Hostalric railway accident

Contemporary press drawing of the accident

In the railway accident at Hostalric on the evening of October 7, 1863, a train derailed on the bridge over the Cal Abert near Hostalric (formerly: Hostalrich) in the province of Girona , Spain . 21 people died.

Starting position

On October 7, 1863, severe thunderstorms had risen across Catalonia , many rivers overflowed their banks and caused severe damage. In the afternoon of the day was fast train no. 24 of the Empresa de los Caminos de Hierro de Barcelona a Girona in Girona drove off. It consisted of the steam locomotive , the tender and 10 cars . 85 travelers were on the train. He was on his way to Barcelona via Granollers . A first section of this line was opened in 1854, the entire line went into operation on June 12, 1862. The train had to cross a small bridge over the Cal Abert stream between the Hostalric and Breda stations . The stream rises on the mountain Torre de la Mora in the area of ​​the municipality of Gaserans and flows into the river Tordera . The bridge is about halfway between the train stations Hostalric and Breda. It was a wooden structure with a span of about 5 meters and about the same height. It collapsed in October 1861 after heavy rainfall. There was no further damage at that time.

the accident

After the train passed through the station of Hostalric and the bridge over the Arbúcies had traveled, especially continued heavy rain one. The visibility was very poor and the train was therefore particularly careful and slow. A marshal , 400 m before the later accident site, stopped the train with a safety signal and informed the engine driver of his concerns that the heavy rain might have damaged the superstructure . The engine driver therefore drove very carefully, with only about 10 km / h. When the train passed the Pont del Torrent de Cal Abert , the stream under the bridge had turned into a raging river and the water level was more than ten feet high. The construction could not withstand the combined pressure of the water masses and the weight of the locomotive and collapsed. The locomotive, tender and eight wagons fell into the river and were swept away by the water. The vehicles immediately drowned in the water.

consequences

21 people died in the accident , 19 immediately, and 2 later died from their injuries. In addition, 11 people were seriously injured, and many others were slightly injured. When the engine crashed, the engine driver and stoker were thrown out of the vehicle and reached the bank unharmed and swimming. A military doctor and the Hostalric doctor and pharmacist were the ones who provided first aid at the scene of the accident along with local farmers. Since it was now night, the work had to take place in the light of wax torches. The seriously injured were taken to the small hospital in Hostalric.

The bridge was subsequently replaced by a steel structure, which then served as a railway bridge for over 100 years.

literature

• Report in the Diario de Barcelona . November 16, 1863.
• Jesús Sitjà: El correo por ferrocarril en Girona hasta 1900 . 2005.

Web links

• Miquel Bodro Cusó: Historias del Ferrocarril. In: Il Semàfor - Boletín de la Associació d'Amics del Ferrocarril de les Comarques Gironines. 9 (4/2005).
• Santiago Llensá de Gelcén, Jaime Coll Castanyer: Recuerdo de la gran catástrofe ferroviaria ocurrida entre Hostalrich y Breda . In: Annals de l'Institut d'Estudis Gironins. 17 (1964), pp. 407-417. [The other sources mainly draw from this representation.]
• Enric Mirambell i Belloc: Cent-cinquanta anys d'un tragic accident ferroviari. ( Memento of March 7, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) In: Diari de Girona . October 6, 2013.
• La Catástrofe del Pontón del Silly . In: Història del Vilamajor. December 8, 2008.
• Ratafías . In: Performance con P de Perdedor. El arte del escapismo de Lluís Alabern. February 11, 2010.
• Andreu Pujol: El Pont de les Desgràcies .

Remarks

1. ↑ In various publications the brook is also referred to as "Aladern", "Alebern", "Albern" or "Abern".
2. ↑ Source researched on Google ( http://www.google.de/ ) and therefore not importable here: url? Sa = t & rct = j & q = & esrc = s & source = web & cd = 16 & ved = 0CEAQFjAFOAo & url = http% 3A% 2F% 2Fwww.rahf .es% 2FAcademvs% 2FEl_correo_por_ferrocarril_en_Girona_hasta_1900.pdf & ei = pwa1VOvQEIvEPN3RgegE & usg = AFQjCNGRjmdRuL96rCwROeHa5Rnof0TTQg
3. ↑ Source researched on Google ( http://www.google.de/ ) and therefore not importable here: url? Sa = t & rct = j & q = & esrc = s & source = web & cd = 4 & ved = 0CD8QFjAD & url = http% 3A% 2F% 2Fwww.asafegi .com% 2Fdownload% 2Fsemaforo9.pdf & ei = 8vq0VJmzM4naPf6SgIAN & usg = AFQjCNHnrmAoe5sdBXduSwYDhsQpJDKzkQ

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Santiago Llensá de Gelcén and others: Recuerdo. 1964.
2. ↑ Jesús Sitjà: El correo. 2005, p. 19.
3. ↑ Santiago Llensá de Gelcén and others: Recuerdo. 1964.
4. ↑ Santiago Llensá de Gelcén and others: Recuerdo. 1964.
5. ↑ Enric Mirambell i Belloc: Cent-cinquanta anys. 2013.
6. ↑ Santiago Llensá de Gelcén and others: Recuerdo. 1964.
7. ↑ Santiago Llensá de Gelcén and others: Recuerdo. 1964.