MACEDON BREAKAWAY

Inquest on Monday

The City Coroner (Dr R. H. Cole) will hold an inquest at 9 o'clock on Monday morning on the body of Edward Evans, the railway guard who was killed in the goods train accident near Macedon early on Saturday morning. It is expected that a large number of witnesses will be called and that the inquiry will last two days.

It was stated at the railway offices yesterday that the departmental officers who investigated the circumstances of the accident had not been constituted a proper board of inquiry by the Commissioners, and that they would not be required to record a finding as to the cause of the mishap. Action will be taken by the Commissioners immediately after the Coroner's inquest to appoint a duly constituted board, whose duty it will be to report.

From the preliminary inquiry, it is understood that the Westinghouse brakes appear to have acted in holding the rear portion of the train when the couplings gave way. It is possible, however, that Evans, who was in the guard's van at the rear, did not notice that the engine and front portion of the train had gone on and that he still thought the train was at a standstill on the gradient. It is thought that this might account for the failure to apply the hand brake until too late. The air which held the Westinghouse brakes would leak out very slowly, releasing the grip of the 'shoes" on the tyres in about five minutes. The train would then rapidly accelerate in speed downhill with such momentum that the hand brake could not check the speed. The hand brake on the train could have been applied from the van.