The Sun.
London, England, 1848-09-08 00:00:00

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THE INQUEST ON LIE UT tit ttier '
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coLoNEL BAIRD. - '.'-
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BIRMINGHAM, TRIIR6DAY.—Afier .the erepaittare, gt ;
the train last evening the examination of wine isb_i'itS it e( I
above unfortunate. occurrence was resumed, and !sited
till eleven o'clock, when it eas adjourned to -Saturday
next. .After the evidence of -M'Cullum, the eieceas, d's
valet, Mr. Titchburn, an accountant at Weiverhenapt en,
who w as a passenger by the express train, depesed to the
velocity at which the train was going at the time-of-the
accident, and said the occurrence was expected:beforn_it
took place. The p.m was tremendous, and he uttrieuted
the tipset to the speed, which was a thatg of f't equent
occurrence with that express. The following evidince
was then given :
Mr. Richard Stuart Non is,, Warwick, resident engi-
neer :and out-dour superinteralent of the northern .ilivi-
:ion :of the London -end North7:Westeria Railway',
said he was called up between one end two o'Cb:cli on
Sunday morning. Got an engine, wagOin, and tools,
and went to the scene of the accident, which he reached
shortly after four o'clack. Ile proceeded to &sea ibe
the position in which he found the carriages and engiras,
as rep:leaked urea: by former witnesye s. After inking '
after the tegiries and carriages, he examined
the rails. On the doe n line, thirty or forty Net,
from the guard's vin. three lengths of both rails w‘ re-
bent and torn up. Followed the truck for nearly 100
yards. About 140 feet from the guard's van, the west
rail Of the up line wars more or It ss torn and eut, just as
if it. had been done with a pair of shears. They were
also displaced. Two or three lengths of rail then inter-
vened which were undisturbed and uninjured, and then
from ,that point three or four lengths of rail were torn
up and very much bent. The bent rails were lying
under the engine, as though they had been torn up -by
the front part of it. From this point to a distance of
about, thirty yards, perhaps, the rail was very little'
damaged. This referred to the west rail of the upline.
There was a mark in the ballast (which is the technical
name- for the gravel put between the rails), as -of
carriage wheels, between the rails of the up line, and
also On the outside of the west rail, Commencing
at the engine, this track was about a foot from the
rail, and went gradually nearer until-it—got close to
and .on to a rail, along which -. it proceeded
for about a length. From that ,point he examined
the line very carefully for more than half 'a mile,
and could not find any disarrangement or mark of
any kind. He was satisfied, from observation, that
it was at the south end of the rail last named, and so
marked that the vehicle first left the line. After hav-
ing made that examination, he proceeded to assist in
clearing the road, and remained there till the line was
made clear and good. He then took the crippled en-
gines to Birmingham. On examining the engines and
carriages afterwards, he found the coach (No. 236) next
the guard's van, at the top of the leading end, broken in,
and the near hind wheel broken. It was also strongly
marked, as if by coming in contact with a stone. The
leading axle was also a little strained. The next coach
(No. 357) had the leading end completely knocked in;
and was otherwise slightly damaged. The next coach
(No. 18) had a small mark on the bottom panel of the
leading end, in which the deeds were, he believed. On
casual observation this appeared the only damage it bad
sustained; but, on examining the under side of it, he
found that in consequence of
of the wheels, the floor of th e i
coachthad be
com-
ing very near to the periphery
come necessary, to allow full play. to the springs of the
carriage, to cut away a portion or the floor of the coach
over each wheel. Sufficient had not been cut away to
,allow free play to each or any one of these wheels, os,
on examination, the carriage exhibited marks of friction
and loss of substance at each end and side of each open-
ing. There were also deep marks on the frame of
the underside of the carriage, which had evidently
been made by the very severe thumping of it
upon the nuts of a strap which fastened the spring plate
together. The coupling chain which connected the
guard's van with coach 236 was broken, and the safety
chain on the near leading end was also broken. The
marks on the " ballast" north of the pilot engine, as well
as those on the rail and chains, were evidently those of
a carriage, being too ,light to be made by an engine.
There was no doubt that some of the wheels of coach
No. 13, if not all of them, were scotched in the cuttings
under the floor, made for them, or at all events that their
motion was retarded. That coach belonged to the Scot-
tish Central Company. He considered this as a sufficient
reason to cause a carriage to run off the line; that is, if
the motion of the wheels were retarded by not having
sufficient play, a check would be given which would
throw it off the line. lie had seen portions of carriages
cut out in a similar way, but never to such a small ex-
tent. Ile thought they were cut in an injudicious man-
ner. He could not say whether it was the engine or a
carriage that first went off the line, but he was inclined
to think it was a carriage, judging from the
marks on the rail. The carriage had come several hun-
dred miles that day, acid had to take up many branch
streams of passengers, and it is the custom for the car-
riages of one company to run on the line of another.
In answer to a question from a juror be said it was
evident to him that there had been considerable thump-
ing upon the wheels and the nuts of the spring plates
against the under side of the coach frame. In his opin-
ion the springs are weak. Under ordinary circmr.stances
he should consider it a safe carriage, if only with an or-
dinary load, he should say with nut more than nine pas-
sengers. It was built for eighteen. He should have no
fear of that carriage at any speed, with nine passengers
and the ordinary quantity of luggage. He, as superin-
tendent, should have no hesitation in putting nine people
1 in it with the ordinary quan'ity of luggage; but know-
ing the springs to be weak, he should hesitate to put
more, because, -if much loaded, the floor would came
down on the weels and springs. The ordinary of lug-
gage for each passenger was 1001135., but he could not
say how much there was on it on 'this occasion. The
hind and front compartments were full, but he did not
know whether there were any in the centre. Each com-
partment holds six persons.
Captain finish, general manager of the line, explained
the manner in a hich the carriages of different com-
panies arriving at different junctions, and of different
construction, were amalgamated into one train. It was
impossible with express trains to survey minutely their
fitness for the-journey on their joining the train, but it
was presumed that theirhavingbeen in a train before was
a sufficient proof of that, and they were generally per-
mitted to proceed with the passengers and luggage they
contained. There was a slight deviation in the build of
the carriages, the strength of the spring, &c. It was
the practice to censider a carriage professing to carry
eighteen passengers, sufficient to do so. lie made men-
tion of a minute survey, but he might state that at all
the junctions and stations a partial survey is made, a per-
son being appointed to go round the train, examine the
axles, &c., but it is not that minute examination which
would detect a flaw in the construction of a carriage. At
the place where the accident occurred the rails were in a
good state.
Mr. V. W. Blake, surgeon, Old-square, said that at
eleven o'clock on Saturday night he was sent for to the
deceased, and found him suffering under a great hesita-
tion in his speech and manner, tremulous motion of the
right arm, a slight ,bruise on the external part of the
right knee, and also on the right mola bone. His whole
manner betokened a severe shock of the nervous sys-
tem. Ile then proceeded to describe the medicines pre-
scribed by himself acting in concert with Dr. Evans, and
the results of a post mortem examination made by-him in
presence of Dr. Galliers and Mr. Thomas Chavasse. The
' result of the examination was that, in his opinion„
death was caused by the effusion of blood on the brain
He considered that the brain was in a diseased state
_for
some time prior to the accident, and decided that effu-
sion might in the state of the brain have occurred
.por.iy
-
ik cl
tt
oa nceaottesse i ,ly,. a l
It hi
eo uhgal
dr annoy
doubt,irvo nervous
takingshock
into
consideration
that the deceased was an old man, taking a long jour-
ney, anxious for his friend, and had also undoubtedly re-
ceived a severe shock by the accident, that it was the
cause of his death. .
Dr. Galliers having generally concurred in this opinion,
he inquiry was adjourned till Saturday morning. - -

FEIGIITTUL ACCIDENT
ON Tu
RAlLWAY.—Yesterday morning, abouti NohuinrTu past
tKeiTt
o'clock, a melancholyoccurretice took place on the
branch line of the North Kent Railway, now being
formed at Plumstead, and the injuries sustained by two
of the men are of a most serious character, the life of
one being despaired of. It seems that for some timq.
past a large number of labourers have been einpfoyettat
Plumstead in making extensive excavations for the new
railwry, which is intended to run to New Cross, Dept-
ford. During the last few days the workmen had been
making a cutting, and whilst they were digging by the
side of a large embankment or mound of earth, an im-
mense portion of it fell upon them with a loud crash, corn-
yletely burying them beneath the ponderous mass. An
instant alarm was raised, when their companions and other
men who were called to the spot set about to extricate the
missing men. In a few minutes two were discovered in an
insensible state, most seriously injured. They were car-
ried to a surgeon's in the pillage, where their wounds
were dressed, after which' they were taken to their
spective homes; but a third person, named John Crad-
dock, aged 25 years, was discovered to be so fearfully
injured that it was deemed necessary to take him to the
accident ward of
,St. Thomas's Hospital, where Mr.
Hartnett, thed,ih.proaoucustnuedrseu or
fractureof
hne,
rightos ascertained
theat arimnr
gdahntthdaet
thigh, ht
se
extensive
shadiye
in-
jury to orescalp re-
ceived
wathuencom
ribs. Various parts of his body are likewiseve
severely lacerated and contused. Theother
are progressing favourably, but the man Craddock two men
a hopeless condition. is in

. .
Loss OF LIFE ON THE THAMES.—yesterday, Mr.
Mills held an inquest at the Royal Oak, High-street,
Teddington, upon the body of the late Mr. Lionel
Grenville Thomas Elliot, clerk in the Post office, St.
Martin's-le-Gi and, aged 23. The deceased, accom pauied
by Mr. Toilet:nacho, went in a boat to Teddington,
where they bathed. D:ceased, who could not swim,
ventured beyond his depth, and sank. Although every
effort was made to save him, his budy was not found
for half an hour. Captain Elliot, a relative of de-
ceased, complained of the inconvenient place iu which
the Humane Society's drags were placed, but for which
circumstance he said they could have been obtained in
time to save his relative's lite. A juror gave a similar
opinion, and added that at the same spot, which was ex-
tremely dangerous, the brother and sister of Captain
-Reynolds perished about eighteen months ago, a
another person lost his life there subsequently. Verdict,el
" Accidental-death," accompanied by a recommendation
that the Humane Society's drags should be removed to a

more convenient place.
STRANGE ANOMALY.—An old lady of our acquain-
tance is much surprised that Government are not stricter
as regards duelling. Her feelings were greatly shocked
at some person lately "challenging " a whole jury.--
Puppet Show.
Partridges are by no means plentiful, the old birds
killed in most instances outnumbering the young ones—.
the birds which were hatched out early are, however, fine
and strong on the wing.---Brighton Gazette.