Railway accident from the Drachenfels
In the railway accident at Drachenfels on September 14, 1958, a train on the Drachenfels Railway derailed due to excessive speed. 18 passengers died and many more suffered injuries.
Starting position
The train on the last descent that day left at 6:45 p.m. There were around 160 passengers on the train, although according to the regulations only 135 were allowed to ride. The cog railway consisted of as always downhill running steam locomotive 3 "and three cars (Nos. 2, 3 and 4), the only large central buffer by gravity with each other and with the engine connected, so not coupled were.
the accident
Due to negligence on the part of the operating team, the boiler pressure had dropped from 13 to 6 bar . As a result of the low pressure, the Riggenbach counter-pressure brake only produced a reduced braking power corresponding to the boiler pressure. As a result, the train became noticeably too fast immediately after leaving the mountain station, despite the full braking power being set. The locomotive crew then pulled the handbrake on. In the meantime, full pressure built up in the Riggenbach counter-pressure brake through its independent inflation. The handbrake began to work simultaneously with the full effect of the self-energized Riggenbach brake, which suddenly applied a braking force of 27 t to the two gears . A maximum braking force of 18 t was permitted. The two gears were pushed out of the rack, dragged on the stile of the ladder rack and could no longer transmit the braking force. The locomotive reached a top speed (later estimated by the expert) of 40 to 50 km / h instead of the permitted 10 km / h. It derailed in a slight curve with the first car and overturned. The first car was completely destroyed. The second car was slowed down by the conductor using the handbrake, but still drove with considerable force into the rubble of the first car. Only in the third car did the conductor manage to brake adequately.
The cause of the accident was initially a structural defect in the locomotive, which made it possible to get out of the rack when both brakes were activated. On the other hand, the cause was the operation of the locomotive boiler with an impermissibly low pressure and a rash action by the locomotive personnel if the braking effect was not applied. A look at a corresponding manometer would have shown the increase in pressure in the Riggenbach counter-pressure brake.
consequences
As a result of the accident , 18 passengers died and 112 passengers were injured. The engine driver jumped off and survived, the stoker was killed. Because of the accident, the public steam operation on the Drachenfelsbahn was stopped.
literature
- Hans-Joachim Ritzau: Shadow of the railway history - catastrophes of the German railways. Part II, 1993, ISBN 3-921304-86-5
Web links
- Private website about the Drachenfelsbahn .
- Drachenfelsbahn: The accident in 1958 - A picture gallery with many photos, a film from the THW, press reports and report / protocol from the Königswinter fire brigade
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 50 ° 40 ′ 2.3 ″ N , 7 ° 12 ′ 33 ″ E