The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-13 00:00:00

GRAND TRUNK OP CANADA.

The traffic receipts on this company's lines for the week
ending the 24th of December last, amounted, for local pas-
sengers, to 5,055/. ; for foreign passengers, to 1,3191.; for
mails, &c., to 642/. ; for local freight and live stock, to
11,896/. ; and for foreign freight and live stock to 3,004/.—
total on
.1,377 miles, 21,916/. ; against 24,494/., on 1,335
miles, in the corresponding week of 1863, showing a de-
crease of 2,5784 in consequence of the traffic being inter-
rupted by snow storms. The total receipts from the Ist of
July to the above date amounted to 594,579/., and for the
same period in 1863 to 545,547/., showing an increase of
49,032/.

The Collision on the North Kent Railway,

Yesterday afternoon the adjourned inquest on the bodies
of the five unfortunate men who were killed in the recent
collision in the Blackheath tunnel of the North Kent Rail-
way was resumed before Mr. C. J. Carttar, coroner for
West Kent, at the Railway Hotel, Blackheath.
Mr. Freeland again represented the company. Mr. Wool-
lett appeared on behalf of the signalman Jones ; and there
were also present Mr. Eborall, the general manager ; Mr.
Cudworth, locomotive superintendent ; Mr. Knight, traffic
superintendent of the company ; and Mr. Claydon and Mr.
Chapman, station-masters, Charlton and Blackheath.
The first witness called was

Joseph Groombridge, who sail that when the collision
took place he was riding in the break next to the engine of
the eupress train. When the collision took place he got
out of the carriage window and walked along the tunnel,
which was full of smoke and stetm. Hearing somebody
say that a down train was coming, he got into the carriage
again. A lamp was handed into the carriage, which he
supposed came from the guard, bat he did not know.
Mr. Chapman, the station-mister at Blackheath, was
asked whether there had not been a train stopped in a
similar manner in the tunnel nets day. _

The Coroner, however, intimated his opinion that the
quettion had no bearing on this particular inquiry, and it

was not pressed.
Mr. Woollett asked whether, according to the rules of
the company, a signalman ought to receive instructions
with reference to a telegram from a boy by word of mouth.
Mr. Chapman said that a signalman ought not to receive
any such instructions by word of mouth except from him-
self, as station-master. Instructions from others ought to
be in writing. _ _ _

Mr. Woollett asked whether, under the revised and sup-
plementary rules, all trains travelling at unusual hours,
not specified in the time-table—in which description
would be included ballast trains—were not required to be
telegraphed from station to station of the " speaking
telegraph."
Mr. Chapman said he did not conceive that such a ballast
train as the one which had caused the collision was a train
travelling at unusual times. 'Unusual times he considered
to be hours after the ordinary working of the trains was
over. Special trains were telegraphed by speaking tele-

graphs.
Mr. Freeland said there were special regulations as to
ballast trains.

Mr. Woollett called attention to the rules, by which any
train not included in the time service was to be treated as
special, whether ballast, coal, empties, light engines, or
otherwise.

In answer to a further question from Mr. Woollett, Mr.
Chapman said that this ballast train was not telegraphed
by the speaking telegraph. It was telegraphed, however,
in such a way that everybody would know it would be a
ballast train going to Bricklayers' Arms.
Captain Tyler, R.E., the Government Inspector of Rail-

ways, was called and said—l inspected the Blackheath
tunnel, in which this accident took place, on the 19th ult.
for the first time, and again on the following Thursday.
There was one mark on the side of the tunnel where the

engine was said to have come into contact with it, but no

other mark. There was a good deal of water dropping, and
the rails were in a very wet state. I had read a letter in
the paper to the effect that the express train had gone off
the line before the collision, and I made particular exami-
nation of the line with reference to that point, and I came
to the conclusion that there had been nothing of the sort.
The gradient of the tunnel is 1 in 168 from Charlton to
within 215 yards of the collision, and up to the mouth to
the tunnel there is a steeper gradient-1 in 132. There is a
curve in the tunnel, but not such a sharp one as would se-
riously impede the progress of a train. The gradient is not
a severe one, but it was too severe for this engine with the
load it had to bear. Probably the engine might have car-
ried the load through if it had not been stopped at Charlton.
It came to a stop on the second or steeper gradient in a very
wet place. Under the circumstances the tail lights of the
ballast train would not be visible more than 10 yards off.
The engine driver of the express train could not see them
until he was well on the train. I saw the engine of the
ballast train after the collision. It appeared in good order.
The driver told me that it was in good working order before
the collision took place, but that afterwards the pumps had
gone out of order. Being a ballast train, however, the col-
lision would notbe so much felt in the fore part of the train.
I have drawn up a memorandum as to the causes of the
accident if the jury would like to hear it.
The Coroner—l presume it is drawn up from information
you have received ?
Capt. Tyler—Yes, it is.
The Coi-oner—Then, I hardly know whether we can re-
ceive it in the court.
Capt. Tyler—Some juries wish to hear such memoranda,
and some object, and I came prepared for both contingen-
cies. At the end of my memorandum I have stated my
conclusions as to the cause of the accident.
The Coronor—We shall be glad to hear them.

Capt. Tyler then read the following portion of his report,
embodying his conclusions as to the causes of the accident :
" The different circumstances which have contributed to
porduce this collision may be thus stated :-1. A load was
attached to the ballast engine heavier than it could, after
being stopped at Charlton, take through the Charlton
tunnel ; and this ought not to have been done, if only on
account of the risk incurred of inconvenience and delay of
the heavy passenger traffic of the company. 2. The station
master at Charlton sent a message, ' Train waiting ' to
Blackheath, independently of the signalman, and by thus
interfering with the train signals, though with the good
intention of avoiding-the chance of unnecessary delay, he
was the means of causing the mistake which led to the col-
lision. 3. The Blackheath signal, who was compara-
tively inexperienced, and who was put out and confused by
the verbal message Train waiting,' at Charlton, committed
the fatal error of signalling the up-line clear to Charlton,
in spite of the record which was plainly before him on his
instrument of an up-train being already between Charlton
and Blackheath. The railway company had done what they
could in this case to provide for the public safety by esta-
blishing a good system of train signals, intended to pre-
vent more than one engine or train being upon either line of
rails between Charlton and Blackheath at the same time.
But there remained the defect,:which I have had occasion to
point out in other cases on the North Kent Railway, of the
signalmen being unprovided with speaking instruments in
addition to Tyer's train instruments. It is, no doubt, de-
sirable after a certain period has elapsed that a signalman
working under that system should have the means of ascer-
taining from the next telegraph box whether a train has been
delayed in its progress for an extraordinary length of time,
or whether the signalman in that box, as may occasionally
happen, has forgotten or been unable to give Line clear' as
it passed him. But it is better that this should be done in a
recognised manner ; that the train about which the inquiry
is made should be specified, and that a clear statement should
be given in reply as to the passage of that particular train
before another is allowed to follow it. The danger of
allowing any other sort of interference with the train sig-
nals is illustrated by the mistake made by Jones on this
occasion. If on the one hand he had been let alone, and had
- received no verbal message from the clerk at Blackheath,
it would not of course have occurred to him to give Line
clear' to Charlton until the ballast train had passed him.
If, on the other hand, hts had been provided with and been
able to use a speaking
instrument, and received a message
upon it, from the signalman at Charlton, ' Has the ballast
train passed Blackheath ?' in place of receiving a verbal

message from a porter, it is impossible that either he him-
self, or even a less experienced man, should have replied
otherwise than wilfully, ' Ballast train has passed,' unless
it had really done so. While, therefore, the speaking in-
struments under the control of the station masters, from
being worked independently of the signalman at Charlton
and from interfering with the signalman at Blackheath,
may be said actually to have caused this accident, it is evi-
dent the same speaking instrument if placed in the tele-
graph boxes and worked under proper regulations by the
signalmen themselves to each other, would, by affording a
safer means of asking for and obtaining the required infor-
mation, have prevented its occurrence."
The Coroner—Assuming that the guard of the ballast
train when it came to a standstill did not go back to warn
the following train, should you say that it was his duty to
have done so ?

Capt. Tyler—l have considered that point in my report,
and the conclusion I have come to is, that if the guard went
to the tail of the train and asked the breaksman to put on
his break and give him a light, it was preparatory to un-
coupling the train and sending half of it out of the tunnel.
Then the question arises whether the train had been stand-
ing long enough for the breaksman to go back and protect
his train.

The Coroner—You are of opinion that the coming away
from Charlton was the act of the signalman Jones in sig-
nalling " Line clear ?"
Captain Tyler—There was a double processtelegraph-
ing the line clear, and then telegraphing for the passenger
train to come on. The passenger train could not come on
until it had received permission from Blackheath.
Mr. Woollett—The guard said distinctly that the mo-
ment the signal, " Line clear," was made the train started
at once.

The Coroner—We certainly have not had anything
brought out about a second signal.
Capt. Tyler—lf you examine the signalmen at Charlton
and Angerstein you will see that that is so. I have called
attention frequently to the necessity of having speaking in-
struments, particularly in a report on an accident at the
Commercial Docks in 1861.

To Mr. Freeland—l think Tyler's system of signalling a

very excellent one—one of the best ; but in my opinion it
ought tobe accompanied with speakinginstruments. I know
that there is a difference of opinion among railway men on
the subject.
To the Coroner—l don't consider from 7in the morning
to 6 in the evening unusually excessive hours for a signal-
man. I wish there were no signalmen employed longer.
I have had to report on cases where they have been em-
ployed 25 hours, and in one case 37. It was not with re-
ference to this company. I don't think the message from
Charlton, " Train waiting," was suffic!ently explicit; it
ought to have been, " Has the ballast train passed ?"
To the Jury—The want of air-shafts had nothing to do
with the accident. On the contrary, the tunnel would have
been more liable to get wet, and the accident was in some
degree attributable to the wet state of the tunnel, which
impeded the progress of the train.
The jury retired to a private room, and after remaining in
consultation with the Coroner for some time,

The Coroner announced that they had decided to adjourn
the inquiry until that day fortnight, in consequence of
the inability of the breaksman of the ballast train, who was
still confined in the hospital, to appear before them. Their
intention was then to hear his evidence, if he was able to
appear before' them, and if not to go down to Woolwich
Hospital to hear his evidence there. They would then be
able to call Jones and hear his statement, if he thought fit
to make any, and the case would be complete.
The jury was then adjourned until Thursday, the 26th
inst.