Kentish Gazette, 23 November 1852.

Fatal, Accident on the South Eastern Railway.

On Thursday last, Nov. 18, an inquest was held at the "Railway Hotel," before Wm. T. Mere, Esq, deputy coroner, and a respectable jury, to enquire as to the death of John Bingham, who was accidentally killed on the morning of Wednesday last.

John Wildes, plate-layer, deposed:— Yesterday morning, 17th inst., at about 20 minutes past seven, I found the body of the deceased in the water, close to the Railway by Kelsham Bridge; he was quite dead; a lamp that he had been using was found between the down line of rails, about four or five rods from where I found the body, on this side of the bridge. There were marks about a foot from the outside of the rails of his having tripped from there into the water. With assistance I brought the body to this house; the skull is very much fractured.

Stephen Card, of Dover, deposed:— I am inspector of the permanent way on this railway. The deceased was one of the extra hands employed in the Staplehurst District during floody times; during the late floods he has taken his turn at night, by No. 70 Viaduct, or Kelsham Bridge; a bridge under the railway, signalling the trains. He was supplied with a hand lamp, with a red, green, and white light, by which to signal the trains.

Thomas Cook, platelayer, deposed:— Deceased was a labourer under me; last Tuesday evening, about half-past seven deceased and I walked together, and went to the bridges, that we were stationed at to signal. We each had a signal lamp; he was to have remained by Kelsham-bridge all night, and as the trains approached was to have shown his lamp, a white light if all was right, and a different colour if every thing was not quite right. I was at the next bridge on the Staplehurst side, about half a mile from Kelsham-bridge. I saw deceased's light after the down mail train had passed. After this a pick-up train and an engine and tender passed on the down line. The pick-up passed at about 11, and the engine and tender passed at about two o'clock, at about the same time that the latter passed the goods train passed on the up line, the empty engine passed me first, and in about 10 minutes the goods train passed me; the two trains must have passed each other about where deceased was.

Richard Tickle, of Dover, deposed:— I am engine driver, and was driving the up goods train from Dover to London on Tuesday night last. I left the Headcom Station at about five minutes past two o'clock, and met the Pilot engine soon after I passed over Kelsham Bridge; a man was standing on the outside of the down rail, with a signal lamp, showing a white light. If he had remained where he was then standing he would not have been struck by the down engine. It was rather windy but it was a clear night.

Henry Fagg, of Ashford, deposed:— I was the driver of the Ramsgate goods train, and went from Ashford to Tunbridge with it on Tuesday night, and returned with the engine and tender. I left Tunbridge at 25 minutes past one on Wednesday morning. I met the up goods train just at the other side of the second bridge from Headcorn. I saw no one on the bridge, and no signal light, nor was I conscious that the engine had struck anything. I was travelling at the rate of about 12 or 15 miles per hour.

Verdict, "Accidentally killed."