7 JULY 1906, Page 11

At 2 o'clock on Sunday morning last Salisbury Station was

the scene of one of the most terrible accidents of modern times. The boat train from Plymouth to London, which was carrying the passengers from the American Line steamship New York,' left the rails while travelling at a high speed, cut through a milk train, and fouled the girders of a bridge. The carriages were piled above the engine, and reduced to a, complete wreck. Twenty-seven passengers were killed, and twelve injured more or less seriously. Among the dead were several well-known American and Canadian citizens, a fact which will add to the sympathy felt for those affected by the catastrophe. Mr. McClellan, the Mayor of New York, was a passenger by the steamer, but continued the voyage to Southampton. No railway disaster in our recollection has been so awful in its completeness, for more than half of the total passengers in the train were killed. It is still uncertain what was the cause of the accident,—whether some sudden structural breakage, or the fact that the speed was too great for so light a train.