THE KAITARATAHI CRAN

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2548, 8 July 1909, Page 4

THE KAITARATAHI CRAN

A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. for Tho locomotive crane at KaitarJwbf which was recently taken over by the Borough Council, and which a lew S ago waa overturned off the rad, met with a second, and much more Lrrioua accident K^rday. The crane was erectea ny messrsd. Chambers and Son, of Wellington, lor tin? Council some two months ago, at fUt of £960, for the purpose of obtaining gravel frpni the nit sjtuatcd on the IVaipaoa River, adjacent to tno Kaitaratahi railway station . Ihe graiel s lifted into trucks which run on a hranch line specially laid down for the Council and connecting with the Government line just beyond where the rail wav crosses the mam road. The locomotive, with an empty truck attached was running down the line the gravel nit about 8 a.in. to commence the day’s operations. The machine had a fair pace on, and when , a little over a chain awaj freni the end of the line the driver Mr C. Eraser) endeavoured to throw the reversing gear into action, but the clu ch attached to the mam smndle relused to hold, and despite his strenuous efforts, Mr Fraser was unable to get it into "osition. Gathering momentum 'is it travelled down the incline, the aniline crashed into the beam placed at the end of the line as a buffer, and left the rails and toppled into tne pit, completely burying the front portion of the locomotive and leaving the other end pointing skywards. When t.ie engine struck the buffer the impact was so great as to make the arm of the crane ’and the grab swing round from the back ■vvitli sufficient iorce to bend the ironwork of the arm, which was smashed right off the locomotive at the lugs and to hurl both arm and grab far out into the gravel pit. in which there is "water to the depth of from six to eight feet. The cnam ox the rvrab either broke, or became fiefcacned, and .striking the pressure .gauge on the boiler broke it. The driver of the locomotive, seeing that a catastrophe- was unavoidable, jumped off just before reaching the end of the line, and Mr M. Morgan, Borough overseer, who was seated on the side of the machine had a narrow escape from very serious injury, or perhaps death. He was not loouing ahead, and it was not until Mr Fraser had jumped off and pulled Mm off also that "Mr. Morgan realised the situation. A moment- later, the heavy arm and grab craslied right on to the spot where lie had been sitting, and smashed off. . , The opinion is held by those m charge at Katarataki that the accident could easily have been averted had the locomotive been fitted with a brake. Although a brake has been ordered for some time, for some tmaccountable reason it has not yet -een fitted, and the only means of stopping the machine on the" incline has been the reversing gear, which yesterday, with disastrous conseouences, failed to act. A “Times” representative visited the scene yesterday afternoon, and witnessed the preliminary arrangements which were being made towards the work of getting the locomotive on to the rails agan, a work which will lie attended with much difficulty. A drain was being cut to carry off some of the water from the pit which is at present holding more than usual owing to the flooded condition of the river. For about half a chain from the' end, the tine has been taken up, and the foundation has been cut away to the level of the edge of the pit, and substantial props have been put in under the rear part of the locomotive, which is now about four feet off the ground, with the front buried a couple of feet in water and gravel. It is the intention of the overseer to endeavour to-day to lift the locomotive out of its presentposition by means of a wire cable and block and tackle assisted by the loeotive's own steam. It is very doubtful, however, if this work can be accomplished, owing to the difficulty of securing a firm foundation for such a heavy strain, the shifty nature of the ground rendering the success of such a course unlikely, as the locomotive weighs 25 tons. The overseer, does not anticipate the necessity of dismantling the locomotive in order to get it up on the rails again, but under the most favorable conditions, it must be several day.> before the machine will be in working order again. A grave danger is realised in the probability of the river, which is now in a much swollen condition, rising still further, in which case the machinery inav be rendered useless owing to the accumulation of silt. Rain was falling nearly all day yesterday, and only a slight rise in the river is necessary to bring the flood waters up to the locomotive . , As far as could be seen from a cur-sory-examination yesterday, there does not seem to be a great deal of damage done to the machinery. This is doubtless due to the front part of the machine coming down on the gravel bed, thus avoiding the jar which would , have resulted had it fallen on a harder X surface. It was, of course, impossible t-o judge the damage accurately yesterday, and Mr. Davys, of the firm of Messrs Davys and Third, went out last evening to make a thorough examination, and to superintend the work of re-instatemeut. A inunber of Councillors will proceed to Kaitaratahi by this morning s train to ascertain the actual damage, and the steps to be taken towards having it remedied.