The Sun.
London, England, 1858-07-21 00:00:00

RAILWAY COLLMION.

Another fearful railway accid( nt has occurred
near Huddersfield, attended with injury to upwards
of 20 persons, but happily with no loss of life. It
cannot be said, however, that all the sufferers are
yet out of danger. The particulars of the unfortu-
nate affair are as follow:—The place where the col-
lision occurred is the Longwood station, on the
London and North-Western Railway, about two
miles from Huddersfield. The collision, which oc-
curred on Monday afternoon, was between a pas-
senger train from Leeds and Huddersfield (on its
way to Manchester) and a coal train. The passenger
train arrived at Huddersfield from Leeds at 1.38
p.m., being eight minutes past its time, and was
duly despatched for Manchester. A coal train had
previou ly been sent on the same line. While some
loaded waggons were being shunted at the Lang-
wood station the distance signal was put on by the
potter at the station in order to warn the passen-
ger train of the obstruction. Some of the coal wag-
gons had been shunted on the siding next the down
line, and George Aspinall, the pointsman and gate-
keeper of the crossing, which is about 150 yards
from the Longwood station, had just crossed the
line and turned the points for the engine of the
coal train, which had shunted the waggons, to re-
er,ss and take the remaining waggons towards
Manchester. The engine had passed the points and
gone up the line a short distance, when the passen-
ger train from Huddersfield came up at such a speed
hat it was evident the signal had been disregarded.
It ran into the van of the coal train, smashing the
van and one of the coal waggons to pieces, . in-
juring another, and doing great injury to the
eiteibne of the passenger train, the chimney being
broken off and the buffers splintered. The passen-
ger train consisted of the following carriages :
rhe engine and van, a second-class carriage, first
ditto, and three third ditto. The first and second
class carriages were comparatively uninjured, but
the three thirds were considerably damaged by the
cellision, nearly the whole of the divisions forming
the compartments being forced out. The force of
t!:e collision was such that the passengers were
hrown against each other and the sides and ends
f the carriages with such force as to inflict upon
them in toy severe contusions and wounds. The
scene presentei was one of a very fearful character,
and it is little less than miraculous that no person
was killed. The passengers—men, women, and
children—were crushed together, being thrown
from their seats and the seats forced out of their
places. As soon as possible after the acciden
medical and other assistance was rendered
o the sufferers. All but three of the passengers,
after being duly attended to by the medical men,
left in the course of the afternoon for their respec-
tive homes, or proceeded on their journey. The
three who were not able to go home were the fol-
'owing :—Mrs. Mary Dransfild, aged 29, the wife
of William Dransfield, a carter in the employ
of IVlessrs. Ogden, of Oldham. She bad been
vi-iting her pareats at Kirkheaton, near Hud-
dersfield, and was returning home with her
child to Lees, near Oldham. • The child was
fortunately uninjured. Mrs. Dransfield suffers
from bruises ou the shoulder and knee, and
a cut on the cheek ; Pile is aleo much shaken.
She was removed to the Huddersfield Infirmary.
Mr. G. V. Ryder, resident manager at Man-
chester of the Royal Insurance Company—general.
shock to the system, internal laceration of the
muscles ef the neck and side, internal injury of the
head fared. Thomas Porter, about 30 years of age,
it confectioner, New-street, Huddersfield,
very serious internal injuries. This is a precarious
case. The latter two persons are at the Railway
Hotel, Longwood. The guard states that although
he was in the van next the engine he did not
noice that the distance signal was up at Longwood
Station. S'J far as can be ascertained the blame of
the accident rests with the driver of the passenger
train, John Luty, who ought to have noticed, on
emerging from the deep cutting at Paddock, that
the distance signal of the Longwood Station was
up. If he bad done this he would have bad suffi-
cient time to etop the train, and to have prevented
the collision. He states, as his reason for not
noticing that the signal was on, that he and the
,ker were locking at the buffer boxes of his engine
which were making an unusual noise at the time.
Although he has been in the company's service •
~zany years he has only been engine-driver about 9
wonths, and is reputed to be a very steady and
;e:utious man. The line was cleared for traffic and
now rails were laid in about an hour and a half.