§ MR. CHANNING (Northampton, E.)asked the Secretary to the Board of Trade, Whether his attention has been 1139 called to an accident on the Midland Railway on Saturday last, when the 12.20 train from St. Pancras ran into a coal train shunting close to Wath Station; and to an accident at Cudworth, on the Midland Line, on Wednesday, 24th August, when, in shunting an empty passenger train, the man in charge of the engine brought the train into collision with the buffer stops, knocked a goods wagon almost to pieces, carried away part of a signal cabin, and smashed the buffer stops, and part of the permanent way; and, further, to an accident on Thursday, 25th August, just beyond Armley, near Leeds, when there was a serious delay of traffic, and a single line had to be used for some hours for "up" and "down" trains; and, whether he will cause inquiry to be made into those accidents, and. especially as to whether the trains concerned were in charge of men recently appointed as engine drivers or firemen?
§ THE SECRETARY (Baron HENRY DE WORMS) (Liverpool, East Toxteth)An inquiry into the accident at Wath was hold on the 2nd instant; but the Inspector's Report has not yet been received. The accident at Cudworth occurred not to an empty carriage train, but to an engine only, which the fireman, in the absence of the driver on the platform, was improperly moving. No one was injured by the accident. The driver had been in the service 24 years, and as driver 17 years. The fireman had been three weeks in the service, and had previously been a fireman on the Great Eastern Railway. The accident near Armley was caused by the draw-bar of a private owner's wagon coming out, causing two other wagons to leave the rails. The line was cleared in two hours, and satisfactory arrangements were made in the meantime for working the traffic. Very little damage was done either to the wagons or the permanent way, and no one was injured. The driver had been 19 years in the service, 11 years as driver. The fireman is stated to be a new man, but thoroughly competent. In these circumstances, the Board of Trade do not think it necessary to make any further inquiry.