The Sun.
London, England, 1844-08-31 00:00:00

FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

LEICESTER, Atm. 29.—A dreadful and somewhat
singular accident occurred last evening on the Leicester
and Swannington line, by which a fine young woman,
in her 23d year, met with almost instantaneous death.
The train which leaves Bayworth, a village about ten
miles to the north-west of Leicester, at 6 P.M., arriving
at Leicester at seven, consisted of twenty-six waggons
loaded with coal, and two passenger carriages ; these
last being placed in the centre of the train, thirteen coal
waggons in front, and thirteen behind. This train stopped
at Desford, about seven miles from Leicester, to take up
two passengers, the deceased and an elderly woman
named Daniel's, who was with her. They were in the
first compartment of the last carriage. It is supposed
that the sudden jerk caused by the stoppage, fractured
one of the axletrees, for the train had not proceeded
more than a mile and three quarters, w hen a waggon
was perceived to have broken down. It was dragged on
however, about a hundred yards, when several more of
the ax.letrees having broken, one of them (probably the
one which first gave way) was forced endways into the
ground between the rails, nearly its whole length, and
the wheel at its other end turning up in a slanting direc-
tion, caused a dead stoppage, the suddenness of which
broke the coupling-chains attaching the engine, which
proceeded a considerable di..stance by itself, and caused a
tremendous crash. The waggons in front being at a dead
lock, the two passenger carriages were forced up into the
air by the resistless impetus of the thirteen waggons ofcoal
which were behind. There were eleven passengers in the
whole, and it appears nothing less than miraculous that
the number killed should be limited to one only. Some
jumped out ; parts of the carriage had closed together
round the neck of one of the passengers, and he was in
great danger of being strangled, but was timely rescued.
Others were rescued by means of a ladder, and some idea
may be formed of the height to which the devoted pas-
senger carriages were forced up, by the fact that a 12-
round ladder which was at first obtained was found alto-
gether useless, and at length one about double its length
being procured and placed as nearly as possible perpen-
dicular, two passengers, a man and a boy, were extri-
cated. from their perilous situation. But the worst re-
mains to be told. The elderly woman whom I have
mentioned, whose husband, a tailor, lives at Leicester,
es,. (ss ahn hprself exnressed it) at first a kind of jerk
and then another, but more violent tnan tne nrsr,' and
thought they probably were about to stop the train for
something, but almost before she had time to think
about the matter, she heard a great crashing nose, and
felt that she and her companion were being reared up in
the air. Then something pressed her down nearly
double, and she could compare it to nothing but being
ground down by a kind of mill. The pressure was awful.
She expected every moment to be killed, but while iu
this situation thought of her companion, and called
to her, but received no answer. She felt for her while
in this horrible condition, and could touch her clothes,
and in two or three minutes (though it seemed an age to
her) she was extricated, sadly bruised, but without hav-
ing any bones broken, The ill-fated girl was extricated
in about ten minutes, but quite dead. They were
riding with their faces to the engine, and while one
escaped comparatively unhurt, the other was completely
jammed in between the coal waggon at her back and the
opposite seat on the front, which pressing across her
chest, produced suffocation, and almost instant death.
Her name was Elizabeth Atkins. She was possessed of
some personal attractions, and gained a respectable live-
lihood by dressmaking. She had been on a visit fur ten
days previous at Hugglescote, an adjacent village, and
was returning to her mother's, at Leicester, when the
fatal occurrence took place. At the inquest held the
next day before Mr. Gregory, coroner, at the Rasby-
wharf, after hearing the evidence from which the above
facts are taken, the jury returned a verdict of" Acciden-
tal death," and a deodand of 50!. upon the passenger
carriages. The jury expressed their disapprobation of
those carriages being placed in the midst of a coal train,
and strongly recommended that in future they be placed
at the end of the train.

The scene where the accident occurred defies descrip-
tion. The passenger carriages themselves were literally
smashed to atoms, and each side of the line was strewed
with springs, wheels, broken axletrees, broken glass,
&c. The sight, I was informed by an eye-witness, was
truly awful; those who escaped, expectinc, every mo-
ment, while scrambling away, to be crushed by the wag-
gons of coal, some of which were raised up to a great
height in the air.
It may be but justice to the management of this rail-
way (which was more exclusively projected for traffic)
to state that during the twelve years it has been worked,
not a single accident has occurred, except through the
rashness or carelessness of the sufferers themselves.

WINDSOR, FRIDAY.—CIIANGE OF REGIMENTS.—
The 2d battalion of the Scots Fusilier Guards marched
from Windsor to Slough, en" route to St. John's-wood
Barracks, this morning, at nine o'clock, under the com-
mand of Colonel Berkeley Drummond, and were relieved
by the Ist battalion, who arrived from the Tower at
noon, commanded by Colonel Moneriefr. The band of
the regiment will remain at Windsor until the depar-
ture of the Court, in about ten days.
COLDURN'S NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE FOR SET,-
TEMBEIL—The opening article of this Number furnishlas
a rich treat for all lovers of the witty and the humourous.
It is called " Social Piracy," and most amusingly illus-
trates the propensities of " Mr. and Mrs. llawke, and
the young Hawkes," to make a prey of all their friends
and acquaintances. Rarely have we seen a social
nuisance so admirably exposed. " The Miners, a Story
of the old Combination-laws, is a powerful tale, by the
" Medical Student," which will be perused with addi-
tional interest at the present moment, when the occur-
rencee in the north are exciting so much attention.
" Conversations with the author of Vathek, Part III.,"
contains some very characteristic anecdotes and opinions
of that remarkable personage. Mr. W. H. Maxwell,
the popular author of " Stories of Waterloo," gives us
a very lively batch of sketches of character lnf.
his
"Lights and Shades in the Life of a
a
Half-
pay." The incident of the " Three Marrs''
Mrs. Tis
the
opbeelst
bit of fun we have had for some time. en
caustic powers are exerted to their
and
new chapters of her " Robertses on
theirfull
Tsreaerl s 1;
n"
entitled " The Refugee," which will not a little excite
the author of " Peter Priggins" contributes an article,
the risible faculties of the fit-lac!. " Reminiscenses of
-
some
Bernadotte ; besides
the late King of Sweden" comprise some very curious
particulars respecting and,
merit.and intended to have be
stanzas of high
100Tt_okh,etrheearl' Issefveemroarlyotohferßpuarpnesera'
written by Miss Eliza C
s'
Laman Blanchard's account of
" A society for the Encouragement of Hearts," &c,
souf nign
taetrtehs et , stiva
Mr.
includinga te fe
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HOLLOWAY'S PILLS.—A gentleman named Knightly,
late of the West Indies, but now residing in Vauxhall-
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TRAFFIC IN HUMAN BONES.—Great surprise and
considerable indignation were excited yesterday by a
broker in Great Windmill-street, near Lincoln's Inn-
fields, exposing for sale, amidst his broken warns, several
1111111411Skuus, anus, thigh bones, sad other relics,