Railway accident in Herbolzheim
Coordinates: 48 ° 13 ′ 29.7 " N , 7 ° 46 ′ 4.7" E
The Herbolzheim railway accident was a head-on collision between an express train and a shunting locomotive in Herbolzheim station on December 2, 1903. One person was killed.
Starting position
On December 2, 1903 at 6:47 PM left the express 7 schedule the main station Freiburg . At that time, the express train was occupied by around 80 passengers . At 7:15 am he drove towards Herbolzheim train station at a speed of 90 km / h. Here the route ran along an embankment . In the station ranked one Maffei - locomotive .
the accident
The shunting locomotive was in the route of the express train that collided with it 100 m north of the station's reception building. As a result of the impact, the locomotive derailed and came to a stop turned 180 degrees. Except for the last one, all the cars derailed and some of them fell down the slope. The worker on the shunting locomotive saved himself from the impact by jumping; the locomotive was completely destroyed.
consequences
The stoker of the express train, however, died in the accident. The locomotive driver Friedrich Zanger, who was thrown out of the locomotive in the accident , was seriously injured and brought to the Herbolzheim hospital and survived the accident. Most of the 80 travelers were in the last car. So there were only a few injured.
In order to take care of the injured at the scene of the accident, a rescue train came to the scene of the accident. Along with doctors and the medical staff of the Landwehr and Reservist Association in Belfort , tools and workshop staff came with him . Seven hours after the accident, from 2 p.m., the railway line could be used again on a single track. Until then, the trains drove to the scene of the accident and the travelers had to change trains.
Reactions
Since the express train was on its way to the schedule, the shunting of the other locomotive was seen as the cause of the collision. The investigating judge of Freiburg initiated an investigation and let the points guards to arrest provisionally.
The accident generated a great deal of public interest. Several hundred people came to the scene of the accident, including the General Director of the Grand Ducal Baden State Railways . The Freiburger Zeitung , whose reporters drove to the accident site in a borrowed car, reported in several articles. A series of postcards was made from the pictures taken.
The surviving train driver , Friedrich Zanger, wrote a letter to the mayor of Herbolzheim after his recovery, in which he thanked him for the help.