""..as I was putting down the last stone, I felt the carriages coming back. I went on the van, and got in, and tried, with the assistance of two passengers, to get an extra turn at the brake handle, 'and was still doing this when Mr. Elliott " "(the chief clerk)" "jumped up on the left step, and said "Try and make the best you can without breaking it" (meaning the brake handle), and I said I could make no more. He then said, "Oh, my God, we will be all killed", and jumped off. The speed then gradually increased, until it became so fast that we could not see the hedges as we passed."" The train crew reversed the front portion and tried to catch the rear portion and re-couple it, but this proved to be impossible.