The JA 1271 steam train carefully makes its way past the scene of a car crash on Taupo Quay yesterday afternoon. PHOTO/BEVAN CONLEY
The JA 1271 steam train carefully makes its way past the scene of a car crash on Taupo Quay yesterday afternoon. PHOTO/BEVAN CONLEY
An historic steam train was caught up in a dramatic accident on Taupo Quay yesterday afternoon.
Around 3pm a car travelling down Taupo Quay towards Castlecliff crashed on the last bend before the intersection with Heads Rd, hit the kerb, and landed on its side - right on the railwayline.
Just 500m away, a steam train from Paekakariki, which had brought passengers to Wanganui for the afternoon, was heading along Heads Rd towards the crash scene.
Station officer Bryan Coskerie from the Wanganui Fire Service, said the driver of the car had lost control on the bend.
"He hit the kerb, and landed on his side, partially on the railway line, as the steam train was coming along."
The male driver, the sole occupant of the car, was taken to Wanganui Hospital and was reported to be in a stable condition last night.
Whanganui Police constable Sara Morriss said the driver failed a breath-alcohol screening test at the scene and police would await the result of an evidential blood test taken at the hospital before deciding what charges would be laid.
She said analysis of the crash scene, when completed, would determine how fast the vehicle had been travelling.
Taupo Quay residents who witnessed the crash said they had heard the car coming.
"He'd lost control of that car well before the bend," one man said.
Dozens of people lined Heads Rd to catch a glimpse of the JA 1271 engine, and watched as a police patrol car sped down Heads Rd to warn the train staff that the line was blocked.
The train had come up from Paekakariki earlier in the day and, while some of the passengers disembarked for a trip on the Waimarie, others went on a short ride from the Taupo Quay yards to Castlecliff and back. Wanganui residents were also able to buy tickets for the "Castlecliff Express".
The accident happened while the train was returning to town.
The train waited for about half an hour near the Taupo Quay-Heads Rd intersection while police and train staff assessed whether it was safe for it to pass the car which was still on the track.
As a tow truck pulled the car off the line, the train inched through on its way back to the Taupo Quay yards.
