The Sun.
London, England, 1861-08-30 00:00:00

THE TERRIBLE COLLISION ON TEE
LONDON AND BRIGHTON RAILWAY.

THE ADJOURNED INQUEST.
BRIGHTON, THURSDAY EVENING.
The investigation into the circumstances under
which the lamentable accident occurred on Sunday
morning last, was resumed, for the fourth time, in
the magistrates' room, at the Town Hall, before
Mr. David Black, the coroner for the borough.
Captain Tyler, the Government Inspector. was offi-
cially present from the Railway Department of the
Board of Trade.
Tne London and Brighton Railway Company
was represented by Mr. Faithful!, their solicitor;
Mr. Roupell, barrister, instructed by Mr. J. S.
Stuckey, solicitor, of Brighton, appeared to watch
the case on behalf of the relatives of the late Mr.
Ingledew ; Mr. Lamb, solicitor, of Brighton, was
present on behalf of the representatives of Mr. John
Lockstone and Mrs. Jane Elizabeth Biden ; Mr.
Penfold, solicitor, of Brighton, represented the re-
lations of Miss Rebecca Barclay. Mr. Fryer, of
Gray's-inn, watched the case on the part of the
friends of Mr. Greenfield, oilman, of Union-street,
Borough; also for Mr. John Field and Mrs. Field,
of Montpelier•place, Brighton ; and also for Mr.
Edward Sewell, of College-place, Camden-town—
the last three named persons having been very
much injured by the collision. Mr. Pook, solicitor,
of 27, Basinghall-street, was present on behalf of
the friends of Messrs. Thomas and George Noble ;
also for Mr. Robert Ayley and Mrs. Elizabeth
Thompson—these two last named persons not being
at present deceased, although seriously injured. Mr.
Evans, solicitor, of Bedford-row, watched the pro-
ceedings for the friends of Mr. Geo. Gardener and
Mrs. Christiana Manthorpe • Mr. Stevens, solicitor
of Brighton, attended for the representatives of Mr.
John Wheeler, Mrs. Wheeler, and Daniel Wheeler,
their son; and Mr. T. H. Reed, solicitor, of St.
Ann's-lane, London, appeared on behalf of the hus-
band of Mrs. Westcott and her daughter, now lying
ill in the hospital; and also Mr. Henry Watkins
and Mrs. Watkins.
Mr. Frederick Slight, the secretary ; Mr. Geo.
Hawkins, the traffic manager; Mr. Chester Craven,
locomotive and carriage superintendent ; Mr. Perry,
inspector of the permanent way ; Mr. J. S. Farmer,
Mr. George Faithful!, with other officials of the
company were also present.
Mr. Conyngham, M.P., Sir Richard Levinge,
M.P.,",with many other gentlemen of position and
influence, also watched the proceedings during the
day, and the court-room was again densely crowded.
Before the commencement of the proceedings, Mr.
Fryer, addressing the coroner, wished, before they
went into this matter, to make a formal application
that he (the coroner) would exercise his authority
to induce the railway company to let the profes-
sional gentlemen concerned in the case have a copy
of the book of rules and regulations issued to their
servants for their guidance and instruction. He
(Mr. Fryer) believed that the coroner possessed
such a power ; but, if not, it was to be hoped that
the railway authorities would, for their own credit's
sake, and for the satisfaction of the public, enable
the legal advisers of those who were so deeply in-
terested in the inquiry to :see those rules, the in-
fraction of which might be the gravamen of the
charge (if any) which might attach to any one in
the course of the investigation.
The Coroner observed that he should be glad to
assist the professional gentlemen present to the best
of his power, and would lend his own copy of the
rules and regulations to the legal gentlemen in the
case.

The examination of Dewey, the assistant signal-
man, proceeded as follow
Captain Tyler—You have been at the tunnel
mouth eight or nine years. Have you had a tele-
graph all that time ?
Witness—Yes.
Captain Tyler—Have you never had a break down
in the tunnel ?
Witness—Not while I have been on.
Captain Tyler—Or a train stop in the tunnel ?
Witness—Not to my recollection ; nor on any
occasion that I was required to send a messenger
through.
Captain Tyler—How did you come to hear of the
accident ?
Witness—One of the passengers came running by
my house and told me of the accident. I went down
to the signal box and got a lamp before going into
the tunnel.
Captain Tyler—Have you heard Killick's evidence
to-day.
Witness—No, sir.
Captain Tyler—Did you converse with him ?
Witness—Yes. I said, " How did this happen ?"
Jackson, who used to be one of our engine-drivers,
was a passenger by the train, andhe then came into
the box and said, " Come along, here's a dreadful
accident," and I went off with him.
Captain—Tyler—Having been on dutyso recently
you would naturally ask how it happened ?
Witness—l did, but he said he did not know.
There were several passengers in the box, who must
have overheard what I said.
Capt. Tyler—Do you know any one who was there?
Witness—No more than the man in the moon.
A Juryman—Why did you not tell us on Monday
night, when we were there, that Killick was up in
his cottage ?
Witness—l did not know he was there. I had not
been up to the top of the tunnel from the time I
came down in the morning till I went back at night.
A Juryman—Are you on friendly terms with him?
Witness—Yes, very.
Mr. Roupell—How far in the tunnel did the ac-
cident—
By a Juryman—Excuse me, sir, I have more
questions to ask. The night we were there a train
passed without ringing the bell. Mr. Hawkins
asked you if you knew of such a circumstance oc-
curring before, and you said you never did. What
did you mean by telling the jury the signal was not
wound up as the cause of the bell not ringing ?
Witness—You misunderstood me. I must have
said I overwound it by pulling the signal too far.
Mr. Roupell—Then every time you overwind the
signal the train is to pass without notice ?
Witness—lt never occurred so before.
Mr. Roupell—Never ? That is very extraordi-
nary. Your answer was, you never knew it to fail
before, and you told me the reason was because it
was not wound up.
The Coroner—l think he said not set.
juryman—I understood him to say it was very
untieult to account for it.
Another Juror—The witness said—" We had
been i
ruthng all over the place, and treading on it
every few bai„ tes
Another Itrt,,, Ito witness)—The signal not acting
on Menday-nigl,i,
if
and
train had come up, it
would have gone 0„
entered the tunnel.
Witness-L-Certainipyn,,utpdut I should have put the
signal on immediatel
mewaved the flag.
By the Coroner—lf
signal had not acted,
would it not have been your duty to put it on?
Witness—Yes.
By Mr. Lamb—Do you keep a watch
in your

pociet?

Witness—Yes, Sir.
By Mr. Lamb—Does it correspond with the clock
at the station ?
Witness—Yes. As near as I can judge it -was
about a quarter to nine when I went down to the
box. If the train was going on, and the red signal
shown, I should expect the driver to shut
the steam off and stop as soon as he
could. I should not look up the tunnel to see
if he had stopped ; but certainly should not let
another train go through until I had a message. I
could see 100 yards up the tunnel if the wind took
the steam up the shaft hole. I never remember in
my experience three trains entering the tunnel
within seven minutes of each other.

Daniel Kean—l live at 14, Popham-terrace, Is-
lington, and am a plasterer. The deceased Anthony
Kean was my brother, and was about 57 years of age.
By business he was a master tailor. I identify the
body I saw at the County Hospital yesterday even-
ing as being that of my deceased brother.
Mr. John Saxby—l live at 20, Buckingham-cow.
I am foreman over the carpenters, and have charge
of lamps, signal works, gas, and gas fittings. I pro-
duce a model of the signal works at the south or
Brighton entrance of the Clayton Tunnel. (The
model was then produced.) The witness fully ex-
plained the details of its working. His examination
was then proceeded with.

Captain- Tyler—Can you account for the signal
sometimes faLing, as we have heard it does ?
Witness—l cannot account for it in any way,
unless by the wires getting hung up.
Captain Tyler—Was there not a vertical motion,
v 1
c tx. I went to see it, of the horizontal slide bar ?
Witnes
thivo_ ?;---Yes, sir, there was, and that might, I
Firoe
_tint for it.
nals or thii,,TY—l have had much experience in sig-
think tlie. citnd, and have repaired them. I do not
distance ,i,,,tiaeln get out of order. I have seen the
i at, every day, and several days
last week.'
erten going Past,
_I:A inspector of signals. lam
The signal has not been look at the signals.
in, altered or meddled with
since the accident.
oti:tZerraVy get any report of
others 17
the signals being out of 0
the traffic mana-
or station masters, g- ,
d ever I have guy
such
to the com-
pany, an - nY such re
send oft' a manem d
me , lately, and a port I always
,do whatever is re-
quired.
One of the jurymen here put several questions
which had been mainly disposed
ed of in the explana-
tion given in the early part of Mr. s
-azbr B exami-
nation.
By the Coroner--I have known the
,signals frozen
up, and I have also seen ordinary signals not able
If the man
to act as well as the self-acting ones.