IT took Reuben Ackland more than two years to recover from the Murulla train disaster – if he really recovered at all.

He lost his wife Kate in the 1926 tragedy, and life thereafter was never the same for the New South Wales Railways’ fettler.

Twenty-seven men, women and children were killed and more than 40 people injured when the North West Mail passenger train from Moree was struck by a runaway goods train near Murulla, between Murrurundi and Scone.

Ackland was seriously hurt in the pile-up. He was thrown clear from the train but suffered terrible back injuries. Kate was killed and their three-year-old son, Kevin, was so badly injured he was completely dependent on his father for years afterwards.

Ackland was born in Coonabarabran in 1886. He was 32 when he and Kate married at Narrabri in 1918.

Kate, born at Goonoo Goonoo near Tamworth in 1873, was 45. She was already the mother of five children – Sarah, May, Violet, Cyril and Alfred – from a previous marriage to William Cox.

Kate’s first marriage was full of tragedy. Three other children – Harriet, Patrick and William – died young and Kate’s husband, William, was 39 when he passed away in Narrabri Hospital in 1916.

Ackland worked intermittently for two-and-a-half years after the Murulla crash and from 1929 moved from town to town with New South Wales Railways.

He was a flagman at Fassifern, near Newcastle, and was later retained as a gate-keeper at Scone, Lithgow, Bathurst and Blayney.

In 1939 he settled in Dubbo, in central western New South Wales, and was given the overnight shift at the Bourke Hill crossing, about a mile from town, on the road to Narromine.

The position of railway gate-keeper was usually reserved for employees injured or debilitated in some way during their term of employment. They were responsible for manually operating level crossing gates as well as general maintenance and upkeep.

Ackland officially worked 72 hours per week. He worked six nights per week – 12-hour shifts from 6pm until 6am. His one day off was Sunday.

Very early one warm February morning in 1947, Ackland was struggling to keep his eyes open. He’d been officially on duty since 6pm, when he took over duties from the day-shift gate-keeper.

Ackland laid out a ground-sheet close to the railway line to get some sleep before the next scheduled train was due to pass through.

He was apprised of the daily schedules and knew what time each train was due.

By lying close to the tracks, Ackland could hear approaching trains and feel the ground rumble as they neared. He could also hear the trains’ whistles as they approached.

The primitive ‘alarm clock’ was effective, but very unsafe.

At around 12.50am on Tuesday, February 11, 1947, Ackland was sound asleep and dangerously close to the lines when Engine No. 3296 from Narromine, pulling 33 wagons loaded with 519 tons of goods, approached the Bourke Hill crossing.

About one-and-a-half miles from the crossing, engine-driver Hugh McKie released the train’s whistle. He repeated the procedure about 150 yards from the crossing. The train’s headlight lit up the tracks ahead as it rolled through at about 15 miles per hour.

The second whistle roused Ackland.

McKie saw Ackland sit up and attempt to dart across the tracks in front of the engine.

McKie was startled. He immediately applied the brakes and yelled out to fireman John McNamara.

“Did that man get across?”

“Who,” McNamara asked.

“An old chap; he ran across the front of the engine.”

It was too late.

Ackland, 63, was struck by the train and suffered horrific injuries. Both legs and an arm were severed, his jaw was smashed and the top of his head was scalped.

When the train screamed to a stop more than 100 yards down the line, McKie and McNamara ran back and found Ackland.

McKie sent McNamara to the railway telephone at the gate-keeper’s hut to get help and report the accident to the Dubbo station master.

Incredibly, Ackland was still alive when Dr Patrick McCormack arrived. McCormack tried frantically to revive Ackland, but the gate-keeper died in the doctor’s arms.

An ambulance was called and Ackland’s mutilated body was taken to Dubbo Hospital.

Sergeant John Wilson, from Dubbo Police Station, arrived shortly after the ambulance left.

Driver McKie showed the sergeant a ground-sheet and overcoat, found less than four feet from the railway line and about 20 feet from the level crossing’s telephone hut.

There was blood and flesh on the tracks.

Wilson noticed all four crossing gates were swung open along either side of the road, indicating the crossing was accessible to both vehicular traffic and rail traffic.

The ground-sheet and overcoat, as well as a grey-coloured blanket and a pair of shoes were collected as evidence.

The train was taken to Dubbo Railway Station and examined by Wilson and New South Wales Railways Inspector Harold Helmkemp.

Wilson and Helmkemp also inspected the lights affixed to the crossing gates.

“A train driver approaching from Narromine wouldn’t know whether the gates were open or closed by the way these lights are positioned,” Wilson speculated.

A coronial inquest into the death of Reuben Edward Ackland was held at Dubbo Court House on Wednesday, February 26, 1947, before Deputy Coroner Gordon John Christie.

Sergeant Wilson told the coroner engine No.3296 and approximately 12 wagons passed over Ackland.

“On the engine I found marks which appeared to be clothing marks in the grease on the brake gear and a large spot of blood, flesh and hair just forward of the ash pan,” Wilson said.

“There were also blood marks on the ash pan which would indicate the bar and the ash pan were the first spots to actually make contact with the body. There were no marks on the front of the train whatsoever.

“I do not know whether the deceased was asleep or had been sleeping on the ground-sheet,” he said.

Wilson said blood marks on the outside railway track, about 70 yards from where the ground-sheet was found, indicated Ackland had been lifted over the rail from beneath the train, and carried along.

“The only indication as far as I could see as to where he was struck by the train was right under the train on the ash pan,” Wilson said.

“There were marks along the permanent way which indicated the body had been rolled or pulled along, but not to any great extent were the marks visible.”

The term ‘permanent way’ is given to all fixed railway lines. The description came about during the pioneering days of railway construction when workers often used a temporary track to convey materials and waste as new tracks were laid out.

The temporary track would be dismantled and moved further along once the ‘permanent way’ was completed.

“If the deceased was in fact lying on the ground-sheet, I’m of the opinion that a train passing would only just clear him,” Wilson said.

Sergeant Wilson explained how the level crossing gates operated.

“The gates at the crossing were not damaged by the engine but were open to both rail and car traffic. The gates can swing both across the line and the road to shut both traffics,” he said.

The gates were embedded with red and clear-white kerosene-fuelled lights.

“When I arrived the four gates were wide open along the road,” Wilson said.

“If the gate had been closed across the road the red light would shine to oncoming traffic on the road. If the gates were closed across the railway line, the red would show to oncoming rail traffic. The position the gates were in, the red light would only be visible to either traffic only if up very close and side-on.”

Dr Patrick McCormack told the inquiry he didn’t know what section of the train struck Ackland.

“The injuries were multiple. The body was lying between the two rails under the train, under one of the trucks,” the doctor said.

Engine driver Hugh McKie gave a full account of the accident.

“I have driven on that particular line for about eight or nine years, with a good knowledge of the level crossing,” McKie said.

“As we were over the roadway I noticed a man sit up from a heap of gravel. He was covered with a light-coloured blanket. He looked toward the engine for a second, and then tried to cross in front of the train.”

McKie indicated on a map exactly where Ackland was positioned when he darted across the railway line.

“He appeared to roll or crouch across the line as he moved. When I first saw him, my engine would’ve been about 10 yards away. The man was lying on the same side of the engine as I was working. His head was toward me with a blanket over his face. At the time he moved, the fireman would have no chance of seeing him,” he said.

“I applied the brakes to an emergency position immediately. When I pulled up I saw a man under the 12th truck.”

McKie said the engine was equipped with a headlight that gave visibility for at least 200 to 300 yards.

“The light was on at the time, and could be seen a considerable distance from the train. A person standing on the roadway would see my light coming over the hill about two miles away,” McKie said.

McKie said engine drivers must release the train’s whistle approaching level crossings.

“My instructions are that we must whistle for the gates and, provided we have the white light, we may proceed,” he explained.

“I saw the white light on this night and gave the two usual long whistles.”

McKie told the inquiry engine No.3296 was also equipped with two smaller side lights.

“There is a slight right-hand curve approaching the crossing, giving me only about 20 yards clear vision at the crossing. An object lying still is very difficult to see under railway headlights. We make an extra-good look-out when approaching crossings.”

McKie said the level crossing gates were wide open to rail and road traffic at the time of the accident.

New South Wales Railways traffic inspector Harold Helmkemp said Reuben Ackland’s duties were to open and close the level-crossing gates at the Bourke Hill railway crossing on the Great Western Highway.

Helmkemp was also Ackland’s supervisor.

“There is no provision made to lie down during the hours of duty. It is regarded as a light duty job,” Helmkemp said.

“In addition to opening and closing the gates, the gate-keeper must clean, fill and light the lamps provided on the gates and see that they are kept burning all night.

“The regulation position of the gates is closed for rail traffic when open for vehicular traffic and vice versa. It is possible for the gates to be opened for vehicular and rail traffic simultaneously, but that is contrary to railway instructions,” he said.

Helmkemp said a telephone was at hand to receive and transmit information, and converse with station masters at Dubbo and Narromine.

“The gate-keeper is supplied with a timetable and each night after commencing duties he communicates with the station master at Dubbo. He is supplied with specific information concerning the running of trains during his hours of duty,” Helmkemp said.

The traffic inspector said Ackland had been employed at the Bourke Hill crossing for several years.

“He should have had good knowledge of the running of trains on that particular line. The train which arrived at the crossing at about 1am was a timetable train and runs every night except Sundays,” he said.

Deputy Coroner Gordon Christie found Reuben Edward Ackland died “from the effects of injuries accidentally received through falling or slumping in front of a goods train, and being run down by the train”.

However, New South Wales Railway Department’s safety practices were brought into question by the coroner.

“I am of the opinion the railway department has shown some disregard for public safety at this crossing, keeping in mind, of course, the difficulties at all level crossings,” Coroner Christie said.

“I believe the gates and the lights affixed should be swung so that they cannot be opened back to be in any but two positions – either they must be closed to rail traffic or closed to vehicular traffic and never, as they were on the night in question, open to both cross traffics.

“Although the employee concerned has shown negligence, I feel our efforts should be directed towards the greatest public safety possible. That should not be in the hands of an employee only,” he said.

“By fixing the gates to always close in one direction of traffic only would halt this traffic irrespective of the actions of the employee.

“I suggest also that the railway department might consider some electrical system which would ring an alarm for the gate-keeper when the train crossed a switch at some given distance from the crossing as in the case of the electrical wiring of the ‘wig-wag’ road signal at crossings,” he said.

Coroner Christie was referring to a type of signal which swung back and forth with a red light and bell. Wig-wag signals were used in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

“This alarm may assist alerting a gate-keeper who may have unfortunately dozed off contrary to instructions, and this is possible when an employee is on continuous night work or who may be ill or could be otherwise surprised by the appearance of the train,” he said.

“The department has engineers capable of evolving these accident-prevention measures. Though I attach no blame to the department for Ackland’s death, I do feel that the fixing of the gates may one day save a life.

“Had the alarm been installed, perhaps the deceased may have been saved the apparent fright – and start – he got with the train right near and approaching him, despite that before this he had neglected his duty by lying down and failing to close the gates,” Coroner Christie said.

Reuben Edward Ackland is buried at Dubbo Cemetery.

His son, Kevin, three years of age at the time of the Murulla train crash and 24 when his father was killed, was awarded £800 compensation after his father’s death.

By consent of the Railway Commissioners, Judge Alf Rainbow awarded the compensation, stating Kevin was thoroughly dependent on his father.

The payout, equivalent to nearly $60,000 in new millennium dollars, was described by newspapers as an “unusual compo claim”.

Kevin lived to the age of 67, and is buried at New Dubbo Cemetery.

Travelling locomotive inspector James Cummins, who gave evidence at the Murulla coronial inquest, also suffered a horrible death while working for New South Wales Railways.

At Moss Vale on Saturday, December 20, 1930, Cummins was killed when he fell from a section of a slow-moving train, the Melbourne Express. He was inspecting the train for heating problems.

Cummins lost his grip and struck the side of a small rocky outcrop adjacent to the railway line. When the train was pulled up, the crew found Cummins dead on the tracks. He served New South Wales Railways for 35 years, starting as a shop-boy at Eveleigh Railway Yards in 1896 at 17 years of age.

Cummins was 51 when killed. He is buried at Rookwood Cemetery.

This article was first published in Bush Tragedies, by Bill Poulos. Details about purchasing signed copies of Bush Tragedies: Copies of Bush Tragedies Available for Purchase HERE