The Sun.
London, England, 1853-03-09 00:00:00

TEE FATAL RAIL I AY ACCIDENT NEAR
BOLTON.

The following are the further proceedings which oc-
curred. It will be seen that the inquiry is adjourned,
the jury desiring some scientific opinion :
Joshua Worrall, banksman to Mr. Fletcher of Pen-
dleton, deposed : I went to the place by instruction, as
fast as possible, and got there about five minutes past
six. I found some carriages upset and broken, and I
assisted to get the people out of the carriages. I found
Croston, the engineer, upon the line. He was dead.
He was part inside and part outside on the main line.
The cokeman we found beneath a carriage which was
standing upon its wheels. He was quite dead.
Mr. Hugh Sandeman, of Portland-street, Manchester,
sworn : I identified the child as belonging to Mr. G.
Freeland. Barbour, of the Grange House, Edinburgh.
llt was aged 4i years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Barbour were
in the train, with two other children and two nurses ac-
companying them ; another child was seriously injured,
and is now dead. They were coming to Manchester from
Edinburgh. Had exceeding doubts of the correctness of
the ideas of those who had spoken of the speed of the
train ; should the inquiry be adjourned, they would hear
evidence of passengers to show the train was going at a
much higher speed than named. It was excessively high.
The Foreman said it would be exceedingly desirable-
to have that information.
Mr. Sandeman said it should be given, if possible.

James Wolsteneroft, of Clifton:. collier, assisted in
pulling Simmonds from beneath the train.
Mr. H. Blackmore, superintendent of the line, said—

. .
It is nearly five miles from Bolton to the place, and
about two-and-a-half miles from Halshaw Moor. They
regulate their speed according to the time in the books,
and the limit for express engines is about thirty miles an
hour. All they have to do is to account for the time
lost, not to make it up. Messrs. Brassey and Co. are
contractors for the repairs of the line, and Mr. Izat,
under the resident engineer, Mr. Watts, is superintend-
ent of the line. •

In answer to the Foreman, Captain Laws said—lt
was the duty of Mr. Izat to go over the lino personally
every day, and he. had several divisional superintendents
under him. The gradients are lin 200 from Halshaw
Moor to a little beyond where the accident happened.
There is no curve there of less radius than 1f mile, and
there is no necessity for slackening speed. It is a flat
curve.

Roger Barrington, station-master at Dixonfold, said

-It was within two or three minutes of six o'clock
when the train passed my station. It was not going at
more than the usual pace for an express train, and it
appeared to be all right. A boy upon the bridge gave
me information that the train was off the line, and I

then put on my signal and ran down the line. When
half way down I met the guard, and I went back to atop
the other trains. I had not observed any defect in any
part of the line ; but it is not my duty to examine the
line.

Mr. Wm. Hurst, locomotive superintendent of the
Lancashire and Yorkshire Company, deposed : I know
the engine No. 13. Croston was the driver of it. About
three weeks ago it was under repair. It had a general
overhaul, and was put in good order. It was put on the
line new in September, 1847. It might have been a
fortnight or three weeks under repair, and after being
finished three weeks has been working ever since up to
the time of the accident. It had had considerable
repairs before, probably once every six months, but not
oftener than usual. They are examined before they go
out every day. It was a four-wheel-engine, and it is a
matter of opinion as to whether such an engine is as good
as a six-wheel. I think they are, all things considered.
I have seen the engine since the accident, but it does not
appear to be much injured. I believe the axle was
broken before the train got off the line, from the evi-
dence on the sleepers. It is the left axle, and the iron
is broken within the axle-box. There are marks of a
wheel upon the sleepers of the inside rail for several
yards before there are any on the outside rail, so that
it would appear that the inside axle broke, and was kept
with the box in which it works for the distance it ran.

A juror said they were fully an inch out of gauge that
Friday night after the occident.
Mr. Hurst considered that the breaking of the axle
might have been caused by a collision or a serious oscil-
lation, but by which he could not say. The oscillation
he had spoken off would not be produced upon a curve ;
it might upon a straight line. The engine weighed 14
tons, and he had never had any complaints of her. She
had had new tubes and tires, and her general overhaul
was once every six months.
Mr. Blackmore recalled—Fixed about two minutes
and a half as the time that would elapse in pulling up at
Halshaw Moor, stopping the the time described, and
getting into full speed again.
Mr. Sandeman withdrew his notice of intention to
bring forward witnesses to prove the speed. It would
only be the assertion of one gentleman against that of
another.
The jury then proceeded to discuss whether they
should proceed further that night, or not.
The Foreman thought it would be desirable to have
some one to speak to the general character, and not to
confine themselves to the mere breaking of the axle.
Mr. Lewis tendered Mr. Izat, the superintendent of
the line, and Mr. Watts, the resident engineer.
The Foreman—they had better have some one uncon-
nected with the company.
A long discussion took place with closed doors, and
when the public were admitted again, the Coroner said
the jury had formed an opinion that the train was run-
ning at an excessive speed, and that the line was not in
good order, and therefore they desired that the Govern-
ment inspector and Mr. Nasmyth and Mr. Fairbairn
should inspect, or some other competent person, and say
whether the engine and carriages were in such a state
as to justify such a rate of speed.
The inquest was then adjourned to Friday.

FATAL ACCIDENT ON THE MERSET.-011 Monday
morning, about ten o'clock, five men were sitting on the
edge of the landing stage at Seacombe, on the Birken-
head side of the river, leaning against the chain, when
one of the ferry steamers came up, bumped against the
stage, and one of the iron rods supporting the pro-
tecting chain snapped, and the men fell into the river.
Four of them were rescued, but the fifth, named Hughes,
was drowned. His body was shortly afterwards re-
covered.