The Sun.
London, England, 1846-09-25 00:00:00

THE FATAL ACCIDENT ON THE
GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.
FA tiniNGboN-ROAD, SEPT. 24.—The jury re-assembled
this morning and resumed the inquiry, ellen
The Coneseen said—Gentlemen, as our last inquiry
we thought it necessary to summon an eminent engineer
from Bristol, with a view to his examination of the
broken iron of the luggage van, to ascertain the cause of
the accident, which the witnesses have hitherto been
unable to state. The Coroner then briefly detailed the
nature of the accident, and the jury proceeded to view
the broken second-class carriage, whioh had been
brought down from I)i 'cot for the purpose. The whole
of the first body of the carriage was broken to pieces,
and presented the appearance of a complete wreck.
and had still the marks of blood, &c., about it, from
which it became evident that Mr. Sargent's head had
been severed while the unfortunate gentleman was
standing up.
The following witnesses were then called:—
Henry Stevens sworn—l am superintendent of the
Farringdon-road station. On Monday evening I was
on the the platform of the down line when the train
was coming in. I was sufficiently near to see what
happened. I was standing back on the platform, and I
heard a crash just as the train got to the bridge. I im-
mediately ran forward to the edge of the platform, and
saw the fire flying out from each side of the train, and
the luggage van raised upon the first passenger car-
riage ; the engine parted away from the train,
that is, I mean, went quite ahead, just as she approached
the platform. I could not distinguish if the engine
broke away at the first concussion, but I think there is
no doubt of it. The luggage van had four wheels. The
whole of the van, with the exception of the partitions, is
composed of iron. The passenger carriage which gees
next to the van is not different from the others—its body
is wood. The luggage van contained from 10 cwt. to
15 cwt. of hellion and the passengers' luggage; it was
pretty fall. I judge from the weight of one box which
was left behind, and there were ten of those boxes. Im-
mediately after the accident I sent for Mr. Barker, the
nearest surgeon, and he was very soon on the spot, at
least within half an hour. One of the bodies (Bonner's)
had been removed before he came. I heard the crash,
and as the train came on near the platform, there was
another check from the crossing at the platform, which
arose from the van being partially off the line, and by
which check the van was forced further on the passenger-
carriage. The crash was at the bridge.
Richard Fuller sworn—l am clerk at the Farringdon-
road station. At the time when the accident happened
on Monday night I was on the down platform, watching
the train coining in. I saw something rise in the air
under the bridge just as I heard the noise. It was the
luggage van, as I afterwards ascertained upon the train
reaching the platform. I afterwards examined the van;
it had four wheels, and the off fore-wheel spring was
broken. The effect of that would be, I should suppose,
to tilt the hind part in the air. The other spring might
have been broken. The ironwork was much torn away,
and broken a good deal. I cannot account for the break-
ing of the spring.
By the Foreman—l think Mr. Sargent was killed at
the bridge instantaneously.
By the ConoNER—I believe, from common observa-
tion, that the effect of breaking the spring was to raise
the van up at the end. If I were told that if the spring
broke it could only fall three inches, I should say it could
not raise it as it was raised, which was five or six feet •,
but I suppose the ironwork to have become detached, and
that the axle slipped more to the middle, which would
tilt it up more at the end. The height of the arch of the
bridge is perhaps five feet above the carriage when the
van is in its proper position.
A juryman—Then it could not have fallen that dis-
tance, and yet that it struck the bridge is evident from
the piece which is broken out of the arch.
Mr. Bush, the engineer, thought that could easily be
accounted for.
By a juror—The buffers of the van were broken.
They were broken off as it fell. I did not know what
they struck against. The buffers of the tender were
broken, but not much.
By the ConoNEß—lf the buffers of the van were
broken downwards, it could not be by striking the
ground. I cannot say what was the cause of the break-
ing of the buffers.
Robert Matthews, police-constable, No. 395, of the
Great Western Railway Company, sworn—On Monday
night, when the accident happened, I was passing under
the bridge to go to the signal-post, which is just on the
other side. I gave the usual signal for the train to come
in, and I remained at the signal-post until the train
had passed. While I was passing under the bridge
there was a great shock, and I saw a quantity of fire
flying from the luggage van. In conseqnence of the fire
and smoke I was so stunned that I could not tell what
it was.
ConoNEß—Do you mean fire and smoke, or sparks
and dust? Witness—l should say it was fire. I was
so enveloped in smoke or dust that I was obliged to
grope my way to the signal-post, and there I remained
until the train passed me. I heard a great crash, but at
the time I could not say what it was. I cannot say where
the fire or sparks, or what it was, came from; but it came
from some of the carriages. I became enveloped with a
cloud of dust or smoke, but I believe it to have been
smoke.
Mr. Thomas Bush sworn—l am a partner in the firm
of Bush and Beddoe, engineers, of Bristol. Having heard
the evidence of the engine-driver read, Mr. Bush wished
him to be recalled.
Robert Patterson, the engine-driver re-examined—
Preceding the accident I was looking for signals to the
policeman, and not to the train behind me.
Mr. Bush examined— I have examined the spot on
the line where the accident ocurred. I observed the line
• for souse distance between the bridge and the platform,
and also beyond the bridge. I observed from the bridge
to the platform, and for about 20 feet beyond the bridge,
a slight indenture in the permanent timber, caused by
two wheels being off the line. I have also seen the broken
passenger luggage, the luggage van, the broken springs,
the wheels, and the ironwork belonging to the luggage
van, with the exception of one connexion, which more
properly belongs to the tender. I have also examined
the buffers of the tender. The luggage van is composed
of an iron front and back, and wood sides ; it is as they
are usually made of that class ; it is a class commonly in
use on this railway; this is the common van for luggage;
the generality of vans have four wheels. On examining
the broken springs and the ironwork, I find every part
was in a sound state previous to the accident, and there
is no appearance of flaw or old fracture. I did not ob-
serve, any part that had been weakened by use. The
springs are composed of spring steel. They are fastened
in an iron box in the centre. Nothing that connects the
spring together is broken. The boxes are cast iron,
with brass bearings. The axles are wrought iron. The
hangings which are connected with the springs, but
which I call brackets, are of cast iron. That is usual in
luggage vans and carriages not generally used for pas-
: senger traffic.
A juror—l consider that they ought to be made of the
best charcoal iron.
Examination r,esumed—The only parts that are cast
iron are these brackets or hangings and the axle-boxes;
there are many of them used ; wrought iron is generally
safer than cast in anything.
By the Foreman—Then if these had been made of
Wrought iron the accident might not have happened ?
Witness—l do not attribute the accident to this at
all ; for the duties which they have to perform they
have generally succeeded well on the Western line ; but
wrought iron is better ; if I were going to make a car-
riage of this description, throwing expense out of the
question, I should use wrought iron certainly.
By a juror—When they are of cast iron they are
very liable to break, I should say, on a sudden stoppage?
By Mr. Bush—The axle-guard ought to relieve that
strain ; in the event of a cast iron bracket breaking, no
serious injury would ensue from that breakage; the
axle box would merely fall into the axle-guard, and
thereby the carriage would run without springs, free
from danger. From the examination I have made I
attribute the cause of the accident to be that the engine
broke away suddenly, unobserved momentarily by the
engine-driver, and then the train running into the
tender just under the bridge, the consequence would be
the buckling up of the train by the carriages running
over one another. My opinion is that the springs of
the van did not give way in consequence of any weight
placed in the van, but that from some cause, with which
I am unacquainted, the screw connexion between the
van and tender must have broken probably at or about
the time when the steam was first let off, and that the
tender and engine being loose and in advance of the train
from some sudden check at the bridge, the train with
the luggage van in front, by their own weight and im-
petus, ran into the tender and thus threw the luggage
van up in the air against the bridge, causing a great con-
cussion and crash. Unless I saw the screw connexion I
could not undertake to say that the accident could not
have been guarded against.
Mr. John Gibson, of Paddington, superintendent of
the carriage department of the Great Western Railway,
sworn—Every carriage, van, &c., is thoroughly exa-
mined, oiled, and screwed up before it starts, and they
are also oiled and examined at every station by the men
who go round with the grease-boxes. It is their duty.
The screw connexion belongs to the tender; they hook
it 'on, and they would examine it at Slough, Didcot, &c.
I attribute the accident to the same cause as described
by Mr. Bush. I think if anything had been wrong in
the screw connexion while at Didcot it would have been
noticed. It could not have then been broken or the
train could not have started. In the vans and trucks,
which have cast iron spring scroll brackets, the axle
guard is so formed as to touch the box each side, and
lead or drag the wheels, so that no lateral or longitudinal
strain comes upon the cast iron brackets. Of course,
they have all the vertical weight. All our carriages are
of such a construction that if every spring under the
various carriages were broken the train would go along
safely, but not so easy.
Mr. Seymour Clarke here explained that the examina-
tion of the carriages, screws, &c., at the various stations
would be only a general one.
Mr. Walter Barker, of %Vantage, surgeon, deposed to
having been sent for on Monday night. to the railway,
On my arrival I saw the body of Bonner, who was dead,
but not cold ; the immediate cause of death was dislo-
cation of the neck. There were bruises also about the neck
and upper part of the trunk. Immediately afterwards I
saw the body of Sargent, it was in the broken carriage.
The body was erect, the front part being towards the
back of the carriage. It was retained in that position
by the hand, which was through the roof, and there
slightly confined. I observed that. the head had been
severed from the body by a force acting from the front
part of the body backwards and upwards, the slice of
the bones showing that the force had been from below
the wound, commencing slightly under the chin, and
passing through the neck anti the upper part of the oc-
cipital bone. The head was entirely removed, and was
soma distance off on the roof of the carriage. Seeing
the man was dead, we knew we could be of no assistance
to him, and therefore we allowed the body to remain,
watched by a policeman, until we had searched and be-
come certain that there were no other wounded persons