STATEMENTS BY PASSENGERS.
We are indebted (says a Melbourne journal) to Mr John Watson, of Brunswick, teacher of navigation, for the following interesting details in connection with the occurrence:-"1 was in the first passenger carriage lying on the front seat, another passenger being seated in the corner. This gentleman had been previously on one of the racks, but a bump of the train caused him to get down and takeupasaferposition. A third Passenger occupied Lue other seat, and a fourth was lying on the floor of the carriage. When the shock came it was five minutes to two. I was awake at the time, but did not move, and I observed that my companion on the floor attempted to rise, but could not. The first sensation was a big jump from the train, and then succeeded a series of rapid strokes, about 10 a second, varied by a heaving movement. The lights of the train were extinguished, and there was a rattling of falling luggage.
After the lapse of half a minute the train came to a standstill, and there were hysterical cries from lady passengers to be let out of the carriages. Most of the passengers appeared to have been lying down, and, fortunately, no one received any injury to speak of. When I got out of the train I found that there had been a narrow escape from a big accident. The engine was 17ft away from the rails, and it was clear that if
we had been on an embankment it would have toppled over, and lives would certainly have been lost. It had ploughed its way through the earth for about 20 or 30 yards, and was embedded up to the bed-plate, the cow-catcher being completely curled up underneain the front. The first two mail vans were also some distance from the rails, while the remaining cars were pretty close to them, and the guard's van had not been displaced. The spot where the accident took place is 20 yards from a culvert, and about seven miles from Dimboola.
Being naturally interested in li1e cause of the accident, I went back on the line
with a fellow-passenger, and G60ft from the point where the engine lay embedded we found a displaced fishplate. This is supposed to have been moved by the express train to Adelaide, which passed over the line shortly before, and the origin of the accident is traced to it. The sleeper next to the fishplate was
marked by the flange of a wheel, and the sleepers onwards were cut to pieces. The rails were displaced, those under the first passenger carriage being brought together, and the bogies of the carriages were more or less out of position. The morning was cold, and so the passengers lit a fire with sleeper splin
ters and coals from the engine, round which the ladies crouched for a dreary seven hours.
There were great complaints about the delay that took place in the despatch of a relief train from Dimboola. It hid not appear on the scene until eight o'clock, and then it took an hour to shift the luggage and mails. The train at the time of the accident was going at its ordinary rate, and it is astonishing to nie that no one was injured. After the occurrence the engine-driver looked all right, but the fireman appeared to be considerably shaken." Mr J. Wallace, another passenger, states:-"We were going into Dimboola
at the rate of about 35 miles an hour when a considerable shock was noticed, and the train was cautiously drawn up. It seemed to me that the engine-driver acted with great discretion in not putting on the Westinghouse brake suddenly. Had he done so I believe the carriages would have telescoped. I
examined the line after the accident, and discovered some distance back two 'kinks' in the rails and a displaced fish plate.
I believe that the twist on the rails threw the engine off its balance, and the fishplate did the rest. I consider it most fortunate that the accident occurred where it did. In an awkward place it would have meant a catastrophe." Mr J. C. Fitzgerald, the Victorian cyclist, who was returning to Melbourne
from the Adelaide race meeting, said: "I was awakened from sleep by the bumping of the train. I remarked to a fellow-passenger that we were travelling at a good speed, and, as he pitched head first into me with another jolt, he agreed we were. Then there were more joltings, and the luggage began to fly round the carriage in a remarkable fashion.
I and my fellow-traveller concluded that the window might afford some explanation, and possibly some escape, so we rushed to it. Our agreement
was so remarkable, however, that we each chose the same moment, and were jammed together in the window. The next Jolt settled the matter, for we were both landed on the ground outside. Fortunately no one was hurt, and when we found that to be the case we made the best of the experience, and told
stories round the fire which we lighted for the ladies with odd junks of sleepers, etc.The smartest man in the whole train at the moment of the crisis was an elderly gentleman who could scarcely move during the first of the journey with rheumatic gout or some such affection. While we were wondering what was wrong, Fix this text he had seized up the whole situation and had leaped from the carriage. And he was as cool as he was smart. When he found how matters stood he crept back into the carriage and was asleep again within a few minutes."
Date: 20 APR 1896
I found the above newspaper article very interesting to read. Source is http://trove.nla.gov.au
