Showing 8 items matching ferguson: railways;
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Otway Districts Historical Society
Photograph, Ferguson: Passengers waiting at Station, c.1914
... ferguson: railways;... are occupied by two women awaiting a train. ferguson: railways; ...Ferguson proved to be a busy station with timber and potatoes being loaded. This meant men, and for many of them, their wives and offspring who lived with them. The passenger shelters in this case are occupied by two women awaiting a train.B/W. Two female passengers outside the waiting shelter at Ferguson station awaiting collection. Note that the shelter does not have a picket fence and gate which were installed much later.ferguson: railways; -
Otway Districts Historical Society
Photograph, R.K. Whitehead, G42 between Beech Forest and Ferguson, 1960, July 1960
... ferguson: beech forest; railways;... the whole line closed in June 1962. ferguson: beech forest; railways ...By July 1960 for the Beech Forest railway outwards traffic was down to 12,730 tonnes per year, and from Ferguson under 1,000 tonnes per year. One wagon was all that was needed in July to reach Beech Forest The line kilometre proportion of $26,320 was sufficient in itself to justify the withdrawal of the rail service, without the fact that reconditioning the two Garratt locomotives and rendering serviceable the ancient wagons would make the costs prohibitive. As a result the whole line closed in June 1962.Colour. 144mm x 279mm. G42 locomotive with Weeaproinah goods in a loaded NQR wagon and NC guard's van, between Beech Forest and Ferguson in July 1960.ferguson: beech forest; railways; -
Otway Districts Historical Society
Photograph, Les Ogden, Crowes track being dismantled at ashpit, 1961
On the Colac-Beech Forest-Crowes railway line the section from Ferguson to Crowes was closed in December 1954, but reopened as far as Weeaproinah in January 1955. The section to Crowes, left to its own devices, was rapidly covered with vegetation which had to be cleared when rail recovery trains later ran. The track to Crowes was pulled up in 1961. Crowes track being dismantled at the ashpit ready for loading into NQR wagons. colac; beech forest; crowes: railway; -
Otway Districts Historical Society
Photograph, Gwen Armistead, Gellibrand: War Service Homes Commission Saw Mill, 1920
Four examples of saw mills placed in station yards were seen on the Beech Forest line of which one was the War Service Homes Commission weatherboard planning mill at Gellibrand. It operated between 1920 until 1923 for both inwards and outwards cartage of timber. As an alternative to Colac Reginald Driver, the WSHC operator, chose Gellibrand in September, 1920 as the site for a mill fitted with the latest double-bladed planning machine. The rough cut boards were sent by train from Driver's mills at Ferguson, Wyelangta and Macknott, off loaded at Gellibrand, and later reloaded for the trip to Colac.B/W. War Service Homes Commission Saw Mill at Gellibrand station in 1920. Six men loading palings onto a NQR wagon.gellibrand; war service homes commission; planing mill; railways;, gellibrand; war service homes commission; planing mill; railways; -
Ballarat Tramway Museum
Magazine, Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB), "MMTB News", 1966
Eight issues of "MMTB News" - The Magazine of the Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board. Two copies of issues 1 to 6 held. Second copy added 31/8/2004. All issues printed with an cream colour paper cover with the rest of the magazine white gloss paper. 2720.1 - Vol. 3, No. 1 - 16 pages, January 1966, with a photo of the Mark VI bus No. 702 on the front cover, notes on Traffic Congestion, motor cars and supermarkets, depot masters, engineering, bus maintenance, sports and social club news. On rear cover includes a photo of a Christmas function with past senior employees - left to right - H. R. Steains (architect), H. S. McComb (Chief Surveyor), Mr. Aird, Mr. P. M. Ireland (Rolling stock engineer), J Fisher (Civil Engineer) and H. A. Warner (Secretary) 2720.2 - Vol. 3, No. 2 - 16 pages, February 1966, with a photo of counting decimal coins, Tribute to the W2 class tram written by Norm Cross, (with photo), Hawthorn Clothing Depot, retirement of Harry Munroe, introduction of decimal currency, donation of 1B bogies to SPER, tramways band, death of Neil Olsen, sports and social club news. See btm2720i9.jpg for image of the Norm Cross photograph. 2720.3 - Vol. 3, No. 3 - 12 pages, March - April 1966, with a photo of Tramways Bowl Tournament presentation on the front cover, Recent developments in public transport in North America, Vera Cruz Mexico, cable cars at Rushworth, sports and social club news and photo of the Melbourne bogies under Sydney tram. 2720.4 - Vol. 3, No. 4 - 16 pages, May 1966, with a photo of W2 321being overhauled at Preston Workshops, change over to decimal currency for accounting machines, "Tram Driver Salutes the L class tram" - written by A. Bailey, Melbourne's New Trams, retirement of Gordon Wilson, sports and social club news. 2720.5 - Vol. 3, No. 5 - 16 pages, June 1966, with a photo of the track relaying in Camberwell Rd with Camberwell fire station in background, Melbourne cable tram routes, opening and closing dates, retirement of G. H. Box, visit of SPER members to Melbourne, memories of Malvern Depot, sports and social club news. 2720.6 - Vol. 3, No. 6 - 16 pages, July - August 1966 with a photo of the view from the St Kilda Junction signal box, more trams for Russia, retirements of 31 Employees, a contest to win an old W2, St Kilda Road Junction box - and how it works - signalling and interlocking, closure of Port Melbourne bus depot, sports and social club news. 2720.7 - Vol. 3, No. 7 - 16 pages, September - October 1966 with a photo of 610 on the Maribyrnong River Bridge, during the SPER tour, "Public Transport in Big Cities" - R. Risson - with photo - see image i10, MMTB Ambulance division, new trams, trams or buses, death of Harry Hood, Chas Samuels, retirement of Jack Ferguson, Reg Maxwell, manufacture of trackwork, cable tram working, sports and social club news. 2720.8 - Vol. 3, No. 8 - 16 pages, November - December 1966 with a photo of a wedding party on a tram (Richards / Fuller), apprenticeship training, Christmas message from the Chairman, tramway canteens, art of rostering by R. Drummond, Wattle Park Chalet, clock and instrument shop at North Fitzroy, tramways band, sports and social club news.Each issue has stamped on the front cover or inside "The Australian Railway Historical Society (S.A. Branch).trams, tramways, mmtb, sper, wattle park, port melbourne, st kilda junction, decimal currency, w2 class, l class, hawthorn -
Glen Eira Historical Society
Document - LECHTE, WILLIAM LUDWIG SAMUEL SEBASTION
3 items about this person: 1/Two twelve page carbon copied documents, purportedly written by William Letchte, son of George, written in c1935/36. He writes of his jobs as a dairyman, cow minder at the age of ten tears. He recollects streets, people, residences, business and general landscape in the area, as he takes you on a tour of the area. 2/Photocopied photo of Katrina Lechte (nee Bolch?) donated by Ian Lechte, 15 Adrian Street, East Bentleigh. 3/Photocopied copy of first pages and cover of William Lechte’s booklet on ‘Caulfield 1869 – 1935 Memories of the Past’, published by the City of Caulfield, 1992. The Society has the full booklet in its book collection (not yet catalogued as of 07/07/2015).grange road, glenhuntly, glen huntly station, alma road, dairies, caulfield park, swamp, queens avenue, station street, cross street, racecourse, heywood j. g., turf club hotel, dandenong road, royal hotel, koornang road, north road, murrumbeena road, mclaurin archibald, crosbie j. w., poath road, newton mr., hooker mr., peck family robert farmer, dairies, ross murray, rosstown, hansen hans, arnott family, peppin family, ormond station, malane family, fraser simon, overtons, shepherds, spring road, mohlers, brighton cemetery, mall kim, market gardeners, long john farmer, fiedler mr., booran road, reservoir, summers mr., maddocks mr., holland mr., caulfield council, glen eira road, harriman benjamin c., kambrook road, bambra road, princess park, marriott john, hawthorn road, brickworks, hyam mr., cottages, jasmine street, sycamore street, paddy o’briens swamp, arnold tom, london tavern hotel, guess john-grocer, topp mr., poath road, pine trees, colonel le marehand, balaclava junction, chemist shop, bell mr., nicholls mr. william h., wine shop, orme mr., pepperorn mr. john, balaclava road, orchards, harvey mr. robert tailor, schubert mr., blew charlie – gardener, philpott mr. richard b., farquhar mr. william farmer, newing t. r., glen eira road, payne john, brockhoft mr., dickson mr. james, snipe t., bevan mr., mckean family john, murray family, francis mr., hart mr., mcdougall james, brady peter, cad, elsternwick station, webb mr., masters mr. samuel, master street, ford mr., anderson mr. joseph gardener, slaney mr., boxhill mr. richard, post office, newsagent, hotham street, service james, bunn mr., sargood mr., orrong road, arnold tom – dairy, officer mr., grimwade mr., alexandra street, oakleigh hall, degraves mr., wilson samuel, ‘manifold’, house names, miller septimus, alma road, knox mr. james gardener, smith mr., coachman, ‘cumloden’, lange mr., holyrood justice mr., cronin mrs. mary, mcgivenys dairy, ‘belle vista’, lloyd c. d., caulfield council, hughes mr., armstrong j. a., tom healey’s market garden, kooyong road, inkerman road, tom roe’s market garden, mcleod captain, daish captain, plumridger mr. frederick, gardeners, tester mr. thomas, kent mr., kent g., fiddes mr., billings mr., semple mr., fosberry mr., howitt or., merrett mr., orchards, hawthorn road, hines mr., ‘rosecraddock’, langdon h. j., ‘crotonhurst’, webb justice mr., renwick s., ‘garrell’, barry mr., drinsdale family, st. mary’s church, sunday school, newing miss, teachers, stephen justice mr., stephen wilberforce, mount l., grimwade’s, ‘grimwade house’, danby’s, spence mr., venables family, mr. moss’ congregational church, barnhill mrs., porter miss, webb’s, ferguson, orange, police stations, kooyong road, pennington mr., health inspectors, engineers, inkley mr., farriers, mckeon mr., ‘sylverly’, dixon mr. edward, turner mr., marriott robert, ‘ravenhurst’, thompson j. j., wott t., architects, perrin mr. francis, tennis courts, royal parade, sayce mr. joseph j. p., ricketson h., ‘glen eira’, mansions, hospitals, turner mr., evans family, stephens miss, registers, mcculloch lady, convalescent homes, prentice street, edward street, strickland, keany pat, brentwood charlie, fordham lewis, hopetoun gardens, higgins mr. joseph f. engineer, railway construction bill, evans mr., beavis mr., twycross family john, medina captain, cowderoy mr. benjamin, murray mr., moore mr., ‘glenfern’, st. georges road, glen huntly road, cedar street, hunt bill – ‘bandy hunt’, jessamine street, alder street, le page’s store, post offices, balaclava junction, stephens frank, solicitors, parkside street, robinson j., ilbery mr. and family, mclennan mrs., victoria street, savings bank, riddell parade, elworthy mr. richard, butchers, shaw mr. william, armstrong mr., guess’ hotel, sycamore street, bagshaw mr., clack joe, wawn alex, sisson family, north road, younger mr., kooyong road, sheridan joseph, anketell family – john, wren john – carpenter, wills mr. peter, attrills arnold, heffernan family, cox peter, ilbery john, hotham street, glen huntly road, page j. w., bakeries, forests, godfrey mr., blacksmiths, thompson j. j., olive street, cedar street, letchte w., tierney richard, alma road, st. kilda east, murray peter, letchte’ cows – grazing, holland grove, eskdale road, lechte katrina, lechte ian, lechte catherine, lechte warren, lechte stuart, lechte elaine -
Glen Eira Historical Society
Article - Attwood Family
... Christie’s Woodyard Ferguson Cam Railway Accidents Ardyne Street ...Two items about the Attwood Family: A seventeen page computer typed copy of the memories of John Attwood, compiled by Colin Smith in January 2002. Includes memories of his childhood, contact and impressions of local identities including Merric Boyd and others; the retailers and business owners in the Murrumbeena area, the trains and railway stations, picture theatres and other businesses. A photocopy of an article taken from the Herald Sun newspaper 06/11/2007. Myra Attwood, wife of John, local business person in Murrumbeena Newsagency; includes brief local history of family and Myra’s personal hobbies, till the time of her death. Also a newspaper clipping of her death notice, unknown source and date.emily street, murrumbeena, elsternwick, railway stations, signal boxes, beena avenue, murrumbeena state school, primary schools, attwood john, attwood myra, attwood rhonda, attwood colin, attwood warren, attwood murray, attwood janine, attwood susan, attwood michael, attwood greg, attwood gerard, black bridge, outer circle railway, murrumbeena newsagency, newsagents, murrumbeena railway station, railway stations, book binders, stevens alf, sykes harold, attwood motors, neerim road, boyd merric, boyd mrs., timber houses, outbuildings, artists, trains, car parks, christie’s woodyard, ferguson cam, railway accidents, ardyne street, north road, dalny road, brett street, barnes family, newspapers, roads and streets, soils, flower growing, market gardens, world war 1939-1945, land subdivisions, air raid precautions, bicycles, drawing, springthorpe park, mass media, murrumbeena shopping centre, butcher shops, grocer shops, green grocers, shoe shops, confectionary shops, barber shops, beck george, bowyer ralph, rennie bill, bookmakers, presbyterian church, methodist church, hanna’s milk bar, sunday school, woodland bill, ssw grocery chain, drays, woodland alec, lee ron, jewellers, bakeries, fish shops, dressmakers, delicatessens, east bentleigh, selkrigs family, pottery, heads’ garage, head lindsay, head doug, head clarry, head ron, murrumbeena road, car retailers, petrol pumps, motor vehicle repair shops, billy one motors, bird mr., real estate agents, w.b. tonks and company, sparrow mr., pidgeon mr., hardware stores, florist shops, murrumbeena post office, tile shops, gardens, murrumbeena chamber of commerce, kiosks, gardeners, carnegie citizens band, spurway nursing home, argosy theatre, cinemas, dance halls, the capri, theatre groups, caulfield council, the blowfly train service, billiard rooms, printers, hammond olsen and company, l.j. miles and company, moody’s real estate agency, paddocks, flats, es&a bank murrumbeena, esanda bank murrumbeena, state savings bank murrumbeena, commonwealth bank murrumbeena, fuel merchants, hobart road, golden fleece service station, quince’s buses, bus services, ardyne street, timber yard, gow mr., railway parade, shell service station, pharmecies, house miss, bicycle shops, barnhill les mr., fliner mr., boot makers, widdop peter, moran and cato’s, grocers, pizza shop, car yards, classic caravan, o’brien kevin, wrought iron work, williams mr., candle making factory, lights, power tom, gates, fences, whitelaw monier tiles, whitelaw bill, hanna rex, dandenong road, cumloden grammar school, independent schools, emmaus rest house, oakdene, house names, taranto bob, hanson cab service, billy one motors, grey mr., horse troughs, horse drawn vehicle, taxis, board roy, buick cars, charleston’s bakery, carnegie, rosstown hotel, corum’s dairy, kangaroo road, reids dairy, dalny road, reid shaver, racehorses, cove’s dairy, wilson street, police, murrumbeena police station, dunoon street, murrumbeena park, footballers, gangs, liberal party, labour party, united australian party, uap, woodland alec, liquor shops, johnson suzanne, singers, taylor squizzy, boyd family, artists, criminals, skase christopher, skase charles, sunaria competition, herald and weekly times, ralph j.w., j.h. ralph butchers, butcher shops, pennington gardens, home units, flats, schrape frank, builder, smith colin, mansions, death registers, hockley myra, esperanto, book keepers, accountants, solicitors -
Ringwood and District Historical Society
Photograph, Boiler explosion at Ringwood station 20th June 1894 for engine 297R. "Heard in Box Hill"
Typed below photograph, "Boiler explosion at Ringwood station 20/6/1894. Heard in Box Hill". Article from newspapers:- Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Saturday 27 January 1894, page 21 Official enquiry. The Board of Enquiry appointed by the Railway Commissioners to enquire into the causes of the boiler explosion which shattered the locomotive at Ringwood on Saturday night, assembled at the Railway department on Wednesday to commence its deliberations, The board consisted of Mr R. Fulton, engineer, C. W. McLean; engineer to the Marine Board, and Mr Mephan Ferguson, iron-founder. There is some difficulty at the outset about the constitution of the board; It was suggested that the Apt of Parliament contemplated that boards of experts, after the manner of the present one, needed, to have their appointments confirmed by the Governor-in-Council. The point, however, was not considered sufficiently important to prevent the board from proceeding with evidence. Robert Greyford, stationmaster at Ringwood, was the first witness. He said he saw the explosion on Saturday night at about twenty minutes to 8. There was a rush to the engine to see what had happened, and the driver and fireman were both found on the platform of the engine. The driver seemed badly hurt, but the fireman, to all appearances, was not so badly injured. They were both attended to and sent up to Melbourne by the last suburban train. Witness had a look at the engine and found the dome and all the plates round the boiler blown clean, away. The springs were also blown clean away. The Chairman (Mr Fulton) : Did you measure the distance ? Witness: Yes; one of the plates was 209 yards away. A piece from the top of the boiler 15 pounds in weight he found driven into the hard beaten track 410 yards away. Several pieces of boiler plate were found scattered at various distances. The buildings roundabout were injured. The Chairman; Did you notice anything peculiar about either of the driver or the fireman ? — No ; nothing wrong, with either of them. If the engine was blowing off at all, it must have been very light. In your opinion, were they perfectly sober ? — Perfectly. In approaching the station, is there a down or an up grade? — A very slight down grade. How is the road from Healesville ? — Up and down all the way. It is down, grade for about 200 yards coming into Ringwood station. They shut off ; steam about a quarter of a mile away, and come in at a good pace. They generally put on 15 pounds of steam while they are in the station. Mr Ferguson : Had the driver the usual load on ? — Yes ; about the usual load. Witness added that he had known the driver personally for about 10 years, and he had always been a careful, steady, sober man. He did not know the fireman so well. John Palmer, porter at Ringwood station, also saw the explosion. He was attending to the train on its arrival. He was knocked down by the force of the explosion. When he got up he saw the engine driver being carried into the office covered in blood. He noticed nothing peculiar about the driver and fireman, nor about the engine. Mr McLean : How far were you from the engine when you were knocked down ? — From ten to fifteen yards. William Paul, the guard of the train to which the injured locomotive Was attached, said he was looking at the engine at the very moment the explosion occurred. It seemed to come from exactly under the dome. The force of it took him off his feet. He was about 15 yards from the tender. When he rose he tried to reach the engine, but could not do so on account of the steam and coal dust. He called out to know whether any of the passengers were injured, and got no response, so that he concluded they were all right. All the lamps but about half dozen were extinguished by the force of the explosion, although the glass was not broken. He could testify most distinctly that the driver and fireman were both sober. The driver was a man who never drank. The steam started to blow off about a minute and a half before the explosion took place. The last place at which the engine took water was Healesville. The Chairman : Do yon know anything of the quality of the water there ? Is it creek water ? — Yes ; it comes from the Graceburn River. You never heard of its quality ?— No. How long have you known this engine on the road— About 13 months. Hew long have you known the driver on this line ? — About six weeks. I have known the fireman several years. The driver was a strict teetotaller, and I never saw the fireman take anything to drink in his life. Mr T. H, Woodroffe, chief mechanical engineer of the Victorian Railways, produced a report he had written to the secretary, about this explosion. The document gave facts concerning the engine and the explosion. It stated that the rapture seemed to have occurred at the rim of the plates adjoining the fire box. The engine was built at the Phoenix Foundry, Ballarat, in 1883. It was repaired at various times, the last time being in July of last year when it was sent to the Port Melbourne shops, and was then tested to a cold water pressure of 195 and found all right. It was the custom to overhaul all locomotives about every five years. The Chairman : There were no very heavy repairs in July, 1893; were there? — Not to the boilers. The shop manager's report says that the plug and safety tap holes were repaired, five new copper studs put in firebox, ash-pan door repaired, tender cleaned and overhauled, and studs re-rivetted, and boiler tested to pressure of 195, cold water. Mr Woodroffe read the report of the repairs effected to the boiler in December, 1888. That would be the time the plate was put in the boiler. On that occasion three new plates were put in the bottom and the boiler tested up to 195. The Chairman: Do you keep a record of the water used ?— Yes, the water in this case, I think, came from the Maroondah scheme. Mr Woodroffe said boilers were examined front time to time in the running sheds. In his opinion every possible care had been taken to keep the engine in proper care. There might, however, be lessons learnt from this. The Chairman: No doubt. From his examination of the plates [the] witness did not think the state of them could have been detected from the outside. There were no signs of leakage or sweating or anything of that sort. The next witness- was Walter Stinton, workshop manager at Newport and he said that the injured engine had been repeatedly repaired under his charge. He gave a technical account of the repairs effected on various occasions. The testing of locomotives was under his special notice. They had a high pressure pipe running; round the works, and a pump set at 2001b. When the boiler was pumped full of water the pressure when applied up to 1951b. The board appointed by the department to inquire into the Ringwood locomotive boiler explosion sat again at Spencer street on 25th inst. Mr R. Fulton presided and the other members of the board were. Mr Mephan Ferguson and Mr C. W. McLean. Charles Grubb, foreman of the boiler-makers at the Newport workshops, said he had inspected the pieces of plate that had been blown out of the engine, and after examining them, pointed out to the Chief Mechanical Engineer the portion where the plate had started to burst. It was under the lap, on the right hand side of the boiler. The grooving might be accounted for by bad water. During the past twenty years he had examined all the boilers that came into the Williamstown workshops, and while some were hardly marked at all, others were very badly eaten away. The practice was to cut out the defective portions. In this case the boiler was repaired in a similar manner. The Chairman : Can you suggest any other way of repairing so as to prevent accident ? — No, unless by taking out a plate on one side from the joint, and carrying it further up so as to avoid the joints meeting, or by taking out the plate altogether. What would.be the cost .of putting in a new " plate I—Perhaps about double the price; but I wouldn't recommend that course. It would be putting a new plate against plates that have been in use ten years or so and that would not be advisable. I think the present system better. I consider the present system of repairing the best. This is the first we have had so bad like that, to my knowledge. You attributed this to bad water. Is there no other probable cause ? — Well; unless the iron be bad. This was Lowmoor iron. I think this accident was caused by the eating away of plates. This one was the worst I have seen, for the short time it had been running. We use three classes of iron — Lowmoor, Monkbridge and Bowling. By Mr Woodroffe (Chief Mechanical Engineer) ; There are engines still running that were repaired at the same time as this one, in 1888, and. in the same way. These are engines 339 and 333. They have been recently examined and are in splendid order. What in your experience, is the age of a boiler on the Victorian railways? — From 17 to 20 years our earlier boilers stood. The later boilers don't stand so well. How is that? — There is difference in construction, and the material is lighter. The old boilers had thicker plates. Have you been asked in any way to curtail boiler affairs? — No, sir; nor in any way. You have never hesitated to carry out any necessary repairs? — Never. Our orders have been to exercise every care in examining, repairing and renewing boilers. Witness said that his practice was when an engine came into the workshop to find out how long she had been running. If over five years, he informed the workshop manager, and they thought it necessary the tubes were taken nut. If everything was in good order witness reported to the manager. The cost of taking out the tubes and putting them in again was about L20. Mr Woodroffe : Have you ever hesitated to repair a boiler on the score of expense ? — No, never. Mr McLean : Hew do yon ascertain whether a boiler requires repairs?— I keep a record of every boiler examined. From every boiler that comes in I have the dome covers taken off, and when it is practical I get inside. l can almost tell from the top of a boiler what the bottom is like. If there is any doubt about it I have the tubes taken out. If I have suspicion of defective plate I cause to have bored a triangle in the plate at the point where there is the most wear. There is a travelling inspector who visits all the running sheds of the colony except Port Melbourne and tests the boilers. He reports to us and we note what he points out. Alfred Thompson, locomotive inspector of the eastern section, said he knew this engine, 297R. He read a list of her repairs. He heard of the accident on Saturday night and went up to Ringwood. The Chairman : Did you ever notice anything peculiar about the engine? — No, I considered her A1 and would not have hesitated to have put on 140lb pressure owing to the repairs she had undergone. Witness considered that the explosion was caused by the expansion and contraction of the plates ; and, no doubt, the plate had been eaten away through bad water. The other side of the boiler showed: signs of corrosion: By Mr Woodroffe ; Is every care taken with the boilers ? — Yes, every possible care is taken for the safety of boilers, Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Saturday 27 January 1894, page 7 EXPLOSION OF A LOCOMOTIVE BOILER, NARROW ESACPE FROM FATALITIES. THE DAMAGED ENGINE. [See drawing of loco – saved in “Railways” folder] The explosion of a locomotive boiler at Ringwood on Saturday evening, formed the subject of much discussion in railway circles on Monday. The Minister arrived at the office at an unusually early hour and immediately entered into a consultation with the acting chairman, Mr Kibble, and Mr Commissioner Murray. As the result of the interview it was resolved to ask three gentlemen of acknowledged engineering experience to sib as a board with the . object of inquiring into the cause of the accident and furnishing a report. Mr Richardson and the Commissioners are tally seized of the importance of having a searching investigation into the accident, and, with Mr Murray, the former went to Ringwood to inspect the scene of the disaster. They will he accompanied by Mr Woodroffe. During the morning no official report had come to hand from the driver or fireman of the engine in reference to the accident, but that is thought to be due to the circumstance that they have not sufficiently recovered to be able to give a circumstantial account of what occurred. The engine was one of the old R's, and, Mr Kibble pronounced them to be about the best class of engines used. So far nothing can be said as to the probable cause of the accident, as the broken plating of the engine has not been submitted to the inspection of experts. Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Saturday 27 January 1894, page 7 STATEMENT BY THE FIREMAN. This morning Thomas Miles, fireman on the engine the boiler of which exploded on Saturday night, is suffering from an injury to the spine, as well as a very severe shaking to the system. He states that he was fireman on the engine attached to the train which left Healesville on Saturday evening, at ten minutes to 8. Everything went all right until Ringwood was reached, when, .just as the train was about to continue its journey, a load explosion took place and Miles remembers nothing more until he was picked np on the platform ; and found himself suffering from a pain in the back, and an injury to his arm. He cannot think of any reason which could have caused the explosion, as there was plenty of water in the boiler, and everything seemed working all right. Mr R. Fulton, consulting engineer, of Queen street; Mr McLean, a member of the Marine Board ; and Mr Mephan Ferguson, engineer, have consented to act as a board to inquire into the cause of the engine boiler explosion at Ringwood on Saturday evening. The board has been appointed under section 117 of Act 1135, which provides that the Governor-in-Council may direct the taking of a such a step. Mr1 Fulton will act as chairman of the board, which met for the first time at the railway offices, Spencer street, this forenoon. Before separating the members of the Board paid a visit to the Prince's Bridge locomotive sheds in company with Mr Woodroffe, the chief mechanical engineer, for the purpose of inspecting the shattered boiler. It has been stated that the explosion is known to have been caused by a flaw in a plate which was put on the boiler about four years ago, but enquiries have tailed to elicit anything in support of that view. The engineers connected with the department are not inclined to say anything on the subject. Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Saturday 14 April 1894, page 20 The Ringwood Boiler Explosion, The Minister of Railways has received the supplementary report of the board appointed by him to investigate the circumstances connected with the explosion of a locomotive boiler at Ringwood. In their first report the board did not attach blame to anyone. Mr Richardson felt satisfied that the responsibility of having the engines properly inspected and overhauled periodically could be fixed if the inquiry were extended. He therefore referred the matter again to the Board, who took further evidence. In the report now furnished, the Board hold Loco. Inspector Thompson blameable, but point out as a mitigating circumstance that he had not received "written instructions" respecting inspections and overhauls. Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Saturday 7 July 1894, page 32 The Ringwood Boiler Explosion. The Minister of Railways takes exception to the tone of a paragraph appearing in a morning contemporary respecting the Ringwood boiler explosion. It makes it appear that Mr Richardson has referred the report of the board which considered the facts connected with the explosion to the Crown solicitor simply because he differed from the finding of the board. The Minister explains that when he received the report he found that the responsibility for having boilers properly inspected and overhauled had not been clearly fixed. He personally obtained farther evidence on that point, and arrived at a conclusion, from which the commissioners differed. As he did not like to take upon himself the responsibility of deciding upon the effect of the evidence, he submitted the matter to the Crown Solicitor, but that officer did not furnish him with the information sought. He has, therefore, referred the question to the Attorney-General, together with the draft of a regulation respecting boiler inspections and overhauls in the future. Mr Richardson says that his whole aim is to have the responsibility positively fixed. Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Saturday 28 April 1894, page 23 The Minister of Railways has completed his consideration of the supplementary report received by him from the Ringwood Boiler Explosion Board. The report, it will be remembered, held Loco-Inspector Thompson blameable for the non-inspection of the boiler, but considered there was extenuating circumstances. There was a certain amount of doubt as to the absolute instructions given for overhauling engines periodically. Mr. Richardson is sending the report on to the Commissioners with instructions that the responsibility respecting inspection of boilers shall be made clear for the future.