The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1850-01-08 00:00:00

MANCHESTER, SHEFFIELD, AND LINCOLNSHIRE

On Wednesday a meeting of shareholders in this railway
was held in Liverpool. Mr. Bradshaw occupied the
chair, and, after a few introductory remarks, he called on
Mr. Morton, of Wakefield, to move the first resolution.
Mr. M ,rton prefaced the motion by taking a retrospec-
tive view of the conduct of the directors, and gave a very
melancholy picture of the present state of the railway, in-
asmuch as the value of the shares was deteriorated from
£lOO down to £l3, and in regard to the dividend, hardly
a hope could be entertained that anything would be de-
clared, and even the debenture holders would be minus, if
the bank did not lend £20,000. To make up deficiencies,
the directory intended to go to parliameet for powers to
raise £500.000, and he therefore moved that in the opinion
of this meeting the disastrous condition of this railway re-
quires that an unrestricted investigation may be forthwith
made into past, present, and future condition, and that
the intended raising of £500,000 shall not be made until
that investigation shall be closed. Mr. James Holt se-
conded the resolution, which was, carried unanimously. A.
requisition to the directors, founded on the above resolu-
tion, was then adopted.
A RUNAWAY ENGINE—THE NORTH KENT RAIL.
WAY.—On Tuesday, as a special engine and carriage were
in the act of crossing from the down to the up line, at the
junction of the two lines near the old Gravesend station,
they were run into by a ballast train, the driver of which,
in consequence of the density of the fog, did not perceive
any object in advance of him. The carriage (which, for-
tunately, was empty) was smashed by the ballast trucks,
and the driver of the engine, dreading the effect of, the
collision, -unfortunately sprang from his engine to the
ground, when it, affected by the accelerated impetus re-
ceived from the concussion with the other train, set off at
full speed in the direction of the Gravesend station, where
the up train to London, just about to start, was standing
at the platform siding. The switchman, unable to
account for the approach of an engine at full speed, turned
the points to send it forward on the main line, and it pro-
ceeded at a rapid pace through the station. The moment
it had passed, the information was telegraphed up the
line and to the London-bridge station, where the infor-
mation was immediately communicated to the chairman
and superintendent of the railway. The latter instantly
proceeded on an express engine down the line, and soon
after his departure the telegraph brought the account of
its having passed the Woolwich station. Under the
personal directions of the chairman and other officials at
the London-bridge station, preparations were instantly
made for its reception at the station, if it should arrive
there at speed, so as to prevent any ill consequences en-
suing beyond injury to the engine itself. Sleepers were
placed upon the road, and an engine was fixed there as a
buttress to receive it. The special engine carrying the
superintendent met the runaway engine between the
Bricklayers' Arms junction station and the New-cross-
bridge, then backed to follow it, crossing at the junction
on to the same line as the runaway, which it pursued and
overtook, running into it at speed. The driver of his
engine gallantly sprang from the pursuing engine on to
the runaway, and immediately obtained control over it,
and the two engines thus arrived at the London-bridge
terminus.