The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-06 00:00:00

ALARMING RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

FIVE PERSONS SERIOUSLY INJURED.
:From the .Fontypool Free Press and Herald of the Hills.)

On Tuesday morning, an accident of a fearful
nature took place on the West Midland line of rail-
way between Pontypool-road station and Newport.
The following are the particulars which our reporter
gathered on the spot, from some of the unfortunate
sufferers, and from eye-witnesses of the terrific oc-
currence. It appears that two trains—one leaving
Hereford at 8.40, and the other leaving Monmouth
at 9, are due at Pontypool-road station within a few
minutes of each other. The train from Monmouth
had arrived, deposited its Pontypool-road passen-
gers, and (before pursuing its journey to Merthyr,)
was about to be shunted on to the up-line, in order
to let the Hereford train pass. The engine driver
turned on the steam sufficiently to move the train to
the points and shunt it on the other line. While
thus engaged, he saw the foreman of the locomotive
department (Mr. Watson) on the platform, and
jumped down to speak to him, leaving the fireman
(as he supposed) to take the train down to and re-
turn from the points on the opposite line. The
driver and Mr. Watson were talking together, when
the latter observed that the train, insteaZorreturn-
ing from the points, was proceeding towards New-
port on the wrong line of rails. At the saine mo-
ment, to their surprise and alarm, the fireman—
who was supposed to be in charge of the train—
made his appearance on the platform by their side !
It was now too late to catch the train, which soon
attained express speed, and the utmost anxiety was
felt for the safety of the passengers. The gradient
from Pontypool to Newport is such as to render it
unnecessary to put on much steam, the weight of the
train being of itself almost sufficient to take it to the
terminus. But with the steam turned on, and no
driver, the prospect was, indeed, terrible. With its
speed fearfully increasing as it rushed down the in-
cline, if it did not topple over the steep embank-
ment, it was too possible that it would, at the rate
of 60 or 70 miles an hour, dash into the station
just about the time the passengers were being seated
in the 10.50 train from Newport to Hereford, in
which case nothing less than a miracle could have
saved passengers, trains, and station from demolition.
Just as the unfortunate train, however, started on
its perilous journey, it happened that at the Coed-
y-gric Junction, distant about three-quarters of a
mile—and just below the locomotive engine-shed—
a luggage train was being taken out of a siding on
to the main line. The fireman and driver both saw
the advancing train, and immediately blew the
whistle of their engine as a danger signal. As it
was not answered from the other engine, the speed
of which remained unslackened, they concluded
something was wrong, and as their engine and
tender were already on the main line, they saw that
a collision was inevitable, and jumped off their
engine and ran for their lives. The run-away
engine, with the train in its rear,crashed up against
the engine of the luggage train, and the pieces of
broken iron, wood, and brass flew in all directions,
The heavy passenger train overturned its lighter
opponent, and then, with a groan of escaping steam,
fell over on its side, the still-revolving wheels
ploughing up the rails and earth to the depth of two
feet. The passenger carriages were not overturned,
but their occupants were all more or less injured
from the concussion. They got out of their several
compartments as soon as they could,
with cut and
already swollen faces. The news reached Ponty-
pool, and Mr. D. Lawrence, surgeon ,proceeded to
the scene of the accident to render assistant©. The
cottage of one of the railway employes was placed
at the disposal of the injured, and every attention
was paid to them. Among the passengers most
severely injured were R. J. Wood, Esq., of the
Weekly Dispatch newspaper, and Miss Wood, his
daughter, who was travelling from Monmouth to
Merthyr when the unfortunate accident took
place. The gentleman sustained a very se-
vere contusion of the soft parts round the
right eye, and the whole of the
right side of the
face was much swollen and discoloured and his
right knee and leg much bruised, but his own
injuries seemed to be forgotten in anxiety for his
daughter, a fair young lady, who, although escaping
with a contusion on the side of her forehead, was
otherwise so much shaken and alarmed by the acci-
dent as to bring on an attack of hysteria. The
greatest attention was paid them by the medical
man, and, as soon as practicable, they proceeded in
a fly to his residence, from whence, after a short
stay, they posted back to Monmouth—and it was
the gentleman's intention to post the whole of the
distance to London rather than subject his daughter
to the painful amxiety which could not fail to be ex-
perienced in a journey by rail after such an accidentss
Mr. J. Meredith, schoolmaster, of Llangibby
stunned and much shaken by the concussion, a
nd likewise suf- -
Mrs, Meredith was also stunned, a

Ing to the Clarence station. A young vra. .o in
search of a situation, named Mary Ann Bartlett,
living at the Race, received a contused wound on
lower side of
the .orbit between the eye and the
cheek. The only oth
er person in the train was an
old man named
fright and a shaking.Mratk inBll,,lewanhwo heislecaMperd. wSiatyheras
had been telegraphed for, and on his arriving
at the scene of the accident, means were soon re-
sorted to in order to clear the line for the passage of
trains. Soon after the' accident, Mr. Lane, the
traffic manager, and Mr. Hill, inspector for the Men-
mouthshire Railway and Canal Company, arrived,
and assisted in superintending the clearance—which'
was partially effected in time to let the 12.0 train
from Crane-street station to Newport pass, and. the
line was cleared of the broken engines and the rails
replaced during the afternoon. The manager of this
section of the line, Mr. Percy Morris, has instituted
a searching inquiry into the circumstances of the
occurrence.

H 0 X F O R D,
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EVERY EVENING.

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