The Wash away

AT GLBNBBOOK.

This, perhaps, was tbe biggest thing coming out of the storm on Saturday, and ono that will long bo remembered in tbo nnuals of railway working. Tbe storm (hero wsb more severe than at eny other plaoo wo have hoard of. At about ba'fpast 6 Mr J Salvana, artist, who waa engaged finishing <an oilpainting from Lucasville, juat oppoaito Mr Colin Smith's houdc, tells the history of tbo storm aa .no one elee can. Just before tbe troubles oamo on Mr Salvana removed big paraphernalia into tbe bouse at the request of Mr Skarratt, tbe gentleman in cbargo of the plaoo, niid (hoy iutuudud settling down until the storm had parsed ; but jnBt tbon there was a fearful disturbance of rushing wiud, loud thunder clapa. and vivid flisbeB of lightning. In faofc, the noise was to those who beard it, as if they were in the vicinity of & terrifia military engagement. Then (be rain camo swooping down in torrents, and the noiae waa even greater. The parties Dould stand it no longer and went c u\ Then they saw ^ trees beiug snapped off like oarrots, limbs out down, leaves shredded, and pi<cea of bark cnt from tbo frees by tbo terrific fall of hail. Both stood out in the opun then, never minding (be rain, to watch furthnr developments. All ai once, 30 Mr Salvana says, Mr Skarratt appeared lo have andJenly gone mad. He jumped tbe fence in front of bjm and went down the mountain side, over huge rooks and boulders, at a break-neck speed. Mr Silvana fob lowed, wondering what was going to happen. Aa Mr Skarratt got down on to the line ho noticed a train approaching from Penrith and tyjr Bkarralt signalling the driver (Mr P Murray) to atop. -Just ahead, and about 100 yarda this •side of the tunnel, there was a eight that fairly paralysed our artist. About 10 chains of the main line bad beon wqshod to a depth of two or three feet. Tbo line had been lifted and arohed in one plaoe ao that a man oould stand np underneath it. Wiliia' Siding bad been partly ivfsbed away, some of tbe lengths of rails wiih sleepers attached being carried clean over tbe main line and down tbo bank. Huge rocks were tying fcere, there, flnd every, where. In fact, it h said- that thousands of tons of debris covered

the main line,

Mr Skarratt, having prevented a terrible catastrophe, then made all haste Jo give the information to tb Glenbrook atationmaster. This having been done, news was sent to Penrith, and a little later on the fireman of the train (Jack-.-Sinclair) haYipg atgo walked on, _ inatr^otioua wero given grfc.no train no be propelled back to Jptqu Plains, While this was being done preparations wero being made for the sending on of a special train, with all available men, to tbe scene of the trouble. About 50 men, with several loads of asbea and tbe usual break-down vans, in charge of Ijfr W Poarce (traffio inspector), ^qd Mr Jf Dewa (permanent vyay} were pent off

Information vyqg' eent to Mr Inspector Gnlnane, who came at once to tb© Penrith Station to superintend operationa at this end. The " Fish" train arrived in duo time, and there waa a busy time at Penrith Station. At firat no information could bo obtained ; but Boon after the arrival of tbo brake-down train on the aoene and the Knapaaok telephone had been got into operation information was Bent by Inspector Ejews that

damage poaljd pot b° repaired iitidef 1^ hoars qt leas$. Tbe news

'proad li^e vyild fire. Parties were jade pp. anc\ proceeded by ooaoh to afferent 'parfa o« tbo Mountains, paefflgera had also tbe option of y^urning to Sydney by special and 0Jinary trains, and having tbeir tfitels endorsed for tbe following wfk or of remaining ond being provided for by the Commissioners, N<Jrly.balf the passengers returned to tydney, whilst o'bers found aooom8?^a''°0 a' the* hotels or in the railrfJ1. carriages. There was no grnijt>liog. Meanwhile Messrs Oulnan^ Lovett, BrowD, Sainabury and Barn' beside all tbe telegraph opera • tors.-J"01,0. aa busy as nailers. A special4'0' with some 50 workmen, nnder Pr ^bil Roberts, arrived in Penrio a(i ^ a.m., and at once procaedodjf0 (b<3 ePot> carrying with t^eni a big sfP1? of tuoker.' At a' o'olock Mr Df5' •wof'd that the road would ]?®o^P^ted at 0 o'olock, and arrangP011'8 wore at °*>oo made for tbo '«e?at°k of ,he variona trains. The firf train ,to arrive at Glenbrook for Sy^y arrived at the platform as tho braK"a°wn trains came through over the?ew,y-fo.rmed track, and the whole trains wore got aw"4y asf ^niokly!^8 POB8iblo. The road, was only" nP ^or a '! fpur Dp'lc aij hour /10» an.^ whole 'of. the t^tafi were S°'a8 nnl>| Ijato, Sjitjidajf afternd'Ri A" ffota ileasr8fs naD0 "Rt< ^nvett down, djd ejccf'on' Ecr^iopi and thore was

not a h^*

An in^£>Q','on of tbe p'50'e on Sunday aftoVoon P'ainly Bhowed what had boen^10 of the torrifio rush of flood \?terQ- Hundreds—perhapa thousands^0* tons of earth on either sido of thtrD0 llQd bo0E> swept away.' Botwoen 9 nn^ 80 mon,' nndqr Inapootora 1 Egberts and J. I>pws# woro still sbrk'ug at tho i$aiq. lJno, whioh by tW1 tima bfld. qnoo moro baen put inr®^01'. >oad_y for truffio; but there ovidoDoes everywhere of tbp^^ptrible havoo that had

bean wroughtLd the permanent way— rails, and rails with tho sleepers still attaohed, hanging cv^r tho gnlly on the lowor side. The oalob-poiota—or, as it is better known to railway men, " Willis' Siding "—which wero a provision for safe working in o«ao of inability of an engine to take ih < whole of a train to G'enbto k nnd necessitating leaving portion bthind for the timo being, also came in for the fall rash of tvalerp, andsnffercd to a great oxtent, the Biding being twiatcd: into all sorts of fantastic sboprs.

The workmen,. a'l of wh< m looked thoroughly worn .cut by their arduoni toil, knocked off between 4 and 5 o'olook, and after a substantial meal of bread, oorn beef, eto, cooked on ibe gronnd, a frain going west picked np a large nnmber of them fir their homes, another traiu coming along a little later to take the balance to Penrith and ByJnoy wards.