A RAIL boss "butchered" the brakes of a trailer and then tried to blame everyone but himself when it broke loose and killed four workmen, a court heard.

A jury at Newcastle Crown Court heard Mark Connolly had tampered with the three tonne flatbed trailer in a bid to cut costs for his firm, Mac Machinery.

As a result, four men were killed and several other workers injured when it smashed into them after reaching speeds of 40mph as they worked in the early hours of Sunday, February 15 2004.

Gary Tindall, 46, of Tebay; Colin Buckley, 49, and Darren Burgess, 30, both of Carnforth; and Chris Waters, 53, of Morecambe, all lost their lives in the accident.

Mark Connolly, 44, of Anglesey, North Wales, and Roy Kennett, 28, of Maidstone, Kent, who were both responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the trailer, both deny four charges of manslaughter and charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Connolly, it was alleged in court, filled the hydraulic brake coupling with ball bearings to make it look as though there was pressure in the pipe.

The court heard he hoped the ruse would fool any inspectors that came to look at the machinery.

One of two trailers, carrying a load of girders weighing up to 16 tonnes, broke free of its coupling at Scout Green on the West Coast Mainline, near Tebay, and rolled down the line for nearly four miles before striking the gang of workers making repairs in the darkness.

"The only lighting at the scene was from floodlights and the noise from the generators that fed them would have drowned out the sound of the trailer," said Robert Smith, QC, prosecuting.

"Those at the scene were taken completely by surprise," he said.

The court heard how trailers such as the one that broke free were fitted with brakes that were permanently locked if not connected to a road-rail vehicle (RRV), a motorised crane that delivered hydraulic pressure to the trailer's brakes through a coupling.

An excess of pressure had led to the auto-locking brakes on the trailer to fail. The court was told Connolly tried to rectify the fault by filling the hydraulic fluid hoses with ball bearings to give the false impression of hydraulic pressure.

"The braking system of the trailer had been deliberately dismantled prior to the accident by Mr Connolly," said Mr Smith.

"Roy Kennett knew this. These two men therefore, say the prosecution, took a deliberate decision to use this trailer and in so doing they deliberately exposed railway workers to serious risk."

The court heard that the runaway trailer had been held in place by wooden blocks. Samples of the wooden blocks used were shown to the jury and were badly splintered and riddled with nails.

"Mark Connolly was spoken to by the police following the incident," said Mr Smith.

"He told them it was the crane driver's responsibility to check the trailer's brakes. Roy Kennett, who was operating the crane, told police that the trailer rolled away from the blocks. It went straight over the blocks and went down the track.

"Had the brake systems been in order, there would have been no need for chocs (blocks) as the hydraulic pressure would have resulted in an effective braking system."

Mr Smith said that when interviewed by police under caution, Connolly blamed everybody except himself for the accident.

The court was also told how the trailers did not have valid certificates of engineering acceptance at the time of the smash.

Mr Smith said: "The prosecution say Mark Connolly had butchered the braking systems and he had in consequence never applied for a certificate of engineering acceptance."

Connolly denies four charges of manslaughter and three under the Health and Safety at Work Act, and Kennett denies four charges of manslaughter and one under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The trial continues...