Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Tuesday 16 January 1951, page 1


The wrecked ends of two trains. (Other pictures, P. 20.)

Trains crash,

crews safe

WHEN two electric trains collided with a

terrific inpact near East Malvern

station last evening, the driver of one and the guard of the other had extraordinary

escapes from death.

The splintering crash of the colliding trains was so loud that many wives went hurrying to the station, anxious for the safety of their husbands.

So great was the impact that the driver's cabin of one train, coming from Glen Waverley, rammed inside the guard's van on the other train, which was shunting out of East Malvern station.

Only one of the six passen-gers on the Glen Waverley train was injured. The other train was empty.

The smash occurred at 6.9 p.m., when a seven-carriage train, which had arrived 10 minutes be-fore at East Malvern, was being shunted on to another track to wait for 45 minutes before return-ing to Fawkner.

As this train shunted towards the cutting 200 yards to the east, the 5.55 train from Glen Waver-ley came round a bend, and the two trains collided.

The injured

The injured, who were treated at Alfred Hospital, were:

Alfred Guymer, 64, of Railway place, Glen Waverley, driver of the Glen Waverley train: Severe lacerations to face and head.

John McGrath, 40, of Epping, guard of the city train: Lacera-tions.

Maurice Cutler, 41, of Dande-nong rd. Murrumbeena, a passen-ger: Lacerations.

One hundred stitches were used on the wounds in Guymer's face and head, but he was allowed to go home late last night.

Members of the East Malvern station staff, who were first on the scene, had to chop away broken timbers with axes to ex-

tricate driver Guymer from the wreckage of his cabin.

As he was pulled free, pieces of glass and mangled iron fell away from his body and clothing.

He lay on the grass beside the

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Railway smash

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line for 10 minutes, and was then assisted to East Malvern station, where he awaited an ambulance.

Guard McGrath is believed to have leapt to safety a second be-fore the trains hit. He was cut by flying wreckage.

The first two "dog box" com-partments, as well as the driver's cabin of the small Glen Waver-ley train, splintered under the impact.

Almost the entire chassis of the

first carriage of the small train was buckled, and parts of it protruded six feet out the side of the carriage. The first four wheels were derailed.

All the seats in both carriages of the Glen Waverley train were hurled to the floor, the buffers

between the two carriages were bent, and timberwork between the carriages as split open.