The Sun.
London, England, 1847-06-22 00:00:00

EXTRAORDINARY ACCIDENT

ON THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.

An accident of a very extensive nature occurred upon
this railway last Saturday morning, and was attended with
great loss of life, not we are happy to state to any
human being, but to a great number of sheep and calves;
the guards of the train, however, experienced a very
narrow escape. The accident resulted entirely from the
reprehensible practice of having an engine behind the
train to assist in propelling it. It appears that the up
goods train from Bristol was running for the Swindon
station about two o'clock on that morning, and that after
it passes the Chippenham station there is a very steep
incline (1 in 90) through a cutting called the Wootton
Bassett incline. To assist the goods train up this in-
cline it is the custom, in addition to the ordinary engine,
to 'run another engine from the Box station, Through
the tunnel, to aid in propelling the train. The train in
question consisted of nearly 40 waggons and trucks, and
amongst them were some timber trucks. These timber
trucks, in consequence of the length of the timber, are
coupled together by long chains ; one of the
timber trucks was the fourth from the leading
engine - and in going up the incline, it seems that
ne of the connecting chains of the first portion of this
timber truck by some means became unfastened, and
dragged on the line for some distance, until it came to a
crossing, where the end of the chain caught, and caused
a momentary check to the first part of the train. The
hinder part of the timber truck was forced by the behind
propelling engine on to the spot where the end of the
chain had become hitched, and thereby caused a resist-
ance, when the leading engine broke away with the
foremost carriages, but the propelling engine being
driven at full speed forced the truck which had been
checked by the end of the chain, with several others
which had also broken away, up a slope more than 12
feet high, and into an adjoining field. The last of the
trucks so forced up remained at the base of the slope ;
and from the speed at which the engine was propelling
the train could not fall back on the line, but bumped
against the remaining waggons as they passed, com-
pletely cutting their side stanchions and timber as the
train brushed past. The rest of the waggons and trucks,
with the propelling engine, went past the trucks on the
slope, and ran some distance, when it is conjectured
that some of the timber which had been thrown from
the timber trucks caused a goods truck to be thrown
over the rails; and the propelling engine, still driving
at full speed, completely doubled up the waggons and
trucks before it, scattering them in all directions. Some
of them•was literally smashed to pieces, and upwards of
90 sheep and some calves were killed. The resistance
caused by the end of the chain falling into the crossing
gave no intimation to the driver of the propelling ea-
gine that the first portion of the train had broken away
with the leading engine; therefore he continued driving
at full speed, and in a moment the waggons and trucks
were scattered about. The officers of the Great West-
ern Railway Company, with their usual promptitude,
directly assembled a number of men, and by great ex-
ertion the rail was cleared without any detention to the
other trains. Until lately it was the practice of the
company to propel the passenger trains through
the Box tunnel by an engine behind, but the public
raised such an outcry (and very properly so) against
that practice, that the company were obliged to desist.
Had even the above accident occurred in the Box
tunnel, instead of in an open cutting, the consequence
would have been much more serious; as it is, the
guardsrof the luggage train escaped by a miracle, as
the waggons, both before and behind their truck, were
knocked to pieces. It has often been a matter of spe-
culation what would be the nature of an accident with
a passenger train with an engine at both ends propelling.
Should an accident occur to the leading engine the
effect upon the carriages will be shown by the above
accident; and it needs no comment as to what the re-
sult would have been to the passengers had it been a
passenger train.

THE LATE ACCIDENT AT
WOLVERTON.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUIV.

Six,—Conceiving it to be the bounden duty of every
one to offer any suggestion that may occur to him for
the prevention of accidents on railways, and more espe-
cially a recurrence like the lamentabletone in question, I
would at once propose that strong and substantial posts
should be erected on each side of the line—say a quarter
of a mile apart, but so arranged that there should be
one or more at the terminus of every station, and an
officer attendant at every post, and that the guards,
engineers, stokers, and other officers, of every train
should have at their command—the same being well
braced to some part of the carriage—strong ropes or
cable chains, with a large noose at the end, so that in
an emergency it might be thrown to the officer, who
would instantly affix it round the post, similar, in fact,
Ito the mode now adopted in bringing steam-boats to a
stand-still, on nearing a pier or other place of embar-
kation.
Had this plan been in use at the time of the accident,
your readers would, in my humble opinion, never have
had cause to deplore the fatal consequences.
I am, Sir, your most obedient servant,
THOMAS SLOAN.
Mitre-court, Temple, Jiine 21, 1847.

RAGGED SCHOOL IN CLARE MARKET.—Yesterday
a meeting, numerously and respectably attended, was
held in the vestry rooms of St. Clement Danes Church,
with the view of opening a ragged school in Clare-
market. Lord Ashley presided on the occasion, and in
strong terms urged upon the meeting the destitution,
misery, and ignorance of many children in that locality,
dad the necessity and duty which existed for extending
to them the blessings of education. The meeting was
then addressed by several speakers in support of reso-
lutions recognising the success which bas hitherto at-
tended the formation of ragged schools, and approving
of the Yea.tes Court Bagged School about to be opened
near Clare Market, as worthy the support of the pa•
i:ishioners of St. Clement Danes and the inhabitants of
the surrounding district. The resolutions having been
adopted, and a vote of thanks passed to the chairman,
the meeting broke up.
TILE POPE'S LAST MIRACLE.—The Tablet pub-
lishes the following extract from a private letter from
Rome:—" The Pope has wrought a miracle. ile went
to Subiaco, and as there was a great want of rain the
people asked him to pray for it. Be accordingly went
to the shrine of St. Benedict and prayed there art hour,
and immediately the rain came and lasted six hours."
The letters from Paris received un Monday
denote much uneasiness regarding commerzial prospects.
The disasters at Marseilles originated the unfavourable
feeling, and a number of small failures which have been
taking place for some days in the capital have subse-
quently tended to increase it.