on to the points, and per-
ceiving his danger, the Norwich to ain being close up to
him, he put son full speed, in the hope of getting his
train clear of the junction before the Norwich came up.
The latter, also, seeing the Tilbury train crossing on to
the up line, immediately shut up the steam and applied
the, break, but the next moment or so the collision took
place. The company have been applied to for a list of
of the injured passengers, but it appears as yet no returns
have been made. The usual informatiOn of, the accident
has been forwarded to the railway department of. the
Board of Trade preparatory to a government inspector
being appointed to investigate the facts.

SPAIN.—The Madrid journals of the 29th ult. state
that the . General-in-Chief of the army of Africa had
reported to the Queen that for an entire month he had
had no occasion to inflict any punishment on his men,
or to interfere in any dispute between them ; also, that
the Queen had sent a despatch to him, expressing her
satisfaction at the services of the army. Her Majesty
. was going on well. The DiBC4BBiol2 and Novedades had
been seized.
THE RECENT MILITARY AFFRAY AT ALDERSHOT.
—Urgent, 6, Commander H. W. Hire, having received
on board the 2nd battalion of the 24th regiment from
the camp at Aldershot alongside the Portsmouth Dock-
yard jetty, on Saturday, sailed with them for Queens-
taw,n on Sunday at noon, the weather at the time being
exceedingly boisterous, with prevailing gales and heavy.
rains from the southward. This would be to soldiers
about the greatest amount of punishment that could
possibly be inflicted, inducing suffering from sea—
sicknesss; and as the Urgent had crammed together
between 840 and 900 besides the crew, their condition
may be imagined. It was wisely ordered on the part
of the Goverment that the trains containing the men of
the 24th regiment should pass immediately from the
Landport terminus through the. Government works into
the dockyard, and thus avoid a mobbing which awaited
them for their disgraceful outrage in firing 34 rounds of
ball cartridge into the militia quarters opposite their
own at Aldershot encampment.
WRECK OP AN AMERICAN SHIP IN CARDIGAN BAY.
—BARMOUTH, Dee. 31.—1 have much pleasure in re-
porting the additional valuable services yesterday of the
Barmouth life-boat belonging to the Royal National
Life-boat Institution. A large ship, the Britannia, of
Bath, United States,- was seen ashore early yesterday
morning, about four miles from hence, wind S.W., blow-
ing very hard. The life-boat was with some difficulty
pulled over the bay, owing to the strong spring-tide.
against her and the wind ; the sail was set to run to the
vessel. The sea alongside was awful, so much so that I ex-
pected to see the boat capsized every moment, or dashed to
atoms against the ship's side. The life-boat behaved
far beyond the expectation of everybody. Fourteen
persons, including the captain's wifd, were taken from
the vessel, five men preferred remaining on board, who
came on shore the next morning in one of the ship's
boats. The life-boat filled very often, but soon dis-
charged the water. One of the ship's crew had a very
narrow , escape of being crushed to pieces between the
ship and the boat. He fell in trying to get on board
the life-boat, and but for the activity of some of thei
boat's crew he must have been killed, It will pn.obabq
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