[Scottish Railway Incidents (1906) Contents]
SINGULAR MISHAP AT PORTOBELLO. – About midday yesterday, a cart with a load of straw thereon, belonging to Mr Thomas Russell, Windy Gowl, Tranent, was destroyed by fire in Baileyfield Road, Portobello, the straw having been set alight by a spark from an engine passing on the South Leith branch of the North British Railway. The horse was in imminent danger of being burned, so quickly did the fire spread, but it was got out of the shafts in time.
– Scotsman, Saturday 1st December, 1906, p.8.
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THE WONDERS OF ELECTRICITY.
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Its Romantic Story.
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By SIR W. H. PREECE, K.C.B., F.R.S., &c.
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(Special to the Courier.)
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No branch of science has developed more real progress during the past century than electricity. It has advanced by leaps and bounds, and each spurt forward has been due to the advent of the totally unexpected. Its growth is quite romantic, and the tale of its rapid advance is more wonderful than any wild Arabian fiction.
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Guns, flags, flashing fires, and moving semaphore arms conveyed orders and information from place to place during the Napoleonic wars, but it was only in 1837 that a real practical telegraph was worked by electricity. It was known that a current of electricity could speed through a metallic wire with the velocity of light. It was known that it could move matter and magnetic needles, decompose water, and excite magnetism in iron. This had been shown by experiment. It was even suggested that letters of the alphabet could be exposed and indicated instantaneously at great distances, but it was only in 1837 that the first practical telegraph worked by electricity was constructed on the railway between Euston and Camden Town, and it was in 1844 that the electric telegraph became a commercial business undertaking.
The Spread of the Telegraph.
At first its wires in Great Britain followed the railways, then they occupied the roads, now they rest on the bottom of the deep unfathomable ocean, and during the past sixty years, in my lifetime, they have spread over the whole face of the globe. Wherever men “most do congregate” there is found the searching wire, and there is heard the tapping of the magnetic tongue. We open our morning newspaper and there we find the history of the previous day in every country in every quarter of the globe. It matters not where a politician speaks, he is followed by the telegraph operator, and, if sufficiently prominent, every word he utters is printed in every town of consequence in the United Kingdom, and read at every breakfast table. But as if this was not enough to excite and bewilder the most vivid imagination the romance of electricity carries us much further.
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Electricity at Work.
The principal function of electricity is to add to our protection as well as to provide for our health and comfort. Protection is secured principally on our railways. There the telegraph controls and regulates the traffic, train are kept apart, and accident is well-nigh impossible, but for the infirmity of the human will. Men will make mistakes, will neglect their duty, and will transgress the law. Unaccountable moments of aberration of intellect occur, and the most skilful design for security is rendered useless. No railway could be worked without electricity, and its use is being extended constantly. It even gives warning signals to the drivers of express trains running at sixty miles an hour. It is not used much as a tractive power on our main lines, but it comes in as a great municipal agent in carrying by tramways the busy bees from the congested quarters and vitiated air of our great manufacturing centres into the country, where they can drink pure water and breathe pure air. It is used to give instant alarm to the breaking out of fire in our big towns, and fire engines are away in a few seconds.
– Dundee Courier, Monday 3rd December, 1906, p.4.
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The Caledonian Railway Company have decided upon the installation of electro-pneumatic power for operating the signals and the points at the Glasgow Central Station. The whole of the traffic will be worked from one cabin fitted with no fewer than 347 levers.
– Hamilton Herald and Lanarkshire Weekly News, Wednesday 5th December, 1906, p.2.
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The Elliot Fatality.
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SMART PROVISION OF MEDICAL AID.
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The body of the young man which was found lying in the four footway of the railway, not far from the north end of Elliot Station last Wednesday evening, was, between 9 and 10 o’clock the following forenoon, identified by the brother as that of George Cuthill, farmservant, and son of John Cuthill, who for the past 18 years has been farm grieve at Kinblethmont. It has now been ascertained that the unfortunate man, who was 24 years of age, was employed as a farmservant in the Perth district, and was on his way home when he met with his death. He had earlier in the day travelled from Perth to the West Station at Dundee, and at Dundee East he took the 6.5 p.m. train for Arbroath. At Elliot he stated he was going to Dundee West, and was advised to come out and return with the first train back. It is surmised that he had walked along the line, and been truck down either by the 6.59 C.R. train, ex Arbroath for Dundee, which passed Elliot at 7.3; or the 7.3 N.B. train ex Arbroath for Dundee, which passed Elliot at 7.7. He was picked up at 7.22. Mr John Grant, stationmaster, received word at 7.25 that a doctor was wanted. Mr Grant despatched an urgent message for Dr Duncan, and meantime arranged for a pilot engine to convey the medical attendant to the scene of the accident. The doctor got aboard the engine, and the signalman being informed to keep the line clear for it to Elliot, Dr Duncan was in attendance within a quarter of an hour of the body being found. Unfortunately, as reported last week, by the time the doctor had arrived life was extinct. After the body was identified, it was brought to the mortuary at the Police Office in Arbroath, where it was coffined. The funeral took place on Saturday, the remains being laid in Inverkeillor Churchyard, in presence of many friends. Much sympathy is felt for the deceased’s parents and relatives in their sudden and sad bereavement.
– Arbroath Herald and Advertiser for the Montrose Burghs, Thursday 6th December, 1906, p.6.
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ACCIDENT TO A RAILWAYMAN. – Last Friday afternoon a goods guard named John Johnstone, who resides in Glasgow, met with an accident while engaged in shunting operations in the goods yard at Kirkintilloch Railway Station. He put his foot on a wooden key for holding the rails in position, when he slipped and fell, breaking one of the small bones in the ankle joint. Johnstone had his injury attended to at Kirkintilloch Station.
– Kirkintilloch Gazette, Friday 7th December, 1906, p.2.
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PLATELAYER KILLED ON THE RAILWAY. – On Monday night John Savage (51), foreman platelayer, Caledonian Buildings, Gartsherrie, met with a fatal accident about 50 yards north of Garn queen signal cabin, Glenboig. It appears that deceased had left his squad at the platelayers’ bothy at Glenboig Station at 4.40 p.m. with the intention of examining the road on his way home, and while walking on the down road was accidentally run down and killed by a passing train, supposed to be the 3 p.m. from Maryhill to Glenboig. When found by a workman passing along the line at 6.15, Savage was quite dead, the body being badly mutilated, the skull being fractured, the neck dislocated, and the left arm broken. Deceased was a widower, and had a grown-up family. It was one of his sons who, about ten months ago, was killed just outside Coatbridge Station while returning to Glenboig by the railway from a ball at Coatbridge.
– Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser, Saturday 8th December, 1906, p.6.
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Two young apprentice lads, who journeyed by special train from Dundee to Aberdeen on Saturday, are not likely to forget their experience in a hurry. They arrived at the station to make the return journey to find that the excursion had left, and all appeals to the railway officials to allow them to travel by ordinary trains without payment of the ordinary fare, and, being penniless, their sad plight can be readily understood. There was nothing left for them but to foot it. The tramp was a long one under cold weather conditions, and, footsore, weary, and hungry, they reached Dundee on Monday afternoon at four o’clock.
– Dundee Evening Telegraph, Wednesday 12th December, 1906, p.5.
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TERRIBLE ACCIDENT ON THE RAILWAY. – Late on Saturday evening, the signalman at Wemyss Castle station heard some one moaning on the six-foot way as he passed along the platform. Returning to the spot with a lamp, he was shocked to find a man lying between the rails, a leg on one side and an arm on the other having been run over by the last train. Messages were at once despatched for Dr Watson and to apprise the police. P.C. Balsillie helped to get the man removed to the shelter of the station, and here he was identified as Peter McGovern, a Buckhaven miner, who is well known about East Wemyss. Dr Watson found the man had been knocked down by the train, the wheels passing over his right leg at the knee, left arm at the shoulder, and right hand, the flanges of the wheels almost amputating the limbs. It was almost a hopeless journey to send the poor fellow to the hospital, but the Doctor felt that nothing could be left undone for him, and in the ambulance waggon McGovern was conveyed to the Cottage Hospital, Kirkcaldy, at a late hour. Much to the surprise of all, he survived the terrible experience and the dressing necessary in the hospital. So far as can be learned, McGovern had been mixing with some friends in Wemyss, and after seven o’clock made his way to the station to ask about the train to Buckhaven. Leaving the station on being told that the train was not due for two hours, he had wandered on to the car line and then by Erskine Place had got on to the mineral railway, following it till he got near the station, when he was overtaken by the train. He was a man of 56 years of age, and had been employed about the district for many years. He lay till Monday, when he succumbed. The remains were interred in Wemyss Cemetery yesterday.
– Leven Advertiser & Wemyss Gazette, Thursday 13th December, 1906, p.3.
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RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT BLAIRGOWRIE TO-DAY.
ABOUT nine o’clock this morning as a goods train was approaching Blairgowrie Station from Perth the engine fouled the points and went off the rails, dragging with it about a dozen waggons. Two or three of the waggons were smashed to pieces and the permanent way much cut up, but so far as known no one is injured. Mr Prentice, locomotive superintendent, Perth, and a staff of men are on the scene of the accident having the derailed engine replaced on the line and the damaged stock removed from the permanent way.
– Perthshire Advertiser, Wednesday 19th December, 1906, p.5.
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GAS TANK BLOWS UP.
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Alarming Affair in Glasgow Station.
Queen Street Station, Glasgow, was the scene of an alarming affair last night. Shortly after ten o’clock there were sounds as of an explosion, and immediately afterwards flames were seen shooting up in the guard’s van of a train lying at No. 5 Platform. The station was busy at the time, and considerable excitement prevailed for a time. News of the unusual occurrence spread rapidly, and many people hurried to the station. Someone, doubtless fearing that the van was on fire, rang the fire alarm in the station, and the brigade promptly arrived. By that time, however, all danger of the fire was over.
Investigation showed that the occurrence, though alarming enough, was of slight importance. It would appear that it was due to something in the nature of a gas explosion. The train, which had been standing at No. 5 Platform for over an hour, is that which runs between Glasgow and Mallaig, on the West Highland Railway. When the accident occurred there were several loud reports, and the flames burst forth with an alarming roar, which was heard a considerable distance away. The gas can be turned off at the station and this was promptly done by one of the officials. The flames had not time to secure a hold, and the woodwork of the guard’s van was only slightly blistered. No person was injured. Except for the breaking of the glass in the windows, no serious damage was caused to the van, and the other portions of the train were not affected. Mr Gilmour, the stationmaster, was promptly on the scene, and within twenty minutes of the extraordinary occurrence the station presented its normal appearance.
– Dundee Evening Telegraph, Thursday 20th December, 1906, p.2.
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FATALITY AT BANFF.
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MAN KILLED AT THE STATION.
A most distressing accident occurred at Banff Harbour Station on Thursday evening, resulting in the death of a man whose identity at the time of the accident was not discovered. During shunting operations at the station, shortly after the arrival of the 5.10 p.m. train, the body of a man was seen lying alongside the rails, a short distance from the station. It was found that his left leg and right hand were completely severed from the body, and various other injuries were apparent, but they could not be properly ascertained owing to the state the man was in. The police were immediately sent for, and on their arrival they removed the man, who was at that time delirious, to Chalmers’ Hospital, where everything possible was done for him, but without avail, and he died shortly after midnight. While in the hospital, and during a gleam of consciousness, he gave the name of William Robb, a stonebreaker, from the parish of Old Deer. He is a man of about 50 years of age, and is supposed to have been working recently in the Aberchirder district. How he came to be on the railway at the time is not known.
– Banffshire Herald, Saturday 22nd December, 1906, p.5.
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Railwaymen’s Demands.
The executive Committee of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants has decided to call on the Railway Companies which are concerned to concede the following demands:-
1. Eight hours a day for trainmen, shunters, and signalmen. No railway employee to work more than ten hours a day.
2. An increase of 2s a week in the wages of all grades receiving less than 30s per week.
3. Sunday labour to be paid for at the rate of time and a half.
4. Official recognition by the Companies of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, through whom all negotiations must be conducted.
The demands will, it is understood, be placed before the Companies about the end of January.
– Aberdeen People’s Journal, Saturday 22nd December, 1906, p.10.
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DUNDEE TUNNEL ACCIDENT.
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Fireman Falls from Engine.
A peculiar accident occurred early this morning on the railway at Tay Bridge Tunnel, Dundee.
While the 6.30 a.m. goods train from the north reached Camperdown Junction, the fireman, a young man, named Thomas Robertson, residing in Dundee, thinking the train was to go to the Harbour siding left the cab to shift a lamp.
In doing so he missed his footing, and falling from the engine alighted on his head among the slag.
The train had been arranged to run to the Tay Bridge Station, and had entered the tunnel before the driver found that the fireman was missing.
Meanwhile the fireman, though in a semi-unconscious state, and suffering from wounds about the head, managed to crawl up the incline to Camperdown Junction.
The staff at the East Station were informed of the accident and attended to Robertson, whose injuries were dressed by Dr Miller, King Street, and he was then taken home.
– Dundee Evening Telegraph, Monday 24th December, 1906, p.3.
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BODY FOUND ON THE RAILWAY NEAR STONEHAVEN.
Shortly after 9 o’clock yesterday morning, the body of a man was found on the railway opposite the Kirktown of Fetteresso, about a mile south of Stonehaven, the head severed from the body. The body was found by John Caird, foreman surfaceman, and was conveyed to a waiting-room at Stonehaven Station. The driver of the North British train arriving at Stonehaven at 9.40 on Saturday night indicated that from the appearance of his engine he must have run over someone on the line. It was not till yesterday, however, that the body was discovered. From papers found on it, it is supposed to be that of a man named Fairbairn, who resided in Taylor Street, Townhead, Glasgow, and that he was a collector for a mission organisation in that city, having a subscription book of that mission in his possession. He was a man apparently between 40 and 50 years of age. How he came to be on the railway line is a mystery.
– Aberdeen Press and Journal, Monday 24th December, 1906, p.4.
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ANOTHER RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT BLAIRGOWRIE. – Following upon the disaster to a goods train last Wednesday by running off the line at Blairgowrie, a serious accident occurred near the same place on Saturday night whereby a young man lost one of his hands. William Thom, carter, Victoria Place, Rattray, in the employment of Mr James Dick, coal merchant, was in charge of a lorry load of luggage, which was being transferred to a close van. While in the act of turning, the horse’s head fouled the lye running from the locomotive sheds, from which an engine happened to be coming. The locomotive struck the horse’s head, knocking both the animal and Thom down. Thom was conveyed to the Cottage Hospital on a stretcher, and amputation of the hand was found necessary.
– Scotsman, Monday 24th December, 1906, p.6.
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FOUND DEAD ON THE HIGHLAND RAILWAY. – The dead body of a travelling pedlar was found on the Highland Line at Haugh of Kilmorich, near Guay, on Monday morning. He is supposed to have been run over by one of the morning trains, but there is no reason assigned for his being on the line at this place, and the circumstances connected with his death are yet doubtful. His identity has not been properly ascertained, as he held a pedlar’s certificate in the name of Robert Mitchell, Glenlyon, and a recent pawn ticket in his possession bears the name of Robert Foreman, 33 Grant Street, Inverness. He was a well-built man, about 46 years of age. His body, which was very badly mangled, was taken to Guay Railway Station.
– Northern Chronicle and General Advertiser for the North of Scotland, Wednesday 26th December, 1906, p.4.
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RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT ROTHES.
An accident of a somewhat serious nature occurred at the Rothes Railway Station on Monday evening. A young man named James Cameron, a goods porter, while assisting with shunting operations in connection with the goods train which leaves Elgin at 4.50 p.m., was struck on the head by the buffer of the engine and knocked down. The unfortunate man sustained a compound fracture of the left leg, and had the toes completely severed from one of his feet. When found he was lying between the rails below the engine. He was attended to by Dr Bisset, Rothes, and was thereafter conveyed to Elgin, and taken to Gray’s Hospital.
– Aberdeen Press and Journal, Wednesday 26th December, 1906, p.4.
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COLLISION ON THE MINERAL RAILWAY. – On Monday, two mineral trains collided on the mineral railway between Wemyss and the Rosie. The driver of one train was injured slightly, and some of the rolling stock was damaged.
– Leven Advertiser & Wemyss Gazette, Thursday 27th December, 1906, p.3.
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TRAINS IN DANGER.
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REMARKABLE ESCAPES FROM BROKEN WIRES.
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WEIRD EXPERIENCE.
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EXPRESS ENGINES ENTANGLED.
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The blizzard interrupted to some extent the service of trains from the North. Beyond Arbroath the storm was exceedingly acute, and drivers of express trains from Aberdeen reported having had exciting experiences on route to Dundee.
The violent squalls had wrecked many of the telegraph wires, and during the evening many of the trains from the North were “lost,” so far as information of their progress was concerned.
The driver of an express from the North stated at Dundee last night that the broken wires were flying across the line throughout the journey. As the train ran along it had to dash through the swaying tangles of wires, and the men in the cab of the engine could only put their heads outside at the risk of their lives.
One of the express trains arrived at Carnoustie with strands of wire entwined round the funnel.
The five o’clock train from Dundee arrived in Arbroath literally wrapped in wires which had become entangled with the engine. Apparently they had been flying about loose, with one end attached to the poles, but the train going at a high speed must in some instances have torn there from the poles.
The shovel lying on the tender of the engine was swept from the train by the wires, and it is indeed a fortunate circumstance that no untoward mishap occurred.
While in general the train service was well maintained, several of the trains were running considerably behind time, due to the caution exercised by those in charge.
– Dundee Courier, Thursday 27th December, 1906, p.5.
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ENGINE DERAILED AT FORFAR.
A snowstorm, the worst for many years, was experienced at Forfar yesterday. In the morning and forenoon the weather was bitterly cold, and towards afternoon the sky became overcast. The snow fell thick and fast, and in a few minutes the town was covered in a white mantle. A biting wind also prevailed from the west and considerable drifting took place. Towards evening the storm abated somewhat, but after six o’clock, by which time the snow lay at a depth of six inches on the streets, it recommenced.
There was considerable interruption to the railway traffic, and in some cases the snow plough had to be requisitioned to clear the lines. At times the wind blew with hurricane force, and pedestrians had considerable difficulty in getting about. At the Brechin Junction the engine of the 6.5 train from Brechin became derailed, and many of the passengers were put to the inconvenience of having to walk to Forfar Station about a mile distant.
– Dundee Courier, Thursday 27th December, 1906, p.6.
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FATALITY AT WISHAW.
On Wednesday a young man, named Henry McGarry, platelayer, residing in English Street, Wishaw, was run down on the main line of the Caledonian Railway at Shieldmuir Junction. He had been clearing the points, and failed to get out of the way of a passenger train. The poor fellow was put into a van to be taken to the infirmary, but on the way he succumbed to his injuries.
– Motherwell Times, Friday 28th December, 1906, p.3.
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NARROW ESCAPE OF A TRAIN ON CRIEFF RAILWAY.
On Wednesday night, during the height of the storm, the train from Balquhidder, which leaves Crieff at 8 o’clock for Perth and Dundee, ran a very narrow escape from being wrecked near to Abercairny Station. A short distance to the east of the station the railway passes through a cutting in a wood, and a large Scots fir tree was blown down by the gale across the line, stretching from bank to bank. Fortunately, owing to the cutting, the tree lay a considerable distance above the line of rails. The train was going at full speed, and the driver, owing to the blinding snowstorm, failed to see the obstruction, with the result that in dashing through below the tree the funnel of the engine was carried away, and most of the lamps, &c., in the carriages. The matter was reported to the driver of the train from Perth to Crieff at one of the stations where the trains cross each other. On arrival at Abercairny Station, the train was delayed until the tree was sawn through and the line cleared, with the result that the train did not arrive at Crieff till about ten o’clock, an hour and a half late. Had the tree fallen flat on the rails, there is little doubt but a serious disaster would have resulted.
– Scotsman, Friday 28th December, 1906, p.6.
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LATEST DETAILS OF THE DISASTER.
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THE GROWING DEATH-ROLL.
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Wiring this afternoon our Dundee correspondent says: The list of the killed in the railway disaster at Elliot Junction yesterday afternoon has swollen to 19. In course of yesterday evening the dead bodies of 13 men were removed to the Volunteer Hall in Arbroath, while 15 individuals who had suffered more or less serious injury were accommodated in the infirmary. During this morning five of the injured succumbed, and about three o’clock, while the breakdown squads were busy removing the debris they came across the lifeless body of another man buried below the roof of one of the carriages which was thrown on the platform. In his possession he had a railway season ticket bearing the name of James Cathro, and some business cards of Mr White, ironmonger, Dundee. Many of the bodies are frightfully mutilated.
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THE INJURED.
The injured in the infirmary are all in as satisfactory a state as could be expected considering the seriousness of the injuries they sustained, and it is feared that the death-roll may yet be augmented.
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MR BLACK’S CONDITION.
Mr A. W. Black, M.P. for Banffshire, has, it is now learned, sustained a double fracture of each leg, and his condition is precarious. At eleven o’clock this forenoon he was taken to the operating room, where a professor from Edinburgh and several doctors held a consultation as to what remedial measures might be adopted to save his life.
The breakdown squads from Edinburgh and Burntisland worked all night clearing the line of debris, and this forenoon the woodwork from the smashed carriages was being burned on the platform. The engine of the express which ran into the local train was clear of the rails, and there is now no doubt whatever that it was proceeding towards Dundee, tender first. Arbroath is still isolated from the surrounding districts, either by telegraph or telephone, and while there is absolutely no railway connection to the North only one of the lines to Dundee is free, that to the South, that between Elliot and Easthaven being blocked both with snow and a brokendown goods train. The telegraph and telephone system along the line is in a fearful state of disorganisation. The wires in many places have been snapped, while others, which are still in position, are covered with snow and ice. Several hundred of the poles have either been levelled to the ground or are very much bent.
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THE KILLED.
The following is the list of the killed:
William McFarlane, traveller, Gray, Dunn & Co., Glasgow.
Leslie, guard, N.B. Railway.
F. R. Whitfield, traveller, 20 St Clair Street, Glasgow.
H. W. Owen, of Ogston’s (Ltd.), Glasgow.
Charles Wood, 22 Guthrie Port, Arbroath.
Man in possession of letter addressed from brother Charles, 11 Meadow Row, New Kent Road, London, S.E.
Man unknown, supposed to be a railway official.
Alexander Coats, 13 Dalmeny Street, Edinburgh.
James Christie, Brook Street, Broughty Ferry.
Two men, apparently railway employees, unidentified.
SUCCUMBED IN INFIRMARY.
Adam Hunter, Hawick.
W. B. Ewart, 11 Bannatyne Avenue, Glasgow.
William Steel, 11 Murraygate, Dundee.
Alexander Shand, Peddie Street, Dundee.
Robert Irvine, stoker, Edinburgh.
Found dead in the debris to-day, a man having a season ticket with the name James Cathro, Dundee.
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GLASGOW GUARD’S STORY.
The Central News Glasgow correspondent, telegraphing this morning, says: The news received at the North British Railway headquarters of the terrible railway smash at Elliott Junction is still meagre. The guards in the front van of the North British train which dashed into the Caledonian train have both reached their homes. James Hardie, who resides in Glasgow, says that being unable to get his train further than Arbroath, he was returning to Dundee in the front van, in which was Guard Kinnear. As their van was smashed in the collision he cannot see how they escaped. He can give no explanation how the accident occurred. Kinnear, however, has more information to give. He says he was busy dealing with the mail bags when the smash took place. There was a strong wind blowing and blinding drift. The shock was tremendous. His van was smashed to pieces; he and Hardie were thrown on to the line, clear of the wreckage, where they landed on to a bed of snow. Hardie at once secured fog signals and placed them on the line for a mile back to protect the wreckage from further hurt. Kinnear stood by the mails, of which there was a great accumulation. The trains were being worked on the time limit, as the wires were down.
It is now stated that the first of the stationary train had been brought to a standstill by a tree having fallen on the line.
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STATEMENT BY A CALEDONIAN OFFICIAL.
The disaster yesterday is the first fatal collision on the Dundee and Arbroath line since it came under joint control in 1880.
Mr Watson, Caledonian district superintendent at Glasgow, in an official telegram, states that the dead have been removed to Arbroath for identification, and the injured to Arbroath Infirmary for treatment. The single line is now working. Mr Watson explains that both trains, that is, the Caledonian local Arbroath to Dundee and the East Coast corridor express, were drawn by North British engines. The line had become blocked through a goods train having left the rails near where the Caledonian local train was standing at Elliot Station or Junction, and the East Coast corridor ran into the local train. Mr Miller, Caledonian Railway general manager, and Mr Calthorp, general superintendent, left Glasgow this morning for the scene of the disaster.
– Edinburgh Evening News, Saturday 29th December, 1906, p.5.
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On Monday evening the telegraph brought us a very unwelcome item of news – that Mr James Cameron, who was well known in the district for his obliging and kind manner while serving in the capacity of porter at Broomhill and Nethybridge Station had met with a serious accident at Rothes Station during shunting operations. His many friends, who are daily making inquiry as to his condition, are hopeful that his injuries may not prove a permanent impediment to him. After the mishap he was conveyed by train to Gray’s Hospital, Elgin.
– Northern Scot and Moray & Nairn Express, Saturday 29th December, 1906, p.3.
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RAILWAY ACCIDENT. – A young man named Jas. Cameron, a goods porter, received injuries of a somewhat serious nature on Monday evening while assisting with shunting operations at the railway station, in connection with the goods train which leaves Elgin at 4.50 p.m. It appears that he had been struck on the head by the buffer of the engine, and when found he was lying between the rails below the engine. He was immediately attended to by Dr Bisset, and he was thereafter conveyed to Elgin by the late goods train and taken to Gray’s Hospital, where it was found that his injuries were a compound fracture of the left leg and three of the toes of the right foot crushed.
– Northern Scot and Moray & Nairn Express, Saturday 29th December, 1906, p.6.
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ENGINE SEPARATED FROM A TRAIN.
On the Strathspey section of the Great North Railway, a goods train which left Boat of Garten for Keith on Thursday encountered a huge drift at Cromdale Haughs, and in attempting to force through the engine became severed from its train, and when the mishap had been discovered it was found impossible to make back to the lost waggons. Soon the disconnected engine became blocked up, and at noon yesterday it had not been cutout. In consequence all service of trains on the section has had to be discontinued. Another goods train is lying at Grantown, while passenger trains have been held up at Ballindalloch and Boat of Garten, where there is an accumulation of mails and papers for the Strathspey section.
– Edinburgh Evening News, Saturday 29th December, 1906, p.6.
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THE LATE MR BLACK M.P.
Before the business of the meeting was proceeded with, the President had made reference to the sad railway accident at Arbroath, and suggested that the secretary be instructed to send an expression of sympathy to Mr Black, the member for Banffshire, who was reported to be seriously injured. At a later stage of the proceedings intimation was received from the “Aberdeen Journal” Office that Mr Black had succumbed to his injuries. The President moved a resolution of sympathy, and the meeting instructed the secretary to send a letter of condolence to the widow and members of the late Mr Black’s family.
– Aberdeen Press and Journal, Monday 31st December, 1906, p.4.
