ACCIDENTS FROM CARRIAGE IMPERFECTIONS.

Another class of accidents take their rise from imperfection in the carriages:

In the Autum of 1845 an accident occurred on the Edinburgh and Glasgow railway, near to the Polmont station, which might have been productive of serious consequences, had the trains been going at full speed. An axle of one of the carriages gave way, by which one end of the machine was brought to the ground, and smashed in several places. There were no passengers in it. The train in consequence was detained nearly an hour beyond its accustomed time in arriving in Glasgow.

On Saturday night, Oct. 4. 1845, an accident of a very serious kind took place on the Great North of England Railway, about four miles on the York side of Darlington, by which one young married lady received a compound fracture of one of her legs, the other being also broken, and several other passengers were cut and bruised. It appears that at the York station considerable surprise was manifested at the arrival of the engine of the mail train, then overdue, bearing the letter-bags, but without the post-office travelling and passenger carriages.

Upon inquiry if was found that the outer tire of the wheel of a truck, to which the flanch is attached, broke near the nut by which it was fastened to the inner tire. After breaking across at that point the ends rose, and the tire broke a second time at the next nut, and then a portion of the tire and flanch came completely off. The wheel having thus nothing to keep it on the rail, swerved, carrying the axle round in a direction contrary to that in which the carriage was going, till, coming in contact with the carriage, it threw it off the line, and dragged the rest of the

carriages with it. The broken wheel having gone under the carriage, carried the other wheels away, and the carriage was left without any wheels at all, in which state it was found after the accident. The breaking of the outer tire is attributed to its having been put on too hot, and there not having been sufficient allowance made for its contracting properly, so that when it cooled it became too tight. The metal was in consequence defective.

ACCIDENTS FROM FIRE.

The dreadful accident which occurred a few years ago on the railway between Paris and Versailles by the carriages taking fire, and the consequent death of many passengers by burning, could have been easily prevented if a proper system of communication had existed. But the cries and groans of the tortured and the dying were drowned in the rattling of wheels and the puffing of steam. It was not till the whole train was in a blaze that the accident was discovered by those in charge, and the train stopped. To complete the misery of the unfortunate passengers, they were locked up in the carriages. The remedy, indeed, proposed to prevent so serious a catastrophe -- namely, the not locking the carriage doors seems futile; for leaping out of a car

riage on fire, going at the rate of 30 miles

an hour, is just the choice of dying in another

way.

In France, as in Belgium and on the continent, I can speak from personal knowledge, the railway carriages are very comfortable. Many of them are constructed on the omnibus principle, a number of persons seated in one carriage; but no co-operation had the power of averting this fatal accident. The sparks from the chimney of the locomotive engines are much the same in this country as in France: but need we go to the Continent to seek for examples of the danger from ignition on railways?

On the 28th of May last, on the Liverpool line, a carriage loaded with pigs took fire, and in a few minutes nearly the whole were destroyed.

Again, on the 28th of June, in the half-past five o'clock train, shortly after leaving Greenock for Glasgow, a smell of burning was felt in one of the third class carriages, immediately thereafter the flames burst out on the dress of one of the females, and as the train was at considerable speed, and the wind was high, the utmost consternation prevailed. By the presence of mind and activity of a young seaman, the flames were extinguished, but not before the female's gown was consumed, all to the body and sleeves. This accident occurred from a red-hot cinder ejected from the funnel of the engine.

I have seen several instances of persons nearly in flames from a similar cause in open carriages,

when going rapidly through the air; and it is apparent, if the flames reached any height, the person must be burned, perhaps to death, before the train could be stopped. But how could it be stopped? A whole carriage of third or fourth class passengers might be in flames, and yet unseen either by engineer or guard; nor would even their cries for help be heard. What, then, is to prevent a similar catastrophe in this country, attending the showering of red-hot cinders upon the passengers of the open trains, which occurred in France. It is hardly possible to travel in one of the open carriages without having holes burnt in one's clothes and females' dresses frequently become ignited. When complaint is made as to these annoyances, not unattended with much hazard, the passenger is, perhaps, treated with ridicule, or told it is his own fault in not paying for a better class of carriage. Such is often the spirit of monopoly. In most locomotive engines there is, however, provided wire gauze at the top of the chimney and other means to prevent the escape of the sparks from the furnace; but from being made wide in the meshes when used, to avoid injuring the draught, it proves insufficient for the purpose intended, and it is therefore apparent that other means should be resorted to to obviate this defect.

RAILWAY CARRIAGES.

There can be no doubt that when Government had to introduce a bill into Parliament to protect the rights of the working classes in railway transit, by restricting the rate of charge for third class passengers to a penny per mile, and requiring railway companies to run at least one train having covered third class carriages daily, that much indifference, to say the least of it, must have been shown before any interference took place. But why restrict the penny a mile trains to once a day? why should not carriages of this kind go with every train? Little doubt, however, can be entertained that the construction of railway carriages in this country must be soon entirely remodelled, or at least material changes made on those now in use, before either much comfort or safety will be attained in the cheaper class carriages. It is bad enough to be exposed to the annoyance of dust and risk of losing ones eyes in open carriages, without showers of red-hot cinders, which could be greatly mitigated or entirely prevented by proper mechanical contrivances. Many persons would prefer the open carriages in fine weather, irrespective of the charge, were it not for these annoy

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