1936 Paraparaumu train wreck

New Zealand train derailment September 2023 September 2023 1936 Paraparaumu train derailment rescue work.jpg A passenger is carried off in a stretcher with the train wreck in the background 30 August 1936 06:25 NZST Paraparaumu New Zealand 40 55 13 S 175 00 15 E type:event_region:NZ inline,title North Island Main Trunk Railway New Zealand Railways Department 1 5 Derailment Struck landslip caused by heavy rain 1 70 thumb|Aerial view of the crash thumb|Derailed cars visible on the left, behind the toppled locomotive The 1936 Paraparaumu train wreck occurred on Sunday, 30 August 1936 near Paraparaumu, New Zealand. A train was travelling from Auckland to Wellington in heavy rain when it derailed after striking a landslide across the tracks.31 August 1936 Train wreck The Sydney Morning Herald http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17265402 27 September 2023 9 17 October 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20231017060744/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/17265402 live One passenger died as a result of injuries received in the incident. Incident The North Island Main Trunk Night Limited express with 70 passengers on board was travelling at 50 mph flip when it struck a slip 1/4 mi m flip south of the Paraparaumu Railway Station at 6:25a.m. on 30 August 1936.https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/HBTRIB19360831.2.86 Main trunk express strikes slip 31 August 1936 Hawke's Bay Tribune 26 220 8 PapersPast 28 September 2023 28 September 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230928102330/https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/HBTRIB19360831.2.86 live The train fell down a 3 m on 1 in embankment onto its side, coming to rest a few metres from the road running alongside the railway line. Five carriages came off the rails. The roof of the first passenger carriage was torn off and the walls fell onto the track. Passengers were temporarily trapped inside. The engine was half buried in the mud, and debris was thrown onto the road. Both second and third cars were completely derailed and had their trailing bogies torn off. The fourth and fifth cars derailed, but their trailing bogies were not torn off. The following cars did not derail but were badly damaged, and two cars became locked together. A sleeping car, two vans, a postal van, and a "Z wagon" (covered goods carWagon [Z 186] https://collection.motat.nz/objects/8527/wagon-z-186 Museum of Transport and Technology 17 October 2023) were undamaged.https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paraparaumu_Train_Crash_-_30_August_1936_(28613569093).jpg 1936 Archives New Zealand Wellington repository 28 September 2023 Derailment near Paraparaumu of train no.227 3 October 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20231003033423/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paraparaumu_Train_Crash_-_30_August_1936_(28613569093).jpg live A local dairy farmer, William Howell, noticed the slip as he was bringing in his cows for milking and ran towards the Paraparaumu Railway Station with the intention of breaking the signal wire so that the signal would enter a danger state. However, he was too late and as he saw the train approaching, he tried to signal to the train to stop, which went unnoticed in the heavy rain. After Howell raised the alarm at the railway station, a relief train and ambulances came from Wellington. The accident caused injuries to five people. Four passengers were admitted to Wellington Hospital, and one of them, Arthur Frederick Bush, died there a week later as a result of his injuries.Landslide-related fatalities in New Zealand https://teara.govt.nz/files/d8801enz1.pdf 27 September 2023 Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand 27 September 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230927094959/https://teara.govt.nz/files/d8801enz1.pdf live https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19360905.2.119 Death of Mr. A. F. Bush 5 September 1936 Evening Post 122 58 11 28 September 2023 PapersPast 28 September 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230928102324/https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19360905.2.119 live In the crash, Bush had sustained fractures to both legs. Injuries suffered by other passengers included: facial abrasions to Bush's son; an injured pelvis; head injuries and skin wounds; and a leg injury and facial abrasions. The train driver and fireman were not injured. While the cars were being placed back onto the rails, the muddy slip continued to slide and the shovelling men could not keep up with it. This caused a two-hour delay due to the crane and a re-railed car being blocked by the slip. On Sunday 30 August, a number of trains, including the Napier Express and the southbound Limited Express, were diverted to run on the Wairarapa Line, which meant a slow trip via the Rimutaka Incline.https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MS19360831.2.13 Sunday trains 31 August 1936 Manawatu Standard 56 232 2 23 March 2025 PapersPast By 4:30p.m. on Monday, the wreck had been cleared and traffic was restored to the line. References Category:1936 disasters in New Zealand Category:Railway accidents in 1936 Category:Paraparaumu Category:History of the Wellington Region Category:Rail transport in the Wellington Region Category:Derailments in New Zealand