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

doClDhlir±'S ON

Report 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
1853, I have 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 killed,
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
officers, or by the correspondence which has taken place
upon them.
These accidents may be generally classed as
I. Accidents appertaining to the rolling stock and road.
11. 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 throiigh facing points
into sidings.
3d. Accidents from persons in trains being struck against
works adjacent to the line.
4th. Boiler explosions.
Under the head of accidents appertaining to the manage.
ment are classed :-
Ist. Collisions on double 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 MR ROLLING STOCK AND

ROAD.
I.—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 division, 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 ba
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 would thus 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 wrongly set, which have caused collisions by admitting
trains into sidings. The immediate cause of both acci-
dents was the negligence of inferior servants; 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
been struck against bridges or works adjacent to the line ;
of these, two were due to the use of improperly con-
structed carriages ; one to the improper use of cattle trucks
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 were 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, throe were due to the in-
sufficiency of the regulations of the company, combined in
one case with want of timepieces 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 duo 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 duo to unpunctuality, caused by a defective
system of working, combined with the inadequacy of the
signals. _ _

It would 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 fireman of one of the trains being unacquainted Nvith
the road, the servants on the line not being supplied with
time-pieces, the breaks on the trains being insufficient, and
the regulations for working the lino defective.
- -

3.—Collisions from Trains meeting
on a Single Line.
There are eight cases of accidents from trains meeting on
a single line.
In two instances the accidents occurred near the junction
of a single with a double line, and were due partly to the
want of break power in one of the trains, but chiefly to in-
sufficient regulations. In one of these cases the want of
adequate signals, and in the other the negligence of an in-
ferior servant was combined with the other caws.
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 want of break power ; and in a third, which was the
most formidable (viz., the accident near
Oxford,the
Buckinghamshire Railway), the insufficiency
o_ on y
of the regula-
tions was combined with a want of communication between
the guards and engine drivers.
4.—Miscollan
Under this head may be
mentionednne of
tthreehe directacci accidents—of
which, one occurred in consequence
or rather violation of the ordinary 1 ennetgsl; cot!
line was was worked, by the ru oBS, under which the
; and another was superior officers of the com-
pany combined with the result of insufficient regula-
tions
construction of gates
a want of break power, and a defec-
tive The third accident ate level crossing.
having gotoccurred in consequence of some pas-
sengershaving been run o out of a train on the wrong side, and
regulations for v.
This was due to the neglect of the
off side locking the doors of the carriages on the
,occasioned by the want of the '
many stations,

REVIEW OF THE CAUSES OF THE ACCIDENTS.
Hence it appears that almost all these accidents arose
from a combination of several of the causes above enume-
rated. In only 5 of the 76 cases of accidents to trains
which have boon mentioned abo.fe, did purely accidental
circumstances alone cause the accidents ; and in only
eleven other cases were purely accidental circumstances
combined with other causes, to create the accidents.
In only 28 cases was the direct negligence of infeii9r
servants a contributing; cause of the accidents ; but in
some of these cases tb.e negligence can be traced either to
the men having been -overworked, or to defects in the state
of discipline.
The other causes which contributed to the accidents
were ,‘.ithin the vontrol of the managers of the lines, and
appear to have been as follows :

I.—Canes Referable to undue ZorAnonay.
Tinder thin 119 ad tko ingutecient wupply or mop for occur-

~ ~"~;

-4.air--"f • ' '
ing safety* such as insufficient engine power, breaita, 5 L ,
timepieceS, Szc., and the absence of a communication be
tween the guards and engine-drivers, and would appear to
have contributed to cause the accidents in thirty-eight in-
stances; and the neglected condition or the defective con- •
struction of the rolling stock and the road appear to have
contributed to cause the accidents in forty-three instances.
2.—Cases referable to an Inefficient System and a Defec•
tive State of Discipline.
The unpunctuallity of trains appears to have contributed
to cause accidents in fourteen instances.
Insufficient or inadequately enforced regulations con-
tributed in forty-two instances to cause the accidents.
And a defective system for securing proper intervals be-
tween trains would appear from these reports to have con-
tributed to cause accidents in fifteen instances.
It is desirable to point out the principal causes of acci,
dents under these two heads.
(1.) Cases referable to undue Economy.—Under this
head may be classed a reduction of the number of servants
below what was required for the efficient working of the
line, the postponement of the requisite repairs, alterations
or additions to works, &c., and the overworking of the
carrying stock.

-When the servants have been reduced in number below
what the efficient working of the line has required, the re-
maining servants have been overworked. This practice
involves considerable danger, because the safe worldrtg of a
railway depends upon the servants being always on the a 1 ert .
The signalmen and pointsmen must always be on the look-
out for trains, and attend carefully to their signals and
points ; whilst the guards, engine•drivers, and firemen
should, whilst on the road, have their attention continually
directed to the safety of the train ; and it is utterly impos-
sible for men, however strong they may be, to keep a
proper look-out if their energies are paralysed by fatigue.
Yet, amongst the accidents which occurred last year, it
will be found that in one case men who came on dutY at
six a.m., were sent out with a train after having worked
to between ten and eleven p.m. ; and, in another, men
who were sent out with a train in the middle of one day
were continually on duty till the evening of the next day.
The reduction in the number of servants has also con-
tributed to accidents, by causing engine-drivers and fire-
men, unacquainted with the road, to be sent with trains.
To this cause was partly attributable a collision which
occurred at the Euxton junction on the North Union
Railway.
Several of the accidents occurred from the permanent.
way on some lines having been allowed to become very
much deteriorated. But the accidents which occurred
directly from this cause were not the whole amount of in-
jury which resulted to the companies and the public from
this deteriorated condition of road. For a bad road re-
acts upon the carrying stock ; and it is probable that many
eases of broken tyres axles, which were considered as
Purely accidental, were due to the blows to which the
wheels had been subjected in passing over bad joints.
sulllother cases the accidents were attributable to the in-
ofthesiding accommodation, the inadequacy of
thefisiencgnaYls at newly constructed sidings, and to the ser-
ecants of the company not having been supplied with a
'evens of measuring time. As regards this latter point, it
is to be observed that on lines of railway of large traffic
whe,o the trains are worked to carefully regulated time-
tables,. safety and Punctuality must be to a great extent
dependent upon a correct knowledge of time being possessed
at all times by the company's servants.
In other accidents to which unpunctuality has been a
contributing cause, this unpunctuality can be traced to
undue economy. In some oases the supply of engines has,
been and the trains have been worked upon a
system which entailed that the unpunctuality of a train in
one direction affected that of the corresponding train in the
opposite direct; on.
In other cases heavy trains have been forwarded with an
insufficient supply of guards and of breaks, &c.
It has been the practice on some lines to effect a saving
in the working expenses, by contracting with engines
drivers for working the trains, and in others by giving to
engine-drivers a direct premium for reducing the consump-
tion of coke below an average amount. These practices,
unless!guarded by very carefully framed provisions, contain
important elements of danger.
(2.) Cases referable to an Inefficient System and De-
fective Discipline.—On some lines of railway in an efficient
state of repair, accidents have occurred which were due
either to the defective system under which the lines were
worked, or to the rules not having been strictly enforced.
in some of the cases of accidents, it would appear that
the regulations have been such that the inferior servants
of the company have great difficulty in complying with
them, under even the ordinary exigencies of the traffic ;
and other accidents have arisen from a violation of rules,
which would appear to have been permitted on previous
occasions without rebuke from the superior officers.
In many cases the rules have been inoperative from the
responsibility of carry them into effect not being clearly
fixed upon particular individuals.
In other oases it will be found that accidents have oc-
curred owing to the system of issuing regulations having
been loose and negligent.
Of the accidents which have been classed as due to the
management of railways, a very large proportion have
occurred to trains following each other upon the same line
of rails.

If the trains had been always punctual, and if no train
had been allowed to start without the driver having been
furnished with carefully-framed time-tables, to be rigidly
adhered to, these accidents would probably not have oc-
curred. Under such circumstances the use of signals
would be of less importance, and they would occupy
the position of being auxiliaries to safety ; but the re-
ports on accidents will show that on some railways
mineral trains, and even occasional goods trains, have
Leen allowed to ran without the engine-driver having been
furnished with any instructions as to the time at which
le) was to pass or stop at the several stations, and on other
r silways where carefully-framed time-tables have been
pablished regularly for the mineral and other trains,
these time-tables have been allowed to be practically
disregarded. In many cases the punctuality of trains has
been much interfered with by the unpunctuality of other
trains in connection with them, and trains timed to follow,
or to be passed at stations by, other trains, have been fre-
quently detained by the unpunctualityof those latter trains.
This latter cause of unpunctuality has arisen on lines where
the traffic is conveyed in trains at different sates of speed,
but its effects might in some cases have been remedied to a
considerable extent, had a very much more extended use
been made of the electric telegraph in conducting and or-
ganising the traffic. It will be found, therefore, that in
the ordinary condition of railways at the present time,
punctuality is not sufficiently attended to, and that iu
order to secure a sufficient interval between trains, lines
are practically worked to a very great extent by signals.
Several of the cases of accidents will show that to insure
the due exhibition of signals, it is the custom to organise as
many checks as possible upon the progress of trains ; and
for this purpose a system is in use on many lines of railway
by which guards of trains as well as station masters keep
a record of the time at which every train passes every sta-
tion. This record also shows whether the time of running
a train has been properly apportioned over the different
parts of the line.
It will, however, be found that in nearly one-half of the
cases of collisions between trains following each otheron the
same line of rails, the lines do not appear to have been
worked under a proper system for insuring a sufficient in-
terval between trains ; and an examination of the cases of
this class of accidents will show that the method which has
been adopted on almost all lines of exhibiting at stations a
signal for a specified time after the passage of a train has
been in some cases insufficient for the purposes of safety.
This subject is a most important one as regards the traffic
upon lines of railway where the trains are numerous, and
travel at different rates of speed.
On some lines of railway immunity from this class of ac-
cident has been secured by the use of the electric telegraph.
According to this system, the line is divided into portions,
the length being determined according to the amount of
traffic and the frequency of trains ; a signalman is placed
at the extremity of each portion, with a simple description
of telegraphic instrument, and no train is allowed to enter
any of these portions until the preceding train has passed
off that portion. A special telegraphic wire must be ap-
pointed to this service.* This system is in use on almost
all railways for working the traffic through tunnels.
Accidents from collision between trains following each
other on the same line of rails have been attended in some
cases with very serious results, in consequence of the com-
panies not having enforced the plan of placing a break van
in the rear of the train. This was particularly exemplified
in the accident at Straffan, on the Great Southern and
Western Railway, in Ireland.
The accidents on single lines appear to have been nume-
rous during the past year, and to have been due toinsuffi-
cient regulations. A single line to be worked safely requires
bestthat a
to be worked under very special regulations, and those regu-
lations are such as to be incompatible with running a large
tiatphteerd one for
engineensur-
shouldnumber of trains. Of the systems in use for working single
lines, those which world toapperare
be
ingai
drawsolut every
e safety
from
collisions
train moving on the single line, or por-
tion of a single line, or that one particular man should ac-
company
every engine or train moving over it.
but the safety of this system depends on
the
ep
Several single lines of railway have been worked by the
as to the starting of trains being very
clearly defined; and one of the causes of the accident which
electricrs t, eo
n 1
seigbriary,
occurred on the Buckinghamshire Railway at Oxford was
the want of a clear responsibility as to the use of the elec-
tric
telegraph having been fixed on individuals.
A careful consideration of the several accidents will show
many cases the responsibility has Lot been
1 that many have arisen from the want of individual respon-
sibility.
clearly defined
been practically enforced ; and hence, in many accidents,
evidently due to positive errors, the blame cannot be fixed
upon individuals.
In the case of two accidents which occurred last year,
attended with fatal results, the coroners' juries returned
verdicts of manslaughter against the superior officers of
the companies ; but in neither of the cases were these ver-
dicts sustained in the courts of law.
I have the honour to be, my lords, your lordships' most
obedient servant,
DOUGLAS °ALTON, Capt. Royal Engineers.
The Lords of the Committee of
Privy Council fur Trade.

* This method of working has been adopted on the South.
Eastern Railway under the direction of Captain Barlow, tho
superintendent of the line.

GREAT NUGGET VEIN COMPANY.—At a meeting of
the Great Nugget Vein Company, held at Sydney on
the 16th of January, the report stated that the erection
of the heavy machinery for the working of their pro-
perty by the Colonial Gold Company had just been corn'
pleted, ;and that in a few weeks the whole would be in
operation, when the question would be decided, not
only " whether the claims of the company are worth/
of their repute, but whether the country offers induce-
ment to enter upon extensive gold-mining operations,.
or a field for the desultory labours of individuals only.'
The Government had conceded a lease of the property
for 21 years, and the results of twelve months experi•
merits on various portions of the ground were as fol-
lows :—namely, from 1,184 tons of alluvial soil 686
ounces of gold, and from 86 tons of crushed quartz 92
ounces. The company being relieved by their agree-
ment with the Colonial Gold Com
ap
Company from
was
romthelyinext-
pense of working the mines, their
idle, and it was proposed to invest it in advances on
railway stock, guaranteed by the local Government, or
to the extent of 50 per cent. on the shares of the coin•
pang, either in the colony or in England, redeemable on
three months' notice if required for mining purposes at
a future period. The balance remaining was 119,8171.,
and out of this, in consideration of "the profit upon
the sale of shares in England," a dividend was declared
of 5 per cent.
SHIPMENTS OP SPECIE.—The shipments of specie by
the Peninsular and Oriental steamer Colombo amount
to 134,7141., of which 35.800/, is gold for Alexandria,
Ceylon, Singapore, and Hongkong, and 98,400/. silver
for Bombay, Calcutta, Singapore, Hongkong, Canton,
sad Shanghai.

PER