The Sun.
London, England, 1853-01-07 00:00:00

' subject to punishment as for a heavy offence if he started
without authority. The guards were ordered always to
blow their whistles when they started trains. Extra pre-
cautionary measures had been taken for working the
trains from Islip to Oxford since there had been only
one line, for no train was allowed to start
.from Oxford
till a telegraph was sent to Islip to ascertain if the line
was clear, and the answer received stating;. that it was
clear. The trains then left Oxford, and was tele-
graphed to Islip that they had left. No train coming to
Oxford is allowed to leave Islip till the train coming
from Oxford had arrived. The same steps were taken
at Islip before trains were allowed to come from that
station to Oxford.
David
Railway,Bo ham
pstoaliteeedmtahnatonit the
was London
his
duty ntdo
attend North-
westernto the signals and points at the Oxford station, at the
bridge. On Monday last lie was on duty alone. lie
had charge of the bridge and two signals—the
one on
the bridge and the auxiliary signal up the line. To
work that he had only to go a yard or two from the
bridge. He had the care of 14 points The nearest
was about five yards from the bridge. His duty was to
keep up the red danger signal at the bridge till the
train started from the station, and when the driver
whistled he put it down, after looking to see if the line
was clear. The danger signal remained down while the
train was passing, after which it was put up again. He
had no points to attend to on the departure of a train
from the station. Every train coming in is required
to stop at the platform station, coal trains and ballast
trains included. On Monday evening a ballast train
came down at about 25 minutes past 5, and was turned
into the engine shed. He did not alter the bridge signal
for that ballast 'train. The coal train due at 20
minutes past five had not then arrived. The coal train
had to stop at the ticket platform in order to be wheeled
round into the siding. He was at his post when
the 5.30 train started from the station. He saw it
start, and it came on very fast. The steam was being
blown off, so that he could hardly see the station. He
heard the whistle once when it started, and again when
it got past the next policeman, and then he changed the
signal. It passed the bridge, going faster than ever he
saw a train come out of the station before. He had been
on the line upwards of two years. When he changed
the signal, as far as he could see the line was clear. He
did not see any confusion at the station for some time
after the train passed on account of the steam. After
that he saw lights moving about, but he did not hear
any one calling out till Hayes, the ticket collector, came
up to him and said the down coal train had left Oxford-
road. He had not seen Hayes for some little time
before. A porter, named Webb, told him at twenty
minutes past five that it had been telegraphed from Islip
that the coal train was to leave there at five o'clock. It
was merely a passing observation. He was not sent
with any message. He did not say the coal train had
started, nor hal witness heard it said. Several other
persons came to the bridge after Hayes. They went up
the line as far as the engine-shed. Hayes then said the
coal train had left Oxford-road some time. Witness did
not hear the collision. He did not go on, but remained
at his post. The coal train did not come in before the
5.80 train started on the 24th, the 28th, and 29th of
last month. If he had been told that the coal train had
started from Islip he should have kept up the danger-
signal, which in that case ought to have stopped the
passenger train. The driver of the 5.30 train might, in
his opinion, have supposed that the ballast train was the
coal train. The coal train sometimes stopped at the
ticket platform to let the 5.30 train go by, and the
ballast train might have been mistaken for it. The
ballast train on Monday had no light on the tender
which could be seen from the station. The coal train, if
it had come in, ought to have had green lights. The
driver might not have known but that the coal train
was in the siding. The Fairy engine, which had been
attached to the ballast train, stood at the points. There
was a light on the chimney of the ballast engine, but
there could not have been one on the chimney of the
coal train.

At 2 o'clock the court was adjourned till 4, when the
inquiry was resumed.
Henry Collingridge, policeman at the Islip station,
stated that he attended to the telegraph there. Since
the traffic had been on one line of rails, he had special
instructions that no train should leave the station till he
knew that the line was clear to Oxford, which was ascer-
tained by telegraph. Recollected the coal train from
Bletchley coming to Islip about five on Monday last. It
was stopped there. He telegraphed to Oxford before it
arrived that it was in sight, and received a message from
Oxford to send it on directly. It stopped about five
minutes. As soon as it left he sent word to Oxford.
This would be known at Oxford-road station. The ordi-
nary time it should have taken to get to Oxford would
have been 18 or 20 minutes. The answer to the second
message to Oxford was " Good." By this he knew they
had received his intimation. He had, once or twice, in
the last month, delayed the coal train at Islip to let the
5.30 train pass. He had no intimation from Oxford on
Monday night that the 5.30 train had started. He had
never known it start any other evening without his hav-
ing such intimation. The starting of every train fFom
Oxford was telegraphed to Islip, except this one, since
there had been only a single line of rails. There was no
defect in the telegraph that evening up to that time. It
was telegraphed from Oxford after the answer of "good,"
to inquire if the "line would be clear for the up-train
after the coal train had passed," and he answered " Yes."
Mr. Alfred Blott, the station-master at Oxford, stated
that he was at the station on Monday afternoon from
about three o'clock till thirty-seven minutes past five,
the time when he went up the line. There was a coal-
train due at Oxford at 5.20 every afternoon, except Sun-
days. It had never been exactly punctual, because it ar-
rived at intervals from 5.20 and 5.30. A passenger train
should leave at 5.30. From the 16th of December the

traffic between Oxford and Islip had been only on one
line of rails. Precautionary measures had been taken
that every train starting from Oxford should be tele-
graphed to Islip, or vice versa. The coal train due at
5.20 on Monday had not arrived at 5.30. The 5.30
train was prepared for starting. He did not notice the
driver. It was the duty of the foreman of engines
(Smith) to notice him. He did not know that Smith was
absent from the station that afternoon. He did not ask
the driver Tarry as to his character—it was not his duty
to overlook the drivers. He saw the guard Kinch about
twenty-seven minutes past five on the platform. He went
to him to tell him the coal train had left Islip, and that
his train must not start until the other had arrived. He
was aware that the coal train had started shortly after five.
He was satisfied that Kinch understood him. He thought
he would not tell Kinch that the coal train had left Islip
till a few minutes before the time of starting, in order

that there might be no mistake about it. He went
back into his office to attend to some business, which ,it
was important he should finish at a particular time ; it
fact, some returns which were to be in London next
morning. He had no way-bill or report to make up.
There were only two letters given to Kinch. They
were not way-bills, or anything connected with the
train. There are not way-bills for every train. The
guard does not take any minute of the number of pas-
sengers. He does of parcels when there are any. If
there were any parcels, the bill would be given to him
by the parcel porter. It might be six minutes before
the train started, as there was no particular time for
giving them to the guard. He did not go out to the
guard again before he started. He gave directions to
Kinch not to start, nor did he see him again before the
train started, knowing he was the only person who could
give the signal for starting. It was his duty to do so.
Witness first heard of the train starting about two
minutes after it started from Sergeant Gwynn, who
came to the office and told him. Gwynn said, to the
best of his recollection, "Did you order the train to
start ?" He did not hear Gwynn ask anything about
the coal train. Gwynn might have said so, for the mo-
mefit he heard of the train starting he ran out. He
found the coal train had not arrived and ran and endea-
voured all in his power to stop the passenger train by
running with the pohcemen, Hayes and others, after the
train ; but it went off at an unusual speed. He called to
the men to show their red lights. The train could not be
stopped. Ho followed it. He did not hear the collision.
Several persons were at the spot before he arrived. He
first knew of tko accident when he arrived at the spot.
He found the 5.30 train and the coal train had met, as
he feared they would. The engines were raised up one
over another. Two passenger carriages were completely
smashed, but the first-class carriage was scarcely dam-
aged at all. He did not see any of the dead bodies.
He saw several persons assisting, but a down train being
due at about six o'clock at Oxford, lie thought it his duty
to go on to Oxford-road station to stop it. He did stop
it at Oxford-road station. It was a passenger train. In
order that the passengers might not be delayed, he sent
omnibuses to take them into Oxford. He remained at

the Oxford-road station to stop any other trains coming
down. If the coal train had come in, it was the duty of
the guard to come in to him, mid inquire if he should start
the train. Hayes might have started the train without
communicating with witness. No one else. Hayes had
to go to the ticket platform to see the coal train in and
all clear, then he had instructed him to start the passen-
ger train. Sergeant Gwynn could start it without wit-
ness being on the platform, but not without communicat-
ing with him. He knew of no one to look to the condi-
tion of the drivers in the absence of Smith. Smith might
have gone away without giving witness notice. Smith
was in a different department, the locomotive. If he
had seen a defective engine, or a driver not fit to act,
he should have interfered and stopped the train • but it
was not his duty to inspect them. He never 'knew a
train to start without his knowledge since he had been
at that station. If any train had started, the guard
was to blame in doing so without orders, either from
himself or a person appointed by him. There was no
signal between Oxford and the place of the accident to
show the driver whether he ought to stop. He supposed
that, as usual, Hayes had left the platform to see if the
coal train had come in. It would have been the duty of
the guard, even if he saw the coal train come in, to ask
either Hayes or himself whether the train was to start.
He would swear he did not say to Kincb, "You
mast not go on yet ; but as soon as the coal-train
may go on." After the collision had
;sighted
'8 you
he said to Kinch, "How came the
taken place,
train to start 2,, That was after he got up to
tho place of the collision. His answer was, " I
do not know.
Witness could not say whether Kinch
said anything, he was in such an excited state himself,
and Kinch was in such a state as not to be capable of
answering.
He was of opinion that Kinch did not know
what he was saying. Kinch was standing up, but in
a trembling state,
and appeared to have been hurt.
Kinch did not use the wordß, " I saw the train come
in," and then said, "Jack,
sbe's in ; it's all right ; go
I
He would swear Kinch did not say any words to
on.H
that effect in his hearing. He sent a policeman, named
Elliott, to Oxford-road.
came up there in a carriageKn
to
not be better to go toi meet theweetasthere. Kinch
train to Bletch-
ley. He asked Kinch if it would
Oxford for advice ; but he.sao.ichl
ohme
et.houignhtthheecroeulednebeeaorf
to go o and
Elliott, n,
witnesPorscaifed", e'd‘ Kgln2lllc7.l, did you not hears me say
1