The Sun.
London, England, 1847-06-03 00:00:00

THE FATAL ACCIDENT ON THE

- -
SOUTH COAST RAILWAY.
NUTBOURNE, JUNE 2.—This morning Mr. J. L. Ellis,
coroner for West Sussex, held an inquest at the Bell and
Anchor Inn, on the body of Gregory, the driver of the
engine which ran off the line on Monday. Mr. Sher-
wood and Mr. Powell (of Chichester), and Mr. Smart
(of Emsworth), solicitors, were in attendance to cross-
examine the witnesses, in consequence of some rumours
that the engine in question was unfit for service. Having
viewed the spot and the body of the deceased, the fol.
lowing evidence was adduced:—
William Careless, a railway guard living at Havant,
deposed—l was guard to a train which left Brighton at
ten minutes past four o'clock on Monday. Deceased
was the driver. Ido not know his name. Henry Peel
was the stoker. The train consisted of a luggage box
and six passenger carriages. I was on the last carriage.
When passing through Doctor's Copse, Nutbourne, I
was standing up and looking forward, when I saw the
engine strike off the metals suddenly. The next I saw
of the engine she was in the ditch. Directly I lost sight
of the carriage I jumped off. I tried to get up but could
not. I tried again, and succeeded. I was hurt. The
first thing I saw was the stoker; he was lying to the left
of the metals, the side opposite to that on which the engine
had gone off. One of his arms (the left) was cut off as
if a wheel had gone over it. lie was also bleeding from
the head. He was lying within six or seven yards of
the last carriage. I then went forward and saw the en-
gine in the ditch. The irons connecting the engine and
!ender had broken, and the tender and luggage-box had
just gone off the rails, and likewise the front wheels of
the first passenger carriage. I was going to the en-
gine, and I saw deceased under the carriage, but I saw
he was quite dead, and did not stop. I went on to see
if any passengers were hurt. None of them were in-
jured. We then got up Peel and placed him on some
boards, having done which we took out the body of de-
ceased. I saw that one of his legs was cut off, and he
was very much cut about the head. I cannot give any
notion of the cause of the engine going off. A stone on
the rails would not throw it off. We were not going
fast. The deceased had been down the line before,
though not, I believe, as a driver. The driver drove
from Brighton. An engineer rode on the engine from
Chichester to Bosham. His name is Kirtley. The en-
gine had no particular quality of character. The speed
was from 25 to 30 miles an hour. The engine had six
wheels, the front and back having flanges, but not the
middle pair. I have been in the company's service five
years. The engine is sometimes: used on the London
line for passengers. I never heard a driver named
" Dick" speak against the engine. 1 never heard it re-
marked that the flanges of the wheel were worn. The
driver and stoker were perfectly sober. If a stone were
on the rail it would be knocked off by the iron protector
which goes in front.
Mr. Thomas Kirtley, of Brighton, locomotive engi-
neer to the London, Brighton, and South Coast Rail-
way, deposed—l joined the train in question at Chi-
chester. The deceased had been in the employ of the
company about a fortnight, as a driver. He had been a
driver on the Midland Railway for a very considerable
time—more than twelve months. They were exceed-
ingly unwilling to part with him. I rode on the engine
as far as Bosham, when I left the engine and entered
a carriage. The deceased was an excellent engineman.
I am inspector of the engines, and every engine has been
overhauled under my care within the present year.
This engine was selected for this line on account of its
being a particularly easy and level line.
The Foreman—Can you give any reason for the acci-
dent? Witness—l don't like to answer the question.
The Government will send down an inspector, and I
would rather not answer the question now.
The Foreman thought the company had been rather
too premature in taking the engine to pieces before the
jury had inspected it.
Witness—lt was taken to pieces in order to get to the
boiler, and put it to rights. It is the custom of railway
companies to do so.
Mr. Sherwood—Yes, to clear off the appearance of
the accident. I hope the coroner will insist on the wit-
ness answering the question put to him by the foreman.
CORONER—Do you think the accident was caused by
ally obstruction on the line ? Witness—lt is clear there
could he no obstruction, as the " protector" would knock
off anything larger than an inch high.
Then how do you account for the accident? Acci-
dents of a similar character have happened on other
lines. Engines have left the lines of the Eastern Coun-
ties, Royston, Torrington, and the York and Newcatle.
Foreman—But they were accounted for? No.
Mr. Sherwood—ls there any reason why you should
reserve from the jury what you would state to the Go-
vernment inspector? Witness—l will give you all the
facts.
Mr. Sherwood—You are a scientific man, and we want
your opinion.
Witness—My own impression is that the engine left
the line from an oscillation to which that class of engines
is subject.
Mr. Smart—You mean Stephenson's? Witness—This
is a patent engine by Stephenson. Three axles went
under the boiler.
Mr. Smart—What is the particular thing which causes
the particular oscillation 7—There are two causes. The
cylinders are placed outside, which always gives an ad-
ditional oscillation. The next is that there is an over-
hanging weight at both ends, which causes a kind of
undulating motion.
Mr. Sherwood—Then you think those engines are
not so safe as others?—They run on almost every line
in the country.
Do you consider them so safe, sir? The answer is
" Yes" or "No."

Mr. Smart—Balancing the advantages with the disad-
vantages, are they so safe as engines of other construc-
tion? Witness—l think there is some objection to be
raised, but I wish it to be understood that I do not con-
sider it an unsafe engine. The Newcastle and Darling-
ton have no others.
Mr. Powell—ls Stephenson the engineer of that line?
—He was the consulting engineer.
And had an interest in the matter?—l think so.

-- ------- --- -- ----____ .
F oreman—Are these the same engines that are used
on the London line?—Not since I have been here. I find '
them on this particular line, and thou!ht them par-
ticularly suitable to it. We bad only four engines of
that class.
Foreman—And they are down here?—They are down
h ere.
Mr. Powell—You think this the easiest line for bad
engines?—No, Ido not. We have two more of those
engines ; one on the London line and one on the
Hastings.
Mr. Sherwood—Passengers' trains?—No, goods.
Foreman—Then Stephenson's engines are not fa-
vourites of yours?—l do not say that.
Mr. Smart—May I ask whether, when you left the
engine for the train, you had any fellow- traveller?—Yes,
my wife and a lady. The speed was from 33 to 35 miles
an hour. That is not a fast pace. Stephenson's en-
gines are 2001. or 3001. more expensive than the others.
After leaving Bosham I heard a rumbling noise, and in
a few seconds the train was brought up. I never heard
that engine-drivers refused to drive this engine. In my
experience here has been no accident of this kind on this
line.
Mr. Smart—After this ocourrence, is it in your opinion
safe to use these engines?—They are daily used on many
lines without accident.
But you think there is more danger in them than
others?—There is more oscillation, but I cannot say •
amounts to positive ager. The further you place th 6
weiht from the ceutdre n ,
the more the undulation and the
g
oscillation.
John Cox, gatekeeper at the Broadroad station, near
the spot, had several times observed that particular en-
gine "sway" more than the rest. The other three
engines of the same make did not " sway" quite so much.
Thomas Scott, keeper of Ireland's gate, the next gate
I to Broadroad, and on the other side of the site of the
laccident, saw the accident. The engine gave a kind of
leap, and it appeared to him as if something gave way
behind. The steam was shut off before the accident.
Robert Peel,
he eel,hbardo
been
to the
yearshestokeern,g7i'ghuo
dw_asthwreoeunded,
8 ta
engine-driver, on the York
' and North Midland line. Ile had been in the em
as a stoker, and two as an
employ
yarsf
this company a fortnight, and had driven the-enkine