The Sun.
London, England, 1853-09-05 00:00:00

THE ACCIDENT ON THE GREAT NORTHERN

RAILWAY.

On Saturday Richard PaMington and fosepit Woods,
the driver and fireman of the express engine which occa-
sioned the accident upon the Great Northern Railway
on Wednesday last, were again brought up at the Clerk-
euwe 1 Police-court for examination.

Mr. Corrie, the presiding magistrate upon the former
occasion, was not now present, and his place was sup-
plied by Mr. Tyrwhitt, who heard all the evidence over
again.
Mr. Clarkson conducted the prosecution, and Mr.
Rawlings defended the prisoners.
Several officials connected with the railway were also
present, and sat within the bar.
Mr. Clarkson said, be appeared on the part of the
Great Northern Railway Company to facilitate the pur-
poses of justice, so far as they were able to do so, by
laying before the Court the circumstances under which
the recent very sad accident had occurred. He regretted
to say that there were several persons who were still
under modical superintendence, and he held in his hand
a certificate from the medical gentleman, which he feared
would not thoroughly satisfy the Court of the absence
of all danger to life. Under these circumstances, inas-
much as in one event the magistrate might feel himself
at liberty to deal with the case summarily, as in an-
other event he might feel himself bound to send it to the
sessions, and as in a third event, which lie hoped and
believed would not occur, it might be necessary to make
a different and inure serious inquiry, the gentlemen con-
nected with the Great Northern Railway, though they
were present, felt that the magistrate could scarcely pro-
ceed to adjudicate in this case in the absence of a more
satisfactory certificate than that which he held in his
hand. That certificate, which emanated from a gentle-
man of great skill and attainments, was to the following
effect :

"I have much satisfaction in stating that up to the
present Vine (Friday afternoon) all the sufferers are going
on favourably. The most serious cases are those of Mr.
Beazeley and Mrs. Harrison, but they were doing so well
this afternoon that I have every hope of a favourable
issue. The persons now under my care are the Lord
Mayor, Mr, Justins, Mrs. Harrison, and others, at the
Railway Hotel. The two former will be convalescent in a
few days, no doubt."
If the Court concurred with him that, in the face of
such a certificate, it would be taking up time unneces-
sarily to proceed with the case, then probably there
would be no objection to an adjournment till Wednes-
day. On the other hand, if desirable, he was quite
ready to go into it at once ; but he thought it preferable
that the Court should be armed with a certificate stating
that there was no probable apprehension of any serious
danger arising to any one, and if an adjournment took
place the present bail might be extended. He was very
glad that these men had been admitted to bail, because
he was bound to say that up to this time the driver had
borne a most excellent and irreproachable character.
Mr. Tyrwhitt—Otherwise he would not have been
entrusted with the express engine ?
Mr. Clarkson—Just so. These proceedings were in-
stituted simply because the company felt that they had
a public duty to discharge, which, though it might in-
volve them in civil responsibilities to others, still left
them no discretion with respect to the duty which they
owed to the public ; and it would be his duty to satisfy
the bench that there had been that degree of negligence
on the part of the prisoners for which the law for the
protection and salvation of us ail provided.
Mr. Rawlings quite agreed with the learned counsel
that it might be the duty of the company to have this
matter investigated, but it did so unfortunately happen
that the engine-driver and the fireman, or the engine-
driver alone, were the parties who were prima facie
considered responsible for accidents of this description.
He was very unwilling that an accusation of this nature
should be hanging over their heads; when, according to
the instructions which he had received, and his own
view of the matter, they were entirely blameless. He
rather preferred, therefore, that the case should be pro-
ceeded with at once, particularly as he could not collect
from the certificate which the learned counsel had read
that there was any danger to be apprehended to any
person who had suffered from this accident.
After some discussion of an unimportant nature,
Mr. Tyrwhitt said that the charge was of so much
interest and importance that he was convinced it could
never be satisfactorily settled by a single magistrate
without the intervention of a jury.
Mr. Rawlina's observed that the magistrate had sum-
mary jurisdiction under the act of Parliament.
Mr. Tyrwhitt said that he was quite ready to deal
with the case under the act, but he feared that if he did
so the result would not he satisfactory to anybody.
Mr. Clarkson said, that being the impression of the
Court, the company felt that it was their duty to press
the case on, in order tkat it might go to the sessions.
An arrangement was then entered into that no new
_ _

evidence should be taken, but that the witnesses who

were before the Court on Thursday last should be ex-
amined anew in order that their testimony might come
under the cognisance of his worship, and that they
!night be cross-examined by the defendant's advocate.
James Radbourne was then called, and his evidence

was read over by the clerk. In answer to questions by
Mr. Clarkson, he stated, in addition to his former de-

positions,—When the engine passed me, and I was
exhibiting the red flag, the prisoners were talking to-
gether. I saw them distinctly, and they might have
seen me as distinctly if they had been looking out. I
did not observe that anything was being done to the
tire. They might have seen my flag half a mile off
before they came up to me.
Cross-examined by Mr. Lawrence.—l was at Horn-
sey station when the coal train arrived there. That
was at five minutes to 5. I knew the hour by looking
at the clock. After I put up the " danger" signals
it the station, which occupied about two minutes,
the coal train began to shunt. The express train was
-xpected at the station at 10 minutes past five. The
train crossed the line on to the siding on the down line,
and detached a van and a coke truck. That occupied
about a minute. On re-crossing to its proper side the
tender of the coal engine got off; and the time that elapsed
from the first arrival of the coal train to the tender's get-
ting off was about five minutes. Immediately the ten-
der g,
of off the line I ran and got a red flag, which was
staain outside the door of the station. I was about
12 yards' distant from the place where the red flag was.
The station-master was also there, and he ordered me to
run up towards London as hard as I could go with the
flag. I started directly, and the clock had not then
struck five. About eight minutes after I started I first
saw the express train. I swear that. Yes, I have con-
sidered the question. It was about eight minutes. I
should think that the express was then rather better
than a mile from the Hornsey station. It got up to
me in about a minute after I first saw it. The fireman

was standing next the engine, and the driver was stand-
ing beside him—opposite. I know they were talking,
because their faces were together "as if" they were
talking. I saw their lips moving. They were standing
face to face with their sides towards the engine, and
each man's back to his own side of the road. There
was nothing unusual in the way in which they stood.
They stood in the customary place. I took nothing up
the line except the flag. It was not my duty to have
taken anything else unless it were night or foggy, and
then I should have taken fog signals.
Mr. Lawrence—Do you know the 77th rule, and that
it is as follows :—" Whenever an accident occurs by
which the line is obstructed, the policeman or plate-
layer, if one should be within call, the guard or under-
guard of a train, or other per: on, is to go back imme-
diately, placing on the rails as he goes two detonating
signals, at distances of about a quarter of a mile and
half a mile, retaining them in place by bending down
wards the leaden clips attached to them, and he is to
place two on the rails a few yards apart when he reaches
the extremity of three-quarters of a mile, to which dis-
tance he is to proceed ?"
Witness—l do not remember it particularly.
Mr. Lawrence—Did you not take any detonating
halls or fog signals with you ?
Witness—l did not.
Cross-examination continued—The first up-train due
after the coal train arrived is 6.16. Ido not know what
time the coal train should have arrived This was not
a regular coal train. It was a pilot engine which had
been sent to Colney Hatch to fetch a coal train which
had broken down. That train was due, I believe, at
25 minutes past 11 in the morning. The semaphore
signal is over a quarter of a mile from the Hornsey
station, on the London side. The line declines from
London towards the Hornsey station, and there is a
considerable curve on the London side. It has been
the practice at the Hornsey station to allow goods trains
or coals to be shunted within ten minutes or a quarter
of an hour of another train's being due. I am not
aware that an express train cannot stop at the station if
it sees the semaphore signal the moment it can be seen.
It is possible to do so. I swear that it is, because I
have seen it done. They do run by sometimes. I ran
about three-quarters of a mile from the station with the
flag. I was not between the signal-post and the station
when the express came up. Certainly not, I was much
nearer London.
Re-examined by Mr. Clarkson—lf the engine-driver
and stoker had been on the look-out they could not have
failed to have seen me with the red flag ; and if they had
so seen me, they might have stopped the train at the
station. They could have seen me a quarter of a mile
before they got up to me, and I was three-quarters of a
mile from the station, so that that would have given
them a mile to have pulled up in. I know the wooden
bridge on the London side. A person on an engine
could see from that bridge a man where I was with the
red flag.
Warrington, the labourer, who was at work in the
corn field, repeated his evidence with respect to there
having been no rain on the day of the accident.
Mr. Thomas Williams, superintendent of the Great
Northern Police, was next called, and his evidence was
read over by the clerk.
In cross-examination by Mr. Lawrence, he said--I
was in the office at King's-cross, close to the platform,
when the telegraphic message arrived from Hornsey,
and the train had just started. It was hardly out of
sight. I believe a train generally arrives at Hornsey
about ten minutes after it leaves the King's-trots
station. There is a train which leaves King's-cross
at 12.30, and I see by the time-bill that it arrives
at Hornsey at 12.33. That is an ordinary train.
There would be very little difference between the
speed of an ordinary and an express train in such
a distance. lam not aware that there would be any
difference at all. Ido not think there would. I have
frequently travelled upon express engines.
Mr. Lawrence—With express trains is it not abso-
lutely necessary that two men should be engaged in
firing the engine ?
Witness—One man can fire the engine. Ido not
know whether it is absolutely necessary, but I know
that the engine-man does frequently assist the stoker by
opening the door of the furnace for him. The driver
also looks at the fire occasionally himself. I believe it
is quite possible for an engine-man to pull up his engine