, 1861-09-24
AWFUL RAILWAY ACCIDENT IN
ENGLAND.
Twenty-Five Persons Killed and over
One hundred Re0Rasd,

UEeHEe ~ 41lHAAA Co1uslOn 8na loaS Of lite
in the Clay Jton tunnel of the London and
Brighton Railway, about five miles from the
Brighton terminus, on Sunday morn pg, Aug.
18th. We quote from the details IN tf1e
English papers. 4 Portsmouth excursion train
ieaFes Brighton every Sunday morning at iya
minutes past O'Clock. Ten minutes later
another excursion train starts on die sans
lire; aad this, after an interval Of fif:een
minutes, is followed by the regular Parliom en.
tary tro1n. lhs first train On The 25th lett and
entered the tunnel all tight. When the second
excursion train came along there WIS some
dlsarralgement Of the telegraph and s;gnnIs
which report the condition Of affairs fran one
sna ot the tnnnel to the other, and it WAS d.
1a1eo some time. It finally entered the tun-
mel Shortly afterwards the third or regular
!faln esme and the s'gual man sent message
to the ether side, asking if tha seesnd train
hao got through. The man at the other side
Understood the question to refer to the first
1rsia ,rs;a and answered yes. So when the third
PASSED into the tunnel at fail speed. The &C.
count proceeds
It had not got over 500 yards before there
vas Tremendous shock It had run into the
h1st Br1g ghson train, which, in fact, was at the
tiTe IN E. siowly M backing out OF the tunnel The
bic. The unhappy excnrsionlsts seemed fully
aware OF their approaching fate. In the awful
moment OF suspense which preceded the ter.
r1t1c crash, hasty prayer escaped from The
sgoqized hearts Of the passengers. We may
well conceive that their ehrieks were heart
rending IS they broke forth amidst the dark-
ness ct that subterranean passage-darkness
only rendered visible and more dreadful by
the lights Of the lamps hung from the first
class coaches.
Tie imperfect Ii bit revealed O scene that
can never be forgotten by those who witnesg-
ed it. The tunnel was blocked up with mass
ff hrTDHn hQ5pp 1piy1Cr arAa
men and children lay buried beneath heaps of
broken carriages, the engine and tender, with
their enormous weight and momentum paaa
ing, crushing, and rending the PROSTATE and
helpless crowd Of human beings. Some were
sealdsd to death, come had their bodies cut
asuEdeT, come had their limbs crushed into q
slapeless maEs, and others we're mutilated in
manner too shocking for description. TWen-
y perscns were found dead, and not less than
ne hundred we're more or 1ezs seriously in
juIed. NA~
The extent of the fearful catastrophe then
became apparent The engine Of the Parlia-
meutary train had smashed The last carriare
IN The e1cntsion train, which had mixed CON.
FaItments for luggage ut one end, passenger
seais in he middle, and guards break at the
Other end. The locomotive had been pitched
over the last cafEicge to the back Of the last
carriage but one, and shiVered into fragments.
Inns carnage comprised four ccmpartn cnts.
eecn containing t~o pe1so1s, and the consc-
qaences cannoI be ade qnately described the
unhappy passengers were scattered and mn
tLated in all directions; several were scalded
With the boiling water from the engine, and
their yells Of agony we7e pitiab1e in the e.
treme.
The telegraph was immediately set to work
communicating the terrible nature of the
cassmity to Brighton, when assistance Was
speedily sent. Unfortunately, in too many
easee medic3 aid wss unayailing. Upon the
f1agnents OF the carriages being removed,
upwards Of twenty persons were found to be-
desd- The engine las our reporter vas H.
tormed) had literally sunk upon the second
| carriage, and the bodies of several Of the AMI
| fe1trs we're underneath They had either
| been smashed or ecalded to death. One un-
1oltunate woman had both her legs cut of
1ueL ABOVE the knees, aud she was quite black
IN the lace. Another woman had her ecaln
torn completely CT and both her arms br;1kaa
UIe man hac his face crushed in such man
neI IS to force his eyeba1Is from his head.
when BODIES Of the dead had been properly
chels, the husband seeing the mapgled CORPSE
Of bis wife, Who b few hours before had feit
hirl in health and happiness; the daughter
Weeping over her mothers shattered remains.
The Brighton He+ad says:
Clayton tunnel-the scene Of the accident.
is the second tunnel on the main line out of
Brighton, and the longest on the line. The
right ouer the fo3t carriages Of the first Brieh.
ton train, and then, falling upon them. liter
ally crushed the unfortunate passengers, The
last carriage was full Of passengere, and the
Engine fell upon them, and the horrors Of the
scene TINT e1sued are not to be described or
| conceived. Tho tunnel was quite faU. -
A passenger in the front part Of the frat
Brighton train describes his experience In this
| way. He says:
The ecene that followed the accident, I have
| no power to describe to you. The yells and
shrieks Of the people We're awful, not oaly of
those who we're injured, but the rest Of the
passengers Of the two traina, whose alarm,
increased By the darkness, was intense. Peo.
/ pie we're distracted with terrier. We hsd not
many injured beyond mere coRtusious in our
| carriage; hut people yelled aud shrieked and
put up pray ers, believing that they would
never see daylight more. Their fears increased
tie actual horrors Of the Ritustion. They i'm
agIned that every moment other trains, either
On the up or down lines, would Tra into them
snd render their doom certain.
For some ten minutes We remained in dark
ness; then Lights were hung up against the
s1ats OF the tunnel, and the scene that re-
vea.ed itself vas terrific. There, IN the back
1logts more or less in fragments, which
seemed 10 have been piled one above the
GtEeT FIom among the mass, and around in
al! di1ecilone, you could d!stingueh people
i51rg, slt;!rg or running to and fro, shrieking
anc grea1Eg. ne1er witnessed such scene
II E,5 1T. l trust in God neyer to do SO
ag61n. We were Detained in this tunnel an
hour SD zen minutes before any one of our
train could be got out; then about fifteen OF
cur carriages got ont, taking with them a
number OF the slightly wounded
The catastrophe created tremendous ex.
cltement IN England, and rigid Inquiry into
the circumstances attending it Was being
made