THE FATAL RAILWAY DISASTER AT BRIDGEWATER. - FURTHER DETAILS. FINDING OF THE BODIES. - The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954) - 24 Jul 1886 (original) (raw)

Sat 24 Jul 1886 - The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954)
Page 3 - THE FATAL RAILWAY DISASTER AT BRIDGEWATER.

THE FATAL RAILWAY DISASTER

All doubts as to the fate of the unfortunate

men, Turner and Shaw, were set at rest this

morning, when a telegram was received in

town to say that both the bodies had been

found at daylight. A party of polite, con

sisting of Constables Booton, Oakes, Mont-

gomery, Thorne, Quintal, and Hogan set

to work to thoroughly drag the river, with

drags that had been obtained from the

Marine Board in town. About 8 o'clock

the body of Turner was caught by Con-

stable Quintal, and raiscd to the surface,

and a few minutes after, Sergeant Oakes'

drag caught the clothes of the unfortunate

fireman, Wm. Shaw. Both bodies were very

much disfigured, the whole of Shaw's face

being eaten away by crabs and eels, the

former literally swarming on both the bodies.

Turner's body when found also had the face

very much disfigured, but there was a

frightful cut on the right side of the face,

and the whole cheek had bout torn away.

Blood was also oozing from the car, showing

that he must have sustained a fearful blow,

and probably was insensible before he

touched the water. It is imagined

that the unfortunate man, in his hurry

to get out of the carriage, missed his

footing, and fell down between the cross-

ties, which support the rails, striking his

head a fearful blow upon one of the heavy

girders underneath. The dragging appa

ratus had all to be brought up from town by

the relief train, and the police complain very

much of the inadequacy of the life-saving

apparatus at North Bridgewater. On Thurs

day night, just after the accident, one of the

bodies was caught with the local police

drag, but the wretched contrivance would

not hold, and further attempts had to be

abandoned until daylight.

It is a curious fact that both bodies were

found exactly under the spot where the acci-

dent happened, right in the steamer chan-

nel, although there was a very strong

current running down at the time. This is

probably owing to a strong under-cur-

rent which seems to prevail there. The

water at this spot is about 17ft deep, and

the bottom [illegible] from [illegible] a depth of 30ft,

of soft [illegible] has been [illegible] which would quickly

have buried [illegible] left on the bottom

for any [illegible] of time. There have been

numerous fatal accidents on the bridge, and

in the majority of cases the bodies have never

THE RESCUE OF MR. WM. GUNN.

Mr. Wm. Gunn, of Green Ponds, seems

to have bad the narrowest escape of all, for

when rescued from the water he was in an

insensible condition. It seems that imme-

diately after the accident, Constable Booton

and Mesars. Ricketts, Milligan, aud McVilly

launched a boat and rowed round to the

steamer channel, for the purpose of picking

up anyone who had fallen into the water.

Upon getting round the steamer guides, they

saw Mr. Gunn struggling in the water, and

just as they rowed up to him he sank for

the aost time. One of the occupants of

the boat managed to reach over and

catch the end of a large comforter which

Mr. Gunn wore, and which was just

disappearing from sight, and by this means

he was raised to the surface and got into the

boat He was taken ashore in an insensible

condition, but several of the constables pre-

sent act to work to restore animation, ac-

cording to-Dr. Sylvester's method, which is

included amongst the instructions issued by

the Royal Humane Society. After trying

for a quarter of an hour their efforts were

rewarded with signs of returning animation,

and before long Mr. Gunn was so far re-

covered, as to be able to go to

bed. As he is a man of over 80 years

of age, the case may be regarded as

being rather critical, although for the

present, he is considered out of danger. Mr.

Gunn states that when he felt the shock of

the collision of the engine with the viaduct,

he picked up his carpet bag and rushed to

the carriage door, having no idea where the

train was. Upon stepping over the platform,

he fell over the side of the viaduct into the

river. Still holding his bag with one hand,

he tried to swim to the piles, to hold on

till rescued, but his strength proved insuffi-

cient for the attempt, which would have

been no mean accomplishment for tho most

practised swimmer. He remembers nothing

more than that he felt himself sinking, and

came to in the Derwent Hotel. His rescue was

effected just in time, for had another minute

elapsed he would have been beyond the

reach of human aid. This case is only one

amongst the thousands which illustrates the

value of the endeavours of the Royal Humane

Society to diffuse knowledge amongst the

people, to teach them how to act in cases of

Mr. Albert McVilly, who resides a few

yards from the end of the bridge, states that

when the express came down on the night

of the accident, he noticed that the noise she

made in passing on to the swing bridge was

different from usual, a peculiar knocking

sound being noticeable, as though a wheel

were loose. This statement is also borne out

by several people who noticed the train

passing. Whether or not this has anything

to do with the accident, or whether it is only

a flight of imagination, cannot be decided,

and must depend in a great measure upon

The swing bridge, which was the cause of

the accident, is a substantial iron structure

working upon a wooden foundation. It was

fastened in its place for railway traffic by

"pawls," or heavy iron catches, which

dropped into seats on the end of the bridge,

one being situated on each end of the bridge.

On the southern end there were two large

screws, one on each side, the end of the

screw fitting into a sort of cup, which held

it fast. Mr. Edward Roach, the station

master, states that he last examined the

bridge about 5 p.m. on the night of the

accident, when he closed it after allowing a

craft to pass. Two trains passed over be-

tween that time and 8 o clock, when the

express came down, namely the " midland"

train from Hobart, and the "ordinary"

train from Launceston. From the marks on

the cross-ties on the bridge, it appears

that the bridge was 1ft.9in. out of

place when the engine got off, though

when the engine had got over the bridge

swung until the deflection from the line of

rail was nearly 2yds. From the marks it

seems as though the engine had continued

on the line until the end of the bridge had

been reached, for there were marks on the

bridge which would correspond to the wheels

of the engine. The marks of where the first

and second carriages went off the rail, can be

distinctly seen. They must have jumped

off directly the engine struck the other side

of the gap. The movement of the bridge must

have been after the engine was upon it, and

before the first carnage reached it, and this

would account for the gradually increasing

jolts which were felt by the passengers. All

the deckwork, which consists of 3/4-inch plank-

ing, was uninjured at tho southern end,

Which would not be the case if the engine

had left the rails and the bridge. There is

a distinct mark about half-way across where

the flange of the first carriage got off, and a

cut on one of the longitudinal stringers,

which support the cross ties, and a mark at

a corresponding distance on the cross-ties

themselves show where the engine first ran

off. The stringer was about two feet below

the level of the line, and the heavy cant

thus given the engine caused it to turn over.

It is a noteworthy fact that the cngine went

about its own length in the position de-

scribed, and then it turned clean over,

providentially falling on top of one of the

steamer guides which have been erected

there. The top of the guide, which is con-

structed of 12in. baulks of timber, has been

split and smashed, but the timber and bolts

have been able to withstand the strain, and

support the weight of the engine, some 25 tons.

But for this, there would have been nothing

to prevent the whole train from all going

into tho water, and the result would have

been that about 25 people would have been

drowned like rats in a box. The engine now

lies upside down, upon the steamer guide,

and is very much damaged, though the exact

Active operations were being carried out

yesterday by a large gang of workmen,

under the superintendence of Messrs. Grant

and Cundy, in clearing the line. They were

so far successful, that before evening the

long Clemonson carriage, and the short

second-class carriage and guard's van had

been got upon the line again. The tender

will also be got on very soon. It is intended

to take steps to parbuckle tho engine back

upon the line, but before this is rendered

necessary, the line will be open again tor

traffic. Although the bridge was rendered

impassable by the accident, traffic, though

delayed, was not interrupted, as trains met

upon each side of the bridge, and passengers

were transferred from one to the other,

and the excellence of the arrangements,

in such trying circumstances, reflects the

greatest credit upon Mr. C. H. Grant, the

general manager of the line.

From the statement of witnesses of the

accident and passengers by the train, it ap-

pears that there is still a person who cannot be

accounted for. t,It is said that he got into

the train at Campania, and has not been seen

since. He is described as being about 40

years of ago, 5 ft. 7in. high, medium build,

with bushy whiskers and moustache, and

under-lip shaved. He was dressed in a dark

suit, and wore a hard hat, and was an Eng

THE DEATH OF THE FIREMAN.

A young man named Mason, residing at

North Bridgewater, who was one of the first

on the scene of the accident, informs us that

he could have saved the life of Shaw, the

unfortunate fireman, had there been any life-

saving apparatus at hand, as he was seen

struggling in the water for several minutes.

An inquest was held yesterday at the

Railway Hotel, North Bridgewater, into to

circumstances of the deaths of the unfortu-

nate men, William Shaw and Daniel Turner,

Whose bodies were recovered during the

Mr. Wm. Gunn, Warden, presided as

coroner, and the following jury were em-

panelled: - Mr. Thomas Stanfield, foreman,

and Messrs. Robert James, John Wise, V.

R. Elliston, W. Richardson, Alex. Brock,

Mr. James Fincham, Engineer-in-Chief,

and Mr. C. H. Grant, manager of the

T.M.L.R., were present, as was also Sub-

Inspector Hedberg, Superintendent of Terri

The following evidence was taken:

John N. Robertson deposed that he was

an engine driver on the Main Line, and was

so on the night of the 22nd. On that night

he was driving the up express from Launces-

ton to Hobart. On the journey he found

nothing wrong with the engine, as she ran

quite smoothly, and everything went right

until arriving at the Bridgewater viaduct.

After going round the curve, he noticed the

all-right signals on the bridge, and, in

accordance with custom, he let the engine go

gently over, he having received instructions a

short time ago to that effect. On approaching

the south end of the swing bridge, he found

the engine was off the road. When she

got off the bridge the engine gave a few

bounces, and immediately canted over. The

CORONER : You Wish the jury to infer that

the engine left the line on the swing bridge?

Witness: Immediately after; I have every

reason to believe she kept on the rails right

across the swing bridge. The CORONER : If

the bridge had not been closed properly the

accident would have occurred sooner?

Witness: Yes; the rails may have been

right, but the vibration may have moved the

bridge over. CORONER: In your opinion was

the bridge faulty and insecure? Witness : No;

I have always found it perfectly safe. He had

viewed the body of Wm. Shaw, who had

acted with him on the engine. When the

accident took place Shaw dropped into the

water. He could not say whether he re-

ceived any injury before/he fell into the

water. He could not say what age he was.

By the Foreman : The engine was not

going more than five miles an hour when she

got on the bridge. He was not aware that

there was a notice on the bridge cautioning

drivers not to exceed four miles an hour.

To the best of his knowledge the engine did

not leave the rails until across the bridge.

He had not examined the bridge since the

accident, and was not aware of any faulty

rails being on it. He had never experienced

anything unusual in crossing the bridge

either in regard to noise or motion.

By Mr. Brook He had special instruc-

tions to drive slowly over the bridge. He

had always done so, and on the present

occasion was driving slower than usual. The

reason for this was that the guard's brake

seemed foul, and did not come off the wheels

as quickly as usual. The guard always used

the brakes coming down tho incline to the

bridge. He did not think that had any-

thing to do with the accident.

By the CORONER : The night was very

dark indeed. He saw the stationmaster's

signal at the gate at the end of the bridge.

It was "all right," as also was the signal on

the semaphore, some distance back on the

(At the request of the foreman, the jury

then went and viewed the bridge and the

Charles Meredith deposed he was em-

ployed on the Main Line Railway as guard.

On the 22nd inst., he was travelling on the

"up" express train to Hobart. He found

nothing at all wrong on the train until upon

arrival at North Bridgewater. The brakes

were all in good working order, and he put

them on, coming into North Bridgewater, as

there was a heavy incline there. He had

been running as guard for seven years, He

put on the brake as usual. The train was

travelling about six miles an hour, just be-

fore going into the swing bridge. For some

reason, probably to an order they had re-

ceived lately to run very slowly around

curves, less than 10 chains radius, and they

had been lately running much steadier than

they formerly did. After passing the points

at North Bridgewater siding, contrary

to his usual custom, ho again used the con-

tinuous brakes. Ha had some sort of pre-

sentiment, which induced him to use his

brakes more than usual. From the rate of

speed the train was going, the train would

have pulled up, under ordinary circum-

stances, just after passing the bridge if the

engine-driver had so wished. The brakes

were perfectly free when the train got on

the bridge. There were about 20 passengers

in the train, including a number of children.

The signals on the semaphore at the gates

and at the swing bridge were green, which

indicated "all right." The train was

running splendidly until the accident actually

By the Foreman : He was not aware that

there was a notice board on the causeway

cautioning drivers not to exceed four miles

an hour over the bridge. Ho always thought

it was six miles an hour. He was not aware

of a faulty rail or fish-plute in the bridge,

but had always found it in excellent order.

He had never felt any unusual bumping

sensation on the bridge. As it was an iron

bridge, the noise was always worse than any

shock which might be felt. He had seen

the bridge in the presence of the jury, and

undoubtedly the marks on the bridge were

caused by the carriages. It was quite pos-

sible that the engine should have kept on

the rails, and the carriages run off, as the

oscillation would have been sufficient to

cause the bridge to open. It was not correct

that his brakes had fouled. There was a

distance of between 10 or 11 feet between

the lending wheels of the first carriage and

the training wheels of the tender, and he

thought it probable that the bridge had

shifted before the carriages got on it.

By Mr. Fincham :- The signal on the

bridge would show "all right" if the rails

were three inches foul. The signal was an

auxiliary one, and was intended for both

railway and river traffic. When the bridge

was open for river traffic, a danger signal (a

red light) was shown, for both up and down

trains. If the danger signal showed on the

bridge, it would be regarded independently

of other signals. They chiefly depended on

the stationmaster's signal at North Bridge-

water, as he was in charge of the bridge, and

consequently was the most reliable.

By Mr. Brock: It was usual to watch all

signals. The stationmaster's signal was visible

at a greater distance than the Bridgewater

signal. The train would not pass on to the

bridge on any account without the station

master's signal that the bridge was "all

right." On the night of the accident he saw

the "all right" signal. He had taken more

than usual precautions before going on to

the bridge. He was not in a position to say

how the light would show if the bridge was

two or three inches open.

Edward Roach deposed he was station-

master, and caretaker of the bridge at North

Bridgewater, and he was so on the night of

the accident. The bridge was last opened

on that night at five minutes to 5. The midland

train from Hobart, and the ordinary train from

Launceston passed over it after that time, the

midland train being the last of the two.

He had not been on the bridge after the

midland train passed, or after a sailing boat

had been passed through up to New Norfolk

about 4'45. Before he left the bridge he

had seen that the "pawls" were in their

places, on the south side, and also on the north

side. On the south side of the bridge there were

two screws that assisted to hold the bridge

in position. He was quite sure as to his

having secured the screws. The train passed

at its usual rate of speed for that part of the

line. There was a green light on the bridge

which was fixed. This would show red if

the bridge was open. He could tell by the

light if the bridge was only open about 3in.

being so used to it. He saw nothing unusual

to show that there was anything the matter

with the bridge. He had been bridge keeper

for four years. It was part of his duty to see

that the rails on the bridge were in work-

ing order, and report their condition to the

ganger. He had never had occasion to re-

port for the lat six months. The rails

were spiked down to the cross ties, and were

coupled with the customary fish plates. He

had not the remotest idea us to how the

train went off the line. He did not go over

the bridge after every train passed re-

gularly, as he could see from his door a

"pawl" was out of place. When he crossed

the bridge at 5 o'clock, it worked exactly as

By the Foreman: If anyone undid the

screws without disengaging the "pawls," it

would not make much difference in the

security of the bridge. On the southern side

of the bridge the "pawl" had been carried

away altogether, and the screw must have

been forced out of the cup that received its

head. He had noticed a bumping noise

whilst the train was on the bridge, which

was perfectly level with the permanent way.

He had not seen anyone on the bridge after

he locked it. The bumping was caused by

the swing bridge being a little clear of the

plates underneath. Had anything gone

wrong with the bridge it would have been

impossible to open it. The usual rate of

speed was six to seven miles an hour on the

bridge. The train seemed to be going about

six miles. He had never seen a notice

board on the other side of the bridge caution-

ing drivers to drive at four miles an hour.

By Mr. Fincham: The screws were gener-

ally put hard down, and then eased off. If

the screws were hard down, the end of the

bridge would have to be lifted before they

By Mr. Grant: The "pawls" had been

substituted for the fish plates, which had

Thomas Smith deposed that he was a

labouror, and had been lately a digger, and

was a passenger on the express on the 22nd

inst. He had been travelling as a mate with

the deceased, Daniel Turner, who was of no

particular profession, but was generally a

bushman. He was in the same carriage with

him. When the shock of the carriage was

felt, Turner must have jumped off the train,

and fallen through the cross-ties, as he never

saw him afterwards. He was about 31 or

By Mr. Brock: He never noticed anything

unusual on the line. They had only arrived

in the colony last Sunday, and had been up

to Launceston, and were coming back.

Charles Cameron Nairn, resident engineer

of the T.M.L. Railway, deposed that he last

inspected the swing bridge on last Thursday

week, and found everything in perfect order.

Within the last 18 mouths no fresh ballast

had been put on the short end of the bridge.

He had the bridge on that occasion swung,

and found that the pawls worked freely.

By Mr. Fincham: He showed a mark on

the timber beside the slot for the "pawls"

on the south side, and he believed it to have

been caused by the underparing of the bogg-

wheels of the engine striking it. He did not

think it was an impression from the "powl."

The signal on the bridge was a fixed lamp,

and he thought the rails would have to be a

foot clear of each other before the danger

signal could be shown on the line. If the

rails were two or three inches foul, the "all-

right" signal would still show. The signal

was simply put there for river traffic.

By the foreman: He had been 14 years in

the service of the company, and had held

the position of resident engineer, which in-

cluded all the line, for three years. The

authorised rate of speed was under six miles

an hour over the bridge. He did not know

if there was any board at the south end

cautioning drivers as to the rate of

speed to be maintained at the bridge.

He had never heard of any complaints

as to faulty construction of the bridge. He

had had complaints from the ganger as to

its defects in the rails, but had always been

present when they were repaired. He had

men present on occasions when the train

had been passing over the swing bridge, but

he had never heard any unusual sound. He

had seen the bridge after the accident, and

had seen the marks of the wheels on the

boards, which he took to be the marks of the

carriage. He could not account for the

carriages having left the rails, and did not

know how the accident happened.

By a Juryman: There was no appreciable

deflection of the bridge when an engine went

By the Foreman: He had always found

Mr. Roach particularly careful in looking

By Mr. Fincham: Ho could not say

whether the notice hoard remained up until

the viaduct was re-laid with heavier rails.

The notice was put up as a general precau-

tion. Ha fancied it had been up after the

By a Juryman: The drivers could read

sufficient of the notice to to tell them the speed

to go at without pulling up.

By the CORONER: He believed Shaw was

By a Juryman: He considered the present

style of things better than the fish plates

that were used some years ago.

Thomas Boaton, a constable in the Terri-

torial Police, deposed that on Thursday

night he was present when the accident oc-

curred, being at the station in company with

Mr. Roach, who was holding the green light

as the train passed. Directly the train got

upon the swing bridge they heard a sort of

grating noise. He took the lamp out of Mr.

Roach's hand and ran down the bridge, and

heard the driver of the train calling out for a

boat. Ho was present when the two bodies

were recovered by the drags about 8 a.m.

yesterday. Both had been eaten very much

by crabs. Turner seemed to have an exten-

sive bruise on the side of the face. He heard

no crash when the engine went off, nothing

except a grating noise and the sound of

escaping steam. The train was going about

nine miles an hour when she passed witness,

who was standing about 50yds. from the

By the Foreman : He had often noticed a

bumping noise when the train was going over

the swing bridge. He took it to be caused by

the "pawls" jumping, as he had several

Mr. C. U. Grant, who was called in re-

sponse to a request of the foreman, deposed

that the authorised rate of speed over the

bridge had been four miles an hour until the

whole bridge bad been repaired. The bridge

was now relaid with 60lb. rails in place of

the old 40lb. ones, and he did not care what

speed they actually crossed the bridge at.

The notice referred to by the fireman had

been out of effect for some three years. It

had been replaced by a notice limiting the

speed round the Bridgewater curve to six

or eight miles an hour, on account of the

danger to the public in crossing the main

road. He had never received any complaint

about the bridge, though he had noticed the

peculiar bumping sound made by the

bridge. He was perfectly sure the rate of

speed, even if it was nine miles an hour,

had nothing to do with the accident,

and would not have caused the car-

riages, even if empty, to jump

the rails. He could form no idea

as to the cause of the accident, unless the

screws on the bridge had been maliciously

tampered with. He was of opinion that the

engine left the line first and the carriages

were thrown off by the subsequent shock.

The only way he could account for the acci-

dent was that the bridge had been tampered

with. The pawls "chattered" a little

when a train passed over, but did not jump

up and down, as stated by Constable Bastow.

This "chattering" would probably be caused

by the elasticity of the wooden formation of

This concluded the evidence.

The CORONER, in summing up, pointed out

to the jury that the accident was one of

those unfortunate occurrences in which no

blame was attachable to anybody. The

evidence, without the assistance of medical

testimony, left them in in no doubt as to the

manner in which the unfortunate men came

to their deaths. It appeared that there was

no blame attachable to Roach, the station-

master, and bridgekeeper, and the other

The jury, after a short retirement,brought

in a verdict to the effect that death had

resulted from an accident, and added a rider

to the effect that it would be advisable if

steps were taken to have the spaces between

the cross ties on the bridge boarded,