QUESTION. (Hansard, 16 March 1865)

§ SIR WILLIAM GALLWEY
said, he wished to ask whether the attention of the President of the Board of Trade has been called to letters in The Times of yesterday and to-day respecting an accident on the Great Western Railway, which might have been frightful in its results, and which arose solely from the want of any communication between the guard and the driver. He would, with the permission of the House, read the letter of yesterday, and the position of the writer would, he thought, be a guarantee of the correctness of his statement— Sir—Allow me, by one more example, to call the attention of the public to the urgent need which exists for some means of communication between railway passengers and the guard of the train. I left Oxford last night by the 8.53 train, which runs in at express pace to Paddington, stopping once only, at Reading, on the way. Shortly after leaving Reading we were startled by a sudden bumping of our carriage, as though a spring had broken, or one of the wheels got loose. On looking out of the window we saw that sparks were being thrown off from beneath us, with a strong smell of fire. As the bumping grew more violent, the sparks more numerous, and the smell of fire stronger, we did all in our power by shouting and signalling to attract the attention of the guard. The same alarm was felt and the same signs made all down the train for more than half an hour; but on we were dragged at full speed, in fear every moment of a catastrophe, till we arrived at the terminus. Two gentlemen were injured—one, I fear, broke his arm—in reaching out to make these signals seen. That the danger was not fanciful, but real, will be seen when I add that at the very moment the train reached the station the wheel flew right off, shaking violently the carriage, and knocking to pieces the stonework at the corner of the platform. Of course, such accidents as the giving way of a spring or wheel will sometimes occur. All that I wish to insist upon is this—how easily would all danger have been avoided could we have brought to our assistance the guard of the train, and how serious might have been the consequences had the wheel come right off a few miles sooner. I am, Sir, yours obediently, W. BERKLEY, Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford. The Question he wished to ask was, How much longer would it be before it would be rendered penal for any railway train to 1742 travel without some proper means of communication between the guard and the driver?

§ MR. MILNER GIBSON
said, in reply, that he quite sympathized with the feelings of the passenger who was shut up in a railway carriage, without any means of communicating with the guard or other persons while the circumstances described were occurring; but when the hon. Baronet asked how long it would be before the means of communication would be established between railway passengers and the guards he could not answer the Question. The subject was one which would come before the Commission appointed to inquire into the railway system of travelling, and they would consider what was practicable for securing the bonâ fide safety of the travelling public. He thought the public must be content to wait patiently until that inquiry should be completed.

§ SIR WILLIAM GALLWEY
said, he wished to know whether the subject of communication between the railway guard and the passengers would come before the Commission?

§ MR. MILNER GIBSON
said, that the general question of safety would be among the matters for their deliberation.

COLONEL DICKSON
said, he would beg to ask whether there was any hope that the Commission would come to a decision before the next two years, and whether the public were to wait all that time for a decision.

§ MR. MILNER GIBSON
said, he must decline to speculate on matters of that sort. The Commission would make a full inquiry, and take whatever time was necessary for the purpose.