Re: Salt Clay Rail Distaster nsw

[krel4203@netconnect.com.au (Krel )]

On Tue, 27 Oct 1998 12:04:17 -0800, Malcolm Airs <mairs@tpgi.com.au>
wrote:

>Hi All,
>   Does anyone know anything about The Salt Clay Rail Disaster which
>occurred in Feb. 1884, in the Cootamundra area.  I learnt about it in my
>great grandfather's obituary in The Temora Times.  Apparent he was one
>of the first on the scene after the crash.
>Any help in this matter will be greatly appreciated.
>
The Salt Clay Creek Rail disaster occurred on January 25, 1885. A
Melbourne to Sydney express ran into a washaway. James Camphore, a
ganger, found the break and could not cross the washaway. He saw a
resident (George Hawke) and shouted a message to warn the SM at
Cootamundra (H. T. Giddy). Giddy found that he could not warn
Bethungra as the telegraph line was down. 

The express, driven by Mr. Smith, ran headlong into the 50 yard
washaway. A Doctor and a Chemist wre despatched to the scene. several
horsedrawn vehicles made their way through the virgin bush to the
site. 

Seven people were killed and over twenty injured.

The locomotive was No. 81, a C79 class built by Beyer-Peacock in May
1877. The loco was rebuilt in April 1887 and was renumbered 1302 in
1924 (?). 1302 was retired in 1936 and scrapped on 123/12/1937 with 1
627 686 km (about 1 000 000 miles) recorded.

Cheers

Krel


>Mal Airs
>mairs@tpgi.com.au

All's well that ends.