The Sun.
London, England, 1854-04-06 00:00:00

ACCIDENTS ON RAILWAYS.

rtaport to the Lords of the Committee of Privy Coun-
cil for Trade, classifying the causes of the principal acci-
dents which have occurred on railways during the year
1853.

Railway Department, Board of Trade, Whitehall,
February 28, 1854.
My Lords—ln analysing the reports which the inspect-
ing officers of this department have made upon the acci-
dents which have occurred on railways during the year
1833, I havo endeavoured to classify the causes which have
led to the several accidents in such a manner as to point
out what are the influences which the system of manage-
ment and the discipline on railways have had in causing
them.

The total number of persons who have been reported to
your lordships as having met their death on railways
during the year 1853 is 305, and the total number of in-
jured is 440; of these the total number of passengers who
have suffered from accidents would appear to be 64 killed,
and 300 injured ; and of this number 36 have been kihed,
and 280 injured from causes beyond their own control.
The returns of accidents for the half-years ending 30th
June and 31st December, 1853, respectively, which have
already been laid before your lordships, exhibit a detailed
account of these accidents.
From these returns it would appear that the total num-
ber of accidents to trains and engines which have been re-
ported by railway companies as having occurred during
the year 1853 is 103.
Of these 76 have been more especially brought before the
notice of your lordships by the reports of the inspecting
office them or by the correspondence which has taken place
upon.
These accidents may be generally classed as
I. Accidents appertaining to the ',Ping stock and road,
IL Accidents appertaining to the management of rail-
ways.
Under the head of accidents appertaining to the rolling
stock and road of railways may be classed the following :-
Ist. Accidents from engines or carriages leaving the rails.
2d. Accidents from trains running through facing points
into sidings.
3d. Accidents from persons in trains being struck against
works adjacent to the line.

4th. Bailer explosions.
Under the head of accidents appertaining to the manage-
ment are classed :-
Ist. Collisions on doable lines of railway.
2d. Collisions between trains at junctions.
3d. Collisions on single lines between trains meeting in
opposite directions.
4th. Miscellaneous.

Inasmuch as several of these accidents are classified un-
der more than one head, it is desirable to analyse them as
follows :

ACCIDENTS APPERTAINING TO THE ROLLING STOCK AND

ROAD.
L—Accidents from Engines or Carriages leaving the Rails.
There are twenty-four cases of accidents to trains where
the engines or carriages broke down or left the rails.
These may be further divided into—
(l.) Accidents beyond the control of the management.
—Three accidents may be placed in this divisign, which
were occasioned solely by the neglect of the platelayers
who were employed in the repairs of the line.
In nine instances the accidents arose from the fracture
of machinery (viz., tyres of wheels, axles, or springs), in
consequence of the internal defects in the material, which
could not be detected by external scrutiny.
In one instance the cause of the accident could not be
ascertained ; some of its resulting consequences, however,
might have been lessened, had a communication existed
between the guard and the engine-driver.
(2). Accidents which might have been guarded against.
In five instances the accidents were caused by the bad con-
dition of the road ; but in one of these instances the worn
condition of parts of the carriage would appear to have had
some influence in causing the accident, and in another the
effect produced by the defective condition of the road ap-
pears to have been much increased by its mode of construc-
tion.

In one instance the accident appears to have arisen from
a considerable internal defect of the material, but which
might apparently have been traced on the surface by care-
ful examination.

In three instances the accidents would appear to have
arisen from the-construction of the engine and road, or
from the neglected condition of parts of the line. And in
two cases the peculiar construction of the engine, carriage,
and road, combined with the defective regulations of the
company, appeared to have caused the accidents.

It wo-uld'ilms appear, that of these 24 accidents, 13 or•
little more than half, may be classed as out of the control
of the management of the company, of which three were
due to neglect of inferior servants, and 9 to fracture of
machinery from internal defects; and the cause of one has
not been ascertained.

The remaining eleven accidents might have been pre-
vented by proper management.
2.—Accidents from Trains running through Facing
Points into Sidings.
Two accidents have occurred from facing points having
been'wrougly set, which have caused collisions by admitting
trains into sidings. The immediate cause of both acci-
dents was the negligence of inferior seavants ; but in one
case the use of facing points at the place was highly im-
proper, and in the other the regulations of the company
were not sufficient for ensuring safety.
3.—Accidents from Persons in Trains being struck against

Works adjacent to the Line.
There are four cases of accidents from passengers having
beau struck against bridges or works adjacent to the line;
of theca, two were due to the use of improperly con-
structed caniages ; one to the improper use of cattle truck■
for conveying passengers ; and one to the defective con-
struction of a tunnel.

4. Accidents from Boiler Explosions.
Three cases of boiler explosion have been reported upon.
In one, the accident was due to the negligence of an in-
ferior servant. In another case the boiler was much worn ;
and in the other case the arrangements of the company
would appear to have had a bearing upon the accident.
It would therefore appear that, of the thirty-three ac-
cidents considered as appertaining to the rolling stock and
road, only fourteen can be assumed to have been due to
causes over which the management of the company had
no control, whilst the remaining nineteen accidents are all
more or less traceable to want of care on the part of the
superior officers of the companies, and in some cases to
undue economy.

ACCIDENTS APPERTAINING TO THE MANAGEMENT OF
RAILWAYS.

I.—Collisions between trains on double lines of railway.
Thirty accidents are contained in this class, of which six
appear to have been occasioned by trains shunting at
sidings or at stations.
In only two cases were the trains which were run into
delayed by purely accidental causes, and in one of these
cases the accident was partly due to the negligence of the
guard, and partly to unpunctuality caused by an improper
system of working. In the other case, which was the one
on the Great Southern and Western Railway at Straffan,
a want of break power, an inadequate supply of signals, in-
efficient regulations, and a defective system for securing a
proper interval between trains, were combined with
negligence in the inferior servants, to produce the
accident. _ _ _ .
_ .

In one case the accident was partly due to unpunctuality,
over which the management of the company had no control,
but it was also occasioned by the system of working the
line not being sufficient for securing a proper interval be-
tween trains.

Of the remaining 27 cases, the negligence of the inferior
servants of the company appears to have partially con-
tributed to cause 17 accidents, but the other causes which
combined with this negligence wero as follows, viz.:—
Sixteen of the accidents were attributable to insufficient
or inadequately enforced regulations. In six cases the sys-
tem for securing proper intervals between trains is stated
to have been defective ; in seven cases the accidents were
attributable to unpunctuality caused by an inefficient sys-
tem ; in one case, deficiency of engine power and of
breaks ; in five other cases, the insufficiency of signals ; in
another, the want of timepieces; and in another, the want
of communication between the guard and engine-driver,
contributed to cause the accidents

Of the remaining ten cases, three wore due to the in-
sufficiency of the regulations of the company, combined in
one case with want of timepie,:es among the company's
servants, in another with the want of adequate signals,
and in the third case both signals and timepieces were
deficient. In six instances the accidents were due to the
want of a proper system for securing intervals between
trains. In five of these the accidents were also attribut-
able to the insufficiency of the regulations; and in three
the accidents were partly attributable to unpunctuality,
not beyond the control of the management. In two in-
stances the want of timepieces, and in another the want of
adequate signals contributed to cause the accidents. One
accident was due to unpunctuality, caused by a defective
system of working, combined with the inadequacy of the
signals. _ _

It wt4uld thus appear that twenty seven accidents out of
these thirty might have been prevented by the exercise of
a proper degree of care on the part of the managers of the
companies ; and in the other three cases the serious conse-
quences of the accidents would probably have been
averted, had the companies' regulations and systems of
working been well framed, and had the proper discipline
been maintained.
2.—Collisions between Trains at Junctions.

Under this head two accidents have been reported upon
during the year.
In both cases the signals were insufficient; but in one case
the danger from this cause was aggravated by the driver
and filewan of one of the trains being unacquainted with
the road, the servants on the line not being supplied with
time-piecr s, the breaks on the trains being insufficient, and
the regulations for working the line defective.

3.—Coliisions from Trains meetin,, on a Single Line.
There are eight cases of accidents ertun trains meeting on
a single line.
In two instances the accidents occurred near the junction
of a single with a double line, and were duo partly to the
want of break power in one of the trains, but chiefly to in.
sufficient regulations. In ono of these cays the want of
adequate signals, and in the other the negligence of an in-
ferior servant was combined with the other causes.
The remaining six accidents were attributable to insuffi-
cient regulations for ensuring safety, combined in one
in-
stance with the negligence of an inferior servant; in another
with thethe
with want of break power ; and in a third, which w
most formidable (viz., the accident near Oxford,
Buckinghamshire Raiway), the insufficiency of thebetween regnla-
m
tions was combined with a want of comunication
the guards and engine drivers.
4.—MiscellaneOus.

under this head may be mentioned three accidents—of
which, one occurred in consequence of the direct neglect,
or rattier violation of the ordinary rules, under Avhicli the
line was was worked, by the superior officers of the com-
luny ; and another was the result of insufficient regula-
tions combined with a want of break power, and a defec-
tive construction of gates at a level crossing.
The third accident occurred in consequence of some pas-
sengers having got out of a train on the wrong side, and
having beon run over. This eves due to the neglect of the
regulations for locking the doors of the carriages on the
off side, occasioned by the want of the proper platforms at
many stations.