.1. J. COKICH.]

39

I.—6a.

146. If you were running at twenty miles an hour, do you not think you would have noticed the difference in running over a bridge about a chain long?—I did not notice it thai morning. 147. Does that not indicate that you wore running pretty fast ?—I do not think so. 148. Did your engine-wheels pick up at all when you applied the brake? —Not that I know of. 149. When you applied the brake down at the bottom did it act effectively? —It acted pro perly, I think. 150. How long were you a fireman before you were put out driving? —Six years. 151. As you had passed the examination for driver, you considered yourself quite com petent to take charge of these locomotives? —Yes. 152. You have said that you did not, know the road? —I said I did not know the mad properly on a foggy morning. 153. WTien your foreman sent you out to take that run did you make any objection to taking the run? —-No. 154. You considered you xvere quite competent to take it? —Yes, in daylight. 155. How often had you been over that road before? About eight or nine times in a period of three or four months. 156. Were you driving each time or firing? —I was driving. I think. I fired over it twice, 157. And you drove the rest of the times? —Yes. 158. Had you experienced any difficulty on the road previously?— No. 159. You thought you knew it sufficiently then to justify you in taking up the duty when you were told to?— Yes. 160. What is the duty of a driver when he finds a home signal at " Danger " ? —To stop there. 161. After he runs past the signal or before he gets to it ? —Before he gets to it, 162. Why did you not stop on this particular morning? I reckon that I did not know the road well enough to be able to stop in a fog. I was doing my best. 163. Did you not know whore the signal was? -Yes. I knew it was somewhere near New Lynn ; I did not know just whereabouts. 164. You were unable to stop because you wore running too fast when you saw the signal : is that not it?—No, I expected thai (he signal would be a little farther away before I would see it. I did not see the top of the signal at all ; 1 only saw the ladder part of it. 165. As you could not see, hoxv could you have had your train under proper control? I thought it was, at that speed, so as to be able to stop in a train's length. Kill. The fact that you ran past the signal and into a train shows that it was not uinlei proper control : is that not so?—lf I had known, I suppose I would have stopped beforehand. 167. But is not that the position, that the train was not under proper control? I reckoner! that the train was under proper control to be able to stop in a train's length. 168. But knowing the rule, and as your duty was to stop before you passed the signal, you should have been prepared to stop there?— Yes. 169. Why did you not stop there?— Because I did not know exactly where the signal was. 170. I want to know then what precautions you look, as you did not knoxv the road. Ymi ran mi at twenty miles an hour and did not know the road? —I did not run on at twenty miles an hour right down. I slowed down to about ton or fifteen miles an hour. 171. At what speed did you pass the signal?—l suppose it would be the same speed. 172. Fifteen miles an hour?— Yes. 173. Going at fifteen miles an hour, if you did not knoxv where the signal was and you suddenly got a signal, you would expect to run past it, would you not?— Yes. 174. Mr. Veitch.] With regard to the working of the Westinghouse brake coming down the grade, how often did you apply the brake coming down the grade?— Once or twice, I think. 175. What is about the length of the grade?— About half a mile, I think. 176. In reply to Mr. McVilly you said thai yon were carrying 00 Ib. of air: that would apply to the main reservoir only, would it not? —Yes. 177. It would not apply to the train-pipe. You did not have your brake valve in release position all the way down? —No. 178. Then your excess-pressure valve would give you about 25 Ib. more in the main reservoir than in the train-pipe?— Yes. 179. So that you did not have 901b. of air to work on? —No, about 70 Ib. 180. Then if you made two applications of 61b. that would reduce the 70 Ib. considerably, would it not? —Yes. 181. And then you released your brake and put it in full release position?— Yes. 182. Would not that overcharge your train-pipe a bit? —On that morning it came so quickly that by the time I had it released I put the brake on straight away again. 183. Is that not one of tho weak points of the management of the Westinghouse braki—that if you have had a couple of applications you cannot get an emergency application?— Yes. 184. So that you found yourself suddenly in that position, that you had made two applications which you considered necessary and had recharged your train-pipe to the full measure, and then when you xvanted an emergency application you did not get it? —That is so. 185. I mean that when you put the brake-valve in that position you did not get the emergency application ?—No, I do not think so. 186. Did you find the fog thick for any distance before the collision : about how far back from the signal did tho fog start?—lt was pretty thick all the way down. It got thicker as we went down. 187. Mr. Dickson.] What work are you doing now? —Labouring in the workshop. 188. When did you start in the workshop? Two or three weeks ago. I am not quite sure of the date.