The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-13 00:00:00

The Fatal Accident on the Shrewsbury
and Chester Railway.

The inquest on the bodies of William Anderton, of
Chester, the engine-driver; Thos. Sivitter, of Bill-street,

Wolverhamptom ; and Geo. Kent, of Greenwich, was re-

sumed yesterday at the Shrewsbury Infirmary, before Mr.

Charles Frail.

Mr. Chandler, solicitor, appeared on behalf of the widow
of Mr. Kent, and Mr. Thurston, of Wolverhampton, for
the representatives' of Mr. Sivitter.
Some discussion took place as to whether the jury should
inquire into the cause of the accident, as well as the imme-
diate cause of the death of the deceased. Mr Chandler said
on behalf of the interest of his client he did not wish the

jury to go into the evidence as to the cause of the accident
that having been already fully inquired into, and a verdict
returned by a jury of the county. Mr. Thurston also con-
sidered it unnecessary to go into any further evidence than

that of the medical gentlemen. as to the cause of death.
The majority of the jury, after having retired to delibe-
rate upon the point, were of opinion that it was their duty
to investigate the cause of the accident before they returned
a verdict as to the cause of death, and it was arranged that
the whole of the evidence taken at the inquest at West Fel-
ton should be read over and sworn to by the witnesses.

Wm. Eddowes, house-surgeon, was examined, and said
. .

the deceased, Mr. Kent, was admitted into the infirmary on

June 7, suffering from a fractured spine, and he on Thurs-
day, the Bth. William Anderton was brought in on the same
day as Kent, suffering from the ribs on the right side being
broken in and his lungs lacerated. He died on the 9th from
the injuries inflicted. Thomas Sivitter was also admitted on
the same day, and died directly afterwards. On examina-
tion witness found that the pelvis was smashed, and that
deceased had also received injuries to the back of the neck.
The injuries in each case were such as would be inflicted

by a railway accident.
The evidence of Captain Tyler and the other witnesses

was then read over.

David Evans, the driver of the second engine, in addition
to what he had previously stated, said, in reply to Captain

Tyler, that he shut off the steam when he saw the green
flag, and he got the engine out of gear when he saw the
platelayer. When he saw one of the platelayers come out
from the gang to caution the drivers, he blow his big
whistle. The driver of the first engine shut off his steam

shortly after he passed the flag, and his stoker put on the

break when they came in sight of the platelayers. When
the smash took place the speed was reduced from 30 miles
an hour to 16.

Edward Gregory, the guard in the rear of the train, added
that it was most unusual for him not to have heard .the
big whistle if it had been blown. He did not put on the
breaks till he felt the train bumping. The train was going
at a rate of 35 or 40 miles an hour.

Thomas Davis, the ganger of the platelayers, said, in re-
ply to Captain Tyler, that nothing had been done to the
line since the accident, except the straightening of the rails.
Captain Tyler, in reply to several questions, said he did
not consider 30 or 35 miles an hour an excessive speed for a
train of this description. There were many trains that
would pass over that line at a higher speed-40 or 50 miles an
hour.—and indeed, that being a straight portion of the road, the
train ought to have gone over safe at 60 miles an hour. If
the
,line had been in good order the length of the train had
not much effect in speed, but there was a description of
engine used on this occasion which was not safe at a high
rate of speed in passenger trains, and therefore the speed at
which the train was going was not desirous. If a straight
line was not fit for a train to pass over at the rate of 30 or
40 miles an hour, it must be defective. He thought that the
lino being in its present condition a red flag ought to have
been sent down the line as a danger signal. A green flag with
the pole placed in the bank would not be sufficiently visible. It
was the common practice to have gangers to send men down
with a red flag whenever it was necessary. He considered
the break power with the train quite insufficient. There
was a certain amount of chance in these accidents. The
engine when it jumped might have come down on the right
side of the line and all would have been well. It was the
weight of the engine that tried the permanent way, and
not the carriages, as these were much lighter than the

engines.
Mr. Grierson said it being his opinion that the lino was
not in a fit state to run over at the ordinary speed, it was
the duty of the ganger to send back a red flag. If the plate-
layers were only lifting the line in the ordinary manner,
then the green flag would be sufficient ; but, in his opinion
he was sorry to say that No. 2 rule, which required that a
person should be sent along with a flag, would apply in this
case. If the sleepers were being lifted more than two inches,
and if the line were in a condition which would prevent the
train running safely over it, then the rule which required