The Sun.
London, England, 1860-05-31 00:00:00

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jainst the "stop." The impetus
theengine actuallYleaped over the ba. , dr,
with it the tender, break-van, and two carriages,
proceeding with diminished force upon the level
ground, across the street, and was finally brought
to a stand, after demolishing the temporary fencing
of the Metropolitan Railway Company._ The re-
maining carriages were, strange to say, not discon-
nected by the shock, though several of the occupants
were fo-and to be severely bruised and shaken.
Medical attendance was instantly sent for, and Mr.
Childs, Mr. Sotheron, and several surgeons from the
Great Northern Hospital wet() promptly on the spot.
So far as could be ascertained there are four persons
injured, although it is beliox edt not seriously. These
are two gentlemen, Mr. Harding and Mr. Plant,
who were removed to the Great Northern Hotel; and
Mr. O. Henshaw and a lzdy, whose name did not
transpire, who are now lying at' the Victoria Hotel.
Immediately after the accident the news spread
like wildfire, through the neighbourhood,. and
the station was instantly besieged by crowds of
people,- Mr. Oakley, the superintendent of the line,
was on the spot almost immediately after the oc
zturrence, and despatched an engine to inform the
secretary of the accident. Information having
reached Inspector Williams that Warrenor, the
under-guard of the train, appeared to be in -a par-
tial state, of intoxication, he (Mr. Williams) at once
sent for him and took him into custody on the
charge of being drunk and"negligently omitting to
perforni his duty. So far as can be learnt at pre-
sent, it would appear that the accident arose from
the break not having been applied in time to re-
tard the motion of the train. It was stated that
another person in addition to those already men-
tioned was injured, but he was conveyed to his own
residence. His.name, however, did not transpire.

PILCE 4D. STAMPED, SD.

FRIGHTFUL ACCIDENT ON THE
GREAT NORTIIERN RAIL WA E

An accident of a most extraordinary and terrific
character, but, fortunate to say, as yet unattended
by any fatal fesults, took-place yesterday evening
at -the London terminus of the Great Northern
Railway, King's-cross, to a return excursion train,
conveying passengers from Liverpool, Manchester,
Sheffield, Huddersfield, and other large towns in
the north of England. '
The train; which consisted of 35 carriages, two
of them being luggage vans, was due at King's-
cross at 6.40 p.m., and was pretty punctual in its
arrival.- From some cause, however; which yet re-
r,:ains to be. explained, the engine, instead of slack-,
enink its speed; as is usual on entering the station,
behaved it'elf more as a runaway than one under
proper guidanoe, and dashing at full pace through
of it, a height of botween 5 and 6 feet, carrying
the station? e,ctua.ily leaped thaplatform at the end
with it the tender, the break, and one or two car-
riageoso,uarnode,prraoneedeodwin! othil in its fearful and precipi-
touse
Inclined plane immedi-
ately under the clock tower aa across the Old St.
Pancras-road, burst through the enclosure of the
Metropolitan Railway Works, and but for the im-
mense quantity of earth lying there (the .z.:tilff exca-
vated from the New-road tunnel), woui4l have
buried itself in the shaft of that undertaking: In
passing under the archway the funnel and stem
cup of the engine- came in contact with the strong I
iron girder, and were smashed of the engine. I
Fortunately, the pitch of this girder was a few feet
higher than the "body of the engine itself, else it

would have been torn from the abutthents of brick

work which sustain it, involving the demolition of
a large portion of the roof of the building, with the
probable destruction of every person in the train.
It is almost needless to say that the engine, ten-
der, and break were :n fact completely destroyed.
The other carriages were more or less injured, many
of the passengers sustaining serious wounds and
contusions.

The fireman, Church, 'on finding that the train
was rushing to destruction, leaped from the tender,
and falling flat upon the ground escaped unhurt.
The driver, Thomas Annis, however, remained firm
at his post, and never left the engine. How he has
escaped unhurt is one of those mysteries which
baffle explanation. The news of the dreadful occur-
rence quickly spread over the metropolis, and in an
incredibly short space of time all the thoroughfares
leading to the station became so crowded that Su-
perintendent Loxton, of the S division, required the
assistance of 150 men of the metropolitan force to
keep the way open for the ordinary traffic.
As soon as the accident occurred those injured
were removed from the carriages and received every
attention from the officers of the company, who,
under direction of Mr. It. Williams, hurried off for
medical assistance, and in the course of a few mi-
nutes Mr. Dancey, of 21, Stebbing-street, Oakley-
square ; Mr. Sutherland, Mr. M 'Guinness, and Mr.
Claremont were promptly in attendance, actively
administering to the surgical wants of those who
stood in need of their assistance.

The cause of the accident it is as yet impossible to
explain, nor is it likely that it will be fully ascer-
tained until such time as the Board of Trade may

direct a rigid inquiry into the whole occurrence, for
the account gii.en by the fireman is totally irrecon-

cileable with what has taken place. According to
his statement he and Annis, the driver, took up the

train at Peterborough, and upon arriving at Hollo-
way he saw his companion put on his break
and signal to the guards to imitate his example.
He also saw him open the sandbox. He adds that

he remained on the front of the engine while it was
passing through Maiden•lane tunnel, and that the
steam was turned off at the proper place. If all
this be true, with the additional assertion that the

steam was not only turned off but the engine actu-
ally reversed upon coming into the station, it is
imposEihie to understand how the engine should

have had an impetus so great as to carry it in a leap

over an obstacle so high and so solid as the end of
the platform at King's-cross.
'The sufferers, most of whom were conveyed to
their residences, are about 14 in number; of five of
them we give the names, &c. :
Mrs. Edwards, Lambeth-road, conveyed to resi-
dence very much contused, attended by Mr. Wat-
kins ; George Earnshaw, from near Huddersfield,

severe cut on forehead ; Charles Cooper, 9,
Catherine-street, Lambeth, cut on head ; Mrs. Page,
Doswell-road ; Mr. Randall, Little Knightrider-

street, knee hurt.

We have received the following "official" letter
as to the accident :

"Great Northern Railway, Secretary's Office, King's-
cross Station, London, May 30, 10 p.m.
" Sir,—lt is with regret I have to inform you
that an accident occurred here at 6.40 this evening
to a return excursion train from the Lancashire

district, which, owing to its speed not having been
sufficiently checked, came into collision with and
displaced the stop' at the end of the arrival line,
the engine passing over the stop for a short dis-
tance into the road in front of the station.

" Several passengers were bruised by the concus-
sion, but none, I am happy to say, are reported to
be sex iously hurt.
"A preliminary inquiry into the caul() of the ac-
dent has been made, and it has been deemed right
to prefer a charge against one of the guards of the
train, who is now in custody.—l am, sir, your obe-
dient humble servant,

"HENRY OAKLEY, Secretary."

ANOTHER ACCOUNT.

An accident of an alarming and somewhat pecu-
liar character occurred last evening shortly after 6
o'clock, Which, although happily unattended by
fatal results, was of sufficiently serious a nature to
occasion great anxiety, and to give rise in the im-
mediate neighbourhood to reports of a very exag-
gerated nature. The risk and uncertainty attendant
upon railway travelling, and perhaps more particu-
larly upon that variety so popular during the " ex-
cursion" season, may receive additional confirma-
tion from the event referred to, as showing that,
whatever care and foresight may be exercised, con-
tingencies will sometimes arise in which, humanly
speaking, those qualities so essential in dealing with
matters relating to risk of life or limb become either
inapplicable or inefficient. It appears that an ex-
cursion train from Liverpool, Manchester, and
Sheffield left Liverpool at a quarter to 9 in the
morning, being due at the terminus of the Great
Northern Railway, King's-cross, at a quarter to 6.
The train consisted of 33 carriages and two breaks,
the latter being, as usual, under the charge respec-
tively of the head and under guard. A large num-
ber of persons were waiting at the King's-cross sta-
tion, as is generally the case with trains of this
class, and either in consequence of its length or
from some other cause, it did not arrive at the
time indicated on the time-bills. However,
shortly after six o'clock the expected train
emerged from the tunnel, and was seen approach-
ing, but at a rate that appeared to convince every
one present that something was wrong, as it
was apparent that unless the speed at which it was
careering was instantly reduced some catastrophe
must occur. There was little time for consideration,
but signals were instantly made to the guard and
engine-driver to slacken the speed, but in spite of
the efforts of the engine-driver, who immediately
reversed his engine, the train continued to approach
at something like eight miles an hour or upWards.
The excitement now became intense, and persons
might be seen jumping down upon the line and
scattering sand upon the rails in the hope of retard-
ing a disaster which now appeared inevitable. It
should be stated that, in order to provide against
similar emergencies, what is technically termed a
"stop" is always placed at the end of terminal sta-
tions, which, in case of an occurrence similar to the
present one, is generally effectual in presenting an
impenetrable barrier to any further progress. In
this case, however, it was not so, for in spite of the
offort4 pf the engine-dnra 414 OA, bead guexckthe