Daimiel railway accident
In the Daimiel railway accident on December 9, 1866, the single pilot machine drove in front of the train of Queen Isabella II of Spain in the train station of Daimiel , province of Ciudad Real , into a crowd that was standing on the track. Seven people were killed.
Starting position
Queen Isabella II - together with her husband Francisco de Asís de Borbón , titular king of Spain, and their eldest children, Princess Isabella and Prince Alfons - left for a state visit to Portugal in Madrid . The court train started at 9:15 a.m. 45 minutes late, because the queen wanted to hear the Holy Mass before departure . The first stage of the day led to Ciudad Real , the stop in Daimiel was scheduled for 2:35 p.m. and should take ten minutes. Daimiel is located on the route Manzanares -Ciudad Real, by the then Compañía de los Ferrocarriles de Madrid á Zaragoza y Alicante was operated. It was known that and when the queen was due to arrive. Therefore, a large crowd of more than 10,000 people had gathered to greet them and watch their brief stop and the passage of the train.
When driving a Hofzugs the rule was that all points of the to be traveled track to lock and seal were. Then, just before the train passed, a single locomotive (“pilot machine”) traveled the route. Subsequently, such a controlled section of the route could no longer be used by any other vehicle until the courtyard train had passed through.
the accident
The crowd in the Daimiel train station also stood on the exit points of the train station, as they expected the court train to stop at the station. The people were not aware that a pilot locomotive was running in front of the court train. The Guardia Civil had lost control of the crowds and the station management was no longer able to warn the people when the arrival of the pilot machine was reported to them. This drove through the station contrary to the timetable at a speed of around 75 km / h without stopping. When the engine driver saw that people were standing on the track, he gave a signal with the steam whistle and initiated an emergency brake . But that was no longer enough to prevent the accident . He drove into the crowd at the station exit. The captain of the Guardia Civil unit guarding the station immediately had the engine driver arrested.
consequences
Seven people were killed - six immediately, one later - and 27 others were injured.
The Queen's court train then drove into the train station, where she got off and - despite the accident - was greeted with jubilation, allegedly also by those who had been injured immediately before, whom she then went to. A few days later, on the way back from the state visit to Portugal, a stop of several hours was made. The queen and king visited the injured.
The managing inspector for administration and business relations of the railway company took a special train to the scene of the accident to manage the rescue and recovery work and to investigate the cause of the accident. The railway company made 10,000 reales available on an ad hoc basis to support and compensate the victims and their relatives, the Queen made another 40,000 available in the following days. A court case is said to have been initiated.
literature
- NN: Sobre la Catástrofe de Daimiel . In: La Época v. December 15, 1866, p. 2 (contains mainly a report by Minister Carlos Marfori y Callejas ( Escelentísimo señor ministro de la Gobernación ) on the incident).
Web links
- NN: Informacion sobre Daimiel que pertenece a la provincia de Ciudad Real . Homepage of the city of Daimiel.
- NN: Madrid y sus trenes internacionales "Directos". El Lusitania . In: Historias Matritenses.