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AT MT."' MOBIAC.
A PASSENGER TRAIN
HAE^aMAlLED.
one-paAsenger badly, injured.
other circum
stiun;c=, jv-'---1 very serious,
occurred at Mount Moriac on Saturday
ni"liE to the Port Fairy passenger train,
which' left Geeldng at 5.55 p.m. Tlie en
gine/? fS cattleftniclfi; i£nt£aj.pp6seng« ;car
were'Hdralled, and-' oiie,Jpas'Senger,' Sir.
H:W. Beardsley, of Russell's Creek,
Warrnambool, engaged as Victorian in
spector for the Equitable Eife Assurance
SdcieEy, wasibadly injprefl.f.n - ;■
'Thc-train4 'comprised1 a' cattlty truck,
tliree passenger cars and the guard's van,
weighing in all about 130:tons, and when
leaving Geelong had close on 90 passen
gers cms }roard:> tho majority travelling
Second-class.h .The run to Mount Moriac
was made iu about 40 minutes, and it was
about twenty minutes to seven o'clock
when tlie ascent of the steep incline lead
ings frpm^tbo$ station /was,, ..commenced.
Th.'e%rade is about/hue in? fifty,:and. at
the crest of the hill a spur line branches
off-thc main track to Wcnsleydalo. it
was_oyer these points^that the accident
bccurrSd* ^h'on^hfl train-was travelling
at' aboiit lo miles ah" hour, and had the
.derailment occurred on a down grade
the whole train would probably have left
tho-,railsrtwith c disastrous -.consequences.
Ars-it avaSvlRo wever, onlyithe- cattle truck
and the leading passenger ear left the
track,-while the engine was partially de
railed.
:' , The*Accident' .happened; in a rather
peculiar 'manner. The front wheels of the
engine had taken the right track, hut tlio
remaining wheels entered between tho
points!'while "the cattle truck went off
oii; the' Wensleydale'liiie: The couplings,
strange to say, held firmly, and the first
■passenger car was consequently displaced
from the rails. Driver Powell knew at
once by" the'violent- jolting that some
thing had happened, and his promptitude
•lit pulling the1 train''tip' accounted in a
largo measure for the slight damage
done. Tho passengers An the rear cars
experienced lidUiiiig beyond the ordi
tiary jolt to he encountered on any mixed
I train,, -but- the /occupan.ts , of the "leading
earl received a. -very.; severe shaking. As
the car Jeft.t.he rails there was one very
sudden, bump,-j followed Bv'several minor
jerks,, and,though; some of the passengers'
were thrown .frpnV their seats on to the
floor,.and,luggage and hroken: glass were
flying about-, only one ,casualty was re
ported..--. -... ,t - .
"■In bite'of'the leading compartments
Mr.uBeardsley. was seated., in company
wifch'-his-brother, Mr. J. G. llenrdsiey,
and another youngman. The Messrs.
Beardsley sht with, tliejr backs to the en
gine, and with the first shock Mr; H. IV.
Beardslcy. who occupied -the corner posi
tion; was hurled violently forward. Tlio
succeeding jolt threw him hack again,
and/the, backtof- his head c-amo heavily
into contact with the/woodwork of the
car: He was "rendered nnconseious by tlie
blow,' and was only prevented from' fall
ibg by :his:brother, who had escaped in
jury. 'In t.he~corifusiou of the situation,
it-is stated that the other occupant of
the eompartraontt completely lost his
head aiid/scrambled out- of the window,
leaving Air. Beardsley to look after 1113
unconscious brother without assistance.
The passengers of the other compart
ments: bad niadc ;ai hasty exit from tho
damaged car, and assistance was quickly
forthcoming for ,the. injured man. He
whs carefully attended to by his brother
and fellow' passengers, until Dr. P. J.
.Newman, whoHiacl .been telegraphed for,
arrived in a casualty special. Only a few
■minutes'before had . lie regained con
sciousness, and hp complained of pains in
the head and baclr. Dr. Newman saw
that the shock had caused slight concus
sion. and after giving the patient relief,
bad him carefully laid out on a litter for
removal to Geolong.
The special train from Geolong brought,
all the necessary' appli&nces to deal with
derailments,' and Relieving-statiomnaster
C. Thomson and Headmaster Ley had
a staff of thirty .men to set matters right.
They found the bogey car twisted across
the road,- hut- only slightly damaged,
while the"cattle truck, the solo occupant
of which was a .bull, had completely left
the rails on the south side. The engine
and toiuler blocked the iiiain line to the
down train from the-Western district,
due in Geelong at-8.50 p.m., and it was
' at once recognised that the only conrso
open was to tranship the passengers to
the special which had come out. from
Geelong. This, was a .task attended with
some difficulty,.and great care had to he
observed in removing the ladies and chil
dren.. -At 10.30 p.m. all the passengers
had been transferred," and the injured
niau placed aboard tho special, which
pveiituaUy.;arrive<L iii'' Geelong at 11.20
p.m. Mr. Beardsloy 'was conveyed to
bliss Sabine's private hospital, Jlyers
street, where he was subjected to careful
examination-by Dr. Newman. It was
found.that- he was suffering from nervous
shock, due to brain and spinal concus
sion,, and there wore'contusions on the
chest'and neck; The patient passed a
'very restless.night, and it will be some
time before liCMvill be able to attend to
his usual duties.. He will bo re-examined,
on behalf of tho" department, by Dr.
Chas. Ryan. - -
: After the departure of the special to
Geelong,-the^''passengers oii the. derailed
train were transferred to the down train,
which was waiting over, the hill, and she
commenced, the return, journey at- 11.15
p.m. •• —
Having cleared the track of passengers
the railway men, who had, in the moan
time, been reinforced by the arrival or
Superintendent Spencer, performed very
smart work ill clearing the permanent
way. Hydraulic screw jacks soon had the
bogey'car on tho road again, and in half
an hour, it. was followed by the cattle
truck quite \ undamaged. The engine,
which is of the D class, required some
handling, and to expedite-the work tho
tender was detached and tackled first. It
was dragged , to a'convenient position by
an. auxiliary engine, and replaced 011 tho
rails after over am hour's hard work. Tho
position, of the engine was more awk
ward, but tho. bitter cold which prevailed
made the,piieiiiwork with a- will, and by
d a.nw'thc:engine jiacl'been, reinstated 011
the track. ' 'l'he 'permanent way was
quickly restored, and at 0.0O a.m. the
line was reported- clear.-. It was very
creditable work, performed under the
disadvantagCVof darkness.:. s i v »
■iTlie total damage was not- very exten
sive, The only visible"injury to the en
gine was the ' dislocation of a spring
shoulder while;tho bogey car'was or.ly
slightly' damaged.: :The;pernianent way
was, ; of • courser cnt tip, but to no serious
extent. One of the branch rails was com
pletely cut through by the front wheels
of the engine, and other-rails-wore strain
ed. The track, however, is again quite
safe .for''''traffic:' tTlie'- engine, car, and
truck were shunted.on. to a siding, and
will Jip, brought into Geelong to-day.
Many theories' were 'advanced in ex
planation of the mishap: The most prob
iblo theory, however, -is-tliat after the
front -whchls of. the, engine. had cleared
the.pqmtsVjthey sprung back, causing tho
jnginq to leavq the rails and the follow
nS; truck:,to take the. "WVnsleydale line.
Phe-qircumstaiices of the accident will be
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