The Sun.
London, England, 1853-05-19 00:00:00

1853

:£10,505 19 6

Corresponding week last year 9,451 2 9
Total of the half-year to this date, 1853 183,757 18 2
Total of the half-year to this date, 1852 170,293 7 11

THE GREAT NORTHERN RAlLWAY.—Traffic return foi
the week ending May 8, 1853 (283 miles) £15,742 8 4
Corresponding week last year (2231 miles) 11,663 12 11

LANCASHIRE AND YORKSHIRE RAlLWAY.—Traffic re-
turn for the week ending May 15, 1853.....,£18,895 18 9
Corresponding week last year 16,190 4 11
CHESTER AND HOLYHEAD RAlLWAY.—Traffic return for
the week ending May 15, 1853 £4,491 7 4
Corresponding week last year 2,958 0 1

Increase in 1853

21,533 7 3

GLASGOW AND SOUTH-WESTERN RAlLWAY.—Traffie re-
'uurn for the week ending May 14, 1853 £4,622 10 0
Correspon.ding week last year 4,144 19 4

Increase in 1853 . £477 10 8
CORK AND BANDON RAlLWAY.—Traffic return for the
week ending May 14, 1853 £lB2 9 8
Corresponding week last year l3B 17 11

VERDICT OF MANSLA&GHTER AGAINST THE
DIRECTORS OF THE YORK AND NORTH
MIDLAND RAILWAY.

HAMBLETON, MAY 17. —On the 6th inst. an inquiry
was commenced by Mr. Pearson, coroner of Selby, at
Hambleton, near that town, into the circumstances at-
tending the deaths of' John Thompson, an engine driver
in the service of the York and North Midland Railway
Company, and Joseph Sykes, a stoker, which occurred
between eleven and twelve o'clock on the night previous
from the engine that Thompson was driving having run
off the line. At that investigation no certain opinion
could be arrived at as to the cause of the accident, soon
after which it was reported to the Board of Trade, who
sent down to the scene of the accident Captain Galton,
C.E., their inspector. That gentleman arrived at Ham-
bleton on the 7th, and inspected the line, and made all
proper inquiries. The inquest was resumed on the after-
noon of the above day (Tuesday), before Mr. Pearson,
Captain Galton being present, and taking part in the
proceedings.
Mr. Cabry, the engineer to the company was
the first witness examined. . He deposed that sub-
sequent to the accident he proceeded to the
place where it had occurred, and made an examina-
tion of the line, to ascertain if possible, what
had been the cause of the accident. He found that
for a distance of about 100 yards on the down rails,
upon which the train was travelling, they were bent in
several places, as if they had been struck first on one
side and then on the other by the engine, from its vio-
lent oscillating motion, and that then the engine passed
on to the up rails in an oblique direction, for about
sixty-five yards, and was then thrown into the adjoining
field. He had come to the conclusion that the accident
had occurred from excess of speed. A number of ques-
tions were put to the witness as to his opinion of the
condition of the engine and the state of the railway at
the time of the accident, and he stated that, according
to his judgment, both were in proper working order.
Mr. James Fenton, !of Low Moor, who has superin-
tended large engineering establishments, was the next
witness. His evidence went to show that that forenoon
and on the previous day he had tested the capacity of
the railway with a view to arrive at a right conclusion.
He had also caused the engine which ran off the rails to
be weighed. Its weight, without 'coke or water, was
nearly twenty tons. One of the rails that he examined
had a lateral bending of an inch and a half, and from
the experiments he had made it would require a force,
or weight, of forty-one tons to produce that effect. He
had no hesitation in saying that to cause such a lateral
bending of the rail the engine must have been running
at the rate of at leasefifty miles an hour. He considered
the engine a proper and safe one to run at thirty miles
an hour, but it was not safe to travel at a speed of forty-
five or fifty. This was not the first time he had known
a similar class of engine run off a straight line of road (as
this is), the road being in perfect 'order. He observed
some of the heads of the spikes standing above the base
of the chairs, but that would not affect the lateral stabi-
lity of the line.
Several servants of the company gave evidence, and
their testimony went to prove that in their opinion the
accident was owing to excessive speed.
Mr. J. Heppenstall, the inspector of the railway on
the Leeds and Selby old line, deposed that he had four-
teen men under him, who were employed to repair the
line between the old Milford junction and Selby. He
had power and materials to mend the line on his
any
account, without application to any one else. _ Itof
the
rails or sleepers were required, he had to send
engineer's office at York, and they were suElliedtoh
him.
Ile could not, however, take upon himself the relaying
of the railway to any considerable extent.-
Captain Galton was the last witnens BoardsHe deposed
that the accident was reported to th
and he received instructions to inquire into it, and dT rad e '
after-
wards to attend the inquest. He
first on Saturday week. The engineexhame examined tihneedraninlwtahye
Tuesday following, and last Fridy
he
again, With respect to the engine,
heefxoaumnidnethdetwhehelienles
rather woo, but A Appear ed per"e the accident to
Kaye

.4
• 1

been in fair working order, as far as he could judge. .41
thought the distribution of weight in this engine ivo
have a tendency to cause unsteadiness at high spa c;
and that unsteadiness would be increased on a road vihi
was not firm. With regard to the road, he found
Jd
rails were a 'good deal worn in places and laminat
The keys which fixed the rails to the chairs appeared° 1,1
The sleepers were certainly dedayed at the surface, je,
should say generally-- and many, he thought, re 0(
cayed much deeper. He observed many instances
the spikes which fix the chairs to the sleepers be' -r!
loose, and when a length of rail was taken up, be P,eli
ceived the beds of the wood on which the chairs reso:.
were also decayed. The ballast was, at the top, WI! ,
limestone ; but below he found quantity of el
a cl a
mixed with it. On taking out the sleepers, ° le
seemed to retain the water under the sleeper in o
obsel:ve
or two cases which he examined.
several instances of engines passing over the
dlith
These caused the rails to work in the chairs, sa
chairs to work on the sleepers, and the sleepers also
peared to work in the ballast a little. If sleepers
oval,
packed equally on both sides, it would give an uwee
Latin g motion to trains, but if one end of the sleepeur. be
more firmly packed than another, this motion we
.7
converted into an oscillating motion. This reinsill
plied to all railways as well as the present. The vl°'
an
of the chairs had a tendency to throw out the keY the
after the passage of trains, he observed installees_,a
iB
keys being out. The engine, he thought, apps
fair working order ; but he thought the road via° it de-
such a good condition as it ought to have butt the
pended very much on the speed of a train libel • it i 3
line was in a safe condition. He did not cons if
a good condition with heavy engines at a high "r
he had been requested to report on the state of 1...,,teci
not knowing of the accident, he should not have Typit
that it was safe for the public to pass on with the
traffic going over it.
The Coroner then made some remarks le
to theeer ale
leaving them to determine upon the facts wheal, def.'c
accident arose from excessive speed, or from galibit thB
in the engine or line. If they were of opinieLl.lo. now
deadform
butwas ft
they
casey t
haly,obutorhgeusahtptt
twasheyt
ohuegahott
oo f
adthoepritrei)otter.
pangprere
Tphoewsi
jte.uirorenyciritahmfetinenrahle considered the directors 0.
found a verdict of manslaotunwgseihnbttleyer. inagillauisetesti thdeeliairect°—iim"—tifo
Ah
A
sufficient
number had agreed, but there we
.re
sented from the rest of the jurymen.

,tr cE
SHIPPING INTELLIGEi— *

CITSTOM-HOITSE, Moir 18• ;Y:
ENTERED INWARDS.—The Hobo, from Ctrl o;
cence, Wismar ; Metta Margaretha, Norderse usalate:fr,,
Hamburgh ; Patriot, Stralsund • Graf yoll
Stettin ; Diana, Dantzie ; Adler, do.
nesund ; Anna Wilhelmine, iy Hobroe ; muJ-dion'bieoo;
Christine, Grefswald ; Rostock OO3l
sund ; Louise, Griefswald ; Catherine Dove
Wilhelmine, Nykiobing ; Claudine Martlhurgit,,i;
Odessa and Malta ; Janet and Margaret, /fain" 0.1");
„vis
ENTERED OUTWARDS FOR 3f811)°-Lei;•
sell, for Madras ; Due Fratelli Genoa ; 01'11;113711411f-01r
Armon, Launceston ; Clipper, Mogadore Argo, ' IY--
horn ; Hildegard, Konigsberg; Flora, Doi
Valencia ; Branscombe, Sydney. The
CLEARED OUTWARDS WITH CARGO.;,'"'hurg ;,I,oll*
helm, for Hamburgh • Jenne Victor, Ch of riir
M`Queen; Barbadoes 2;Neptune, Adelaided '7...figiurerf".4"
land, Stettin ; Halls, Elsinore ; Echo, p,,igtb&ilo;
tarie, Kurrachee ; reseent, Elsinore sn'ith
garetha, Altona ; John Sugar, Sydney, New.„„ • Po'-
Tre Legshon, Stockholm ; Dorothea, Aarhilw"
Naples.

LIVERPOOL, MAT 1.8•
e, rrirv"
.rn is
0
The Osmanli, steamship, hence to Iffelho.-- taia t
St. Vincent, on the 29th ult., in twelve Or/
hours, with passengers and crew all well.
The Iron Prince, steam-ship, hence to Au::,,inea
at St. Vincent in twenty-two days, and re frovl
six hours to coal.
whichet
The Royal Mail steam-ship Europa, r saileajg
o,
hence on the afternoon of the 14th, was off
a.m. on the 15th inst.

•
•
VESSELS SPOKEN WITILIIdp° 31°7'
The Ruby, from Sydney, N.S.W., to 1."" 01114
lat. 48 N., long. 18 W. • 06r
The Alexander Hall, London to Austratrcis
on the Equator, long. 20 W.
The Glencoe, London to Port Philip, ea..% IV,
The Atalanta, Liverpool to Sydney, I"' 01)36
lat. 47 N., long. 11 W.
The Prins Mauritz, Liverpool to Sy F'
JO'
day r.
rt g
The Four Sisters, from Singapore to °
30, in the Straits of Sunda. 11 1.1"
The Blonde, bound south, Feb. 10, la-•
xego'
,
25 W.
The Enchantress, London to Sydney, —•SW_,„,II
lat. 7 S., long. 32 W. Barb
The Avon, of and for Bristol, from Bar
lat. 51 N., long. 9 W.