Volume One - Into the Victorian Age - Some newspaper reports from the 1870's

The night was a singularly dark one - so dark at this time that it was impossible to see any object a yard off. They unwisely adopted the expedient of returning to their ship along the railway. When they arrived at the bridge by the head of the dock they seemed to have been startled by observing a light of an engine in front.

The fireman of the mineral train on the Taff Vale Railway said that he stopped his train at Cogan Pill, a little on the Cogan side of the bridge. The train was stopped to enable the guard to disconnect some portion of it. Just as the train stopped he heard a heavy fall, and as he believed about 10 or 15 yards on the Cogan side of the bridge. He said something had fallen from the bridge into the road below, which was a depth of about 27 feet.

He instantly got down from his engine and took a lamp to see what it was. Almost as soon as he got down from his engine he heard a second fall, and he with the lamp in his hand scrambled down the bank into the road below. He there saw a man lying in the middle of the road over which the bridge passed. He was lying on his right side and bleeding very much. His head was smashed, and his brains protruding from his ears. He saw the man was alive, but in a dying state. He lifted up his head, but laid it down again, as the man seemed to be almost dead, and went tot he spot a few yards off, where he heard groans. This was on the side of the road, and the groans proceeded from the other man, whom he found in a senseless condition, but not bleeding so much. He lifted him up, and leaned him against the wall of the bridge in a sitting position, and then called out for assistance, and the stoker came down.

He left him there, and then went along the docks, where he found two policemen. He dispatched one for Mr. Nell, surgeon, and returned with the other. As he proceeded along he called to the watchmen on board the ships, telling them of the accident. He saw the mate of the Thomas, who, from the description of the men, judged they were two of his crew ; and the mate went back to where the bodies were lying. When he got there he recognised Elliott, who was a man of 50 years, and George Brown, a man of 50, as two of his crew. Elliott was the dead. Mr. Nell soon after arrived and had the man Brown conveyed to the ship, but he died between six and seven o'clock on Tuesday morning.

Mr. Leyshon, the traffic superintendent was examined, and proved that the deceased men had no right whatever to be on the railway, as there were boards up cautioning persons not to trespass on the railway.