The Sun.
London, England, 1858-09-15 00:00:00

OUDE (LIMITED),

The directors of this company, 'in their report,
express their deep regret at the calamities which
have befallen this portion of the Indian empire,
and which have necessarily impeded the progress of
the Oude railway:. On the formation of the company
the directors made application to the Hon. the East
India Company. for the accustomed guarantee of 5
per cent. Their application was referred, as usual,
to the public authorities in India. Feeling confi-
dent of a favourable result, and being anxious that
no time should be lost, they sent out Mr. Robert
Garratt, an engineer of eminent abilities, to make
the necessary surveys. These, however, had no
sooner been completed than-the, mutiny broke out,
and he was obliged to seek_ refuge at Ca,wnpore,
where, after having assisted in the defence of that
post, he perished in the general massacre. Fortu-
nately, his death has not deprived the company
altogether of the result of his labours, as they have
been put in poSsession, througli.hia successiVe,coni-
munications, of most of the information necessary
to form an estimate of the requirements of the line.
From communications held with -the India-house
the directors have every reason to conclude that as
soon as tranquillity is restored to the province of
Oude, which may be confidently anticipated in the
ensuing cold weather, the Government of India
will be anxious to recommend the gaint of the
guarantee, with a view 'to the immediate com-
mencement and vigorous prosecution of operations.
An arrangement has been entered into with the

directors of the Central Oude Railway Company to
the mutual satisfaction of both parties, and which
only awaits the guarantee of the Government and
the confirmation of the respective constituencies.
As soon as these negotiations are finally settled,
the propds.ed conditions of union will be submitted
to the shareholders at a meeting specially convened
for that purpose. The accounts show that £11,164
had been received from the Ist of January, 1857,
to the 24th of June, 1858, and £4,007 expended,
leaving a balance of £7,157.!

THE CATASTROPHE ON TRE OXFORD

RAILWAY.

The coroner's inquiry into the circumstances
attending the fatal collision on this line on the 23d
of last month was resumed yesterday before Mr. T
Phillips, coroner, at the Bell Hotel, Brierley-
hill.

Mr. King, solicitor, Stourbridge, conducted the
case for the company. Capt. Tyler, the Govern-
ment Inspector, was present. Mr. Fenton, the
chairman of the company, was there again, as were
many officials employed on the line, persoze who
had been injured by the collision, or in the interest
of the relatives of those who were killed by the
same calamity. Mr. Rupert Kettle, of the Oxford
Circuit, appeared, instructed by Mr. Horner, soli-
citor, of Brierley-hill, on behalf of Mr. Harley,
tailor, of Dudley, who was himself injured and
whose wife was
Mr. George Lindsley, locomotive foreman of the
Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton line, de-
posed to the weight of the experiment train. There
were 17 carriages and a van, and two empty car-
riages. The gross weight was 116 tons 9 cwt.
Robert Gransmore, inspector of rolling stock,
said—l saw the trains leave Worcester on the 23d.
August. It was my duty to inspect them. I was
at Worcester in the morning when the trains came
in. There were two ordinary luggage vans and
two second-class break vans. One of the break vans
was an ordinary luggage van and the other was a
goods van. The breaks were in good condition.
There were three screw coupling chains and four
side chains broken. That was all that I found de-
fective. I can't say whether the chains produced
are the same. The chains that were broken were
replaced by other chains for the return train.
The chains that were broken were not used
again. It is not a common occurrence for so many
chains to break in one train. There was also a second
class break in addition to the two other breaks in
the first train that returned in the evening. When
the train returned at night the carriages were
coupled together, two by a goods couplint, instead
of the passenger couplings that had broken, and
a third by the two ordinary side chains. The break
on the last van was in good working order when
the train left 'Worcester. The second-class break
van was in the middle of the train. I don't recol-
lect any instance previously in which more than
one chain broke in the course of a journey. On
examining the chains and couplings, my opinion of
the cause of the breakage was that there might
have been a " snatch" of the engine, or the guard's
break: might have been down ; but I formed no
opinion, as I was told they broke at starting from
a station. I thoroughly examined the carriages
before they left Worcester, on the 23d of August.
I made two examinations, because while examining
the train the first time I was interrupted by the
arrival of the other train.

Captain Tyler, Government Inspector of Rail-
ways; said—After the accident occurred I attended
and made certain experiments by direction of the
Board of Trade on the 28th of August, between
Round Oak and Brettel-lane. I asked the company-
for, and I believe obtained, the same number of car-
riages that broke away on the 23d. These car-
riages were supplied to me, and they appeared to be
such carriages as were in ordinary use. There were
two breaks, one behind and the other in the middle ;
the one behind was a break van, the one in the
middle was a carriage with a break attached to it.
The break in the rear was sufficient to stop the
carriages at different speeds, varying from. two and
three up to 10 and 15 miles per hour. By running
440 yards we acquired a speed of 10 miles an
hour. The behind break was then applied and
the train stopped in 833 vards, and the carriages
stopped at 111 yards short of the point of collision.
If the break had been put on when the train began
to recede it ought to have been brought up in a
short time, supposing the break to have been in
proper order ; that is, supposing also that the train
had acquired a speed of ten miles an hour ; but if
the rails had been slippery, and the train had been
allowed to acquire a rate of ten miles an hour, they
would probably run past the site of the collision,
but then the collision would not have been so
violent as it appears to have been. These experi-
ments have led me to the conclusion either that the
guard did not apply his break at all that night, or
else that he applied it within only a very short
distance .of the point of collision. I may say that
the appearance of the break-screw tends to confirm
that opinion. (The screw was produced.) From
its appearance in connexion with the nut attached
to it, I 'am of opinion that it was not used on the
night of the accident. (The shackle draw-bar of
the first carriage that broke away was produced.)
The weld by which the eye of the strap is attached
to the shackle is deficient, so that it was holding
by only about a third of its strength. The iron is
somewhat inferior, but it would probably not have
given way if' it had not been for its defective weld.
I think Gransmore did all that was his duty to do
iti examining the couplings and chains before the
train left. Worcester. I don't see what else he
could have done more.
The Foreman—The guard Cook told us that he
applied the break when the separation was about
six yards in, width. Do you think, Captain Tyler,
that if he had applied the break within six, or even
60, yards he could have stopped the train without
the collision occurring ?
Captain Tyler—Yes, certainly.
By. Mr. Fenton—lt was probably iaipossible for
the officials to have discovered the inefficient weld
by sight merely; but they might have done so by
actual strain.

Mr.-James Edwin M'Connell deposed----I am en-
gineer:of the line at Wolverton in Buckingham-
shire. I: have examined.: the couplings, and. find
that the approximate cause of the accident was the
defective welding in the strap of the bow of the
screw coupling, Which made it only able to bear
one-third of the strain which it would otherwise
have borne. The effect of the hook breaking, in
my opinion, has led to-the breakage of the screw
coupling. The iron of which this hook is made is
of a fair quality. The iron of which the screw
coupling is made is of good quality, but I could not
tell whether it was a hard tough iron without put-
ting-it through the fire. The quality of the link is
inferior, or, as I am now inclined to think, it might
have been overheated in the welding. I have not
been present at any of the experiments, but from
the evidence of the guard Cook I am of opinion
that the break of which he had the charge—that
is, the behind one—was not applied On approaching
Round Oak station. The consequence would be
that the 'break of the .engine. and tender an& the
fore break-van on.the momentum, would force the
buffer-springs of the carriage, bringing them closer