Hyde railway accident

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Sister locomotive A B 778 of locomotive 782 in a museum preserved before the train involved in the accident

In the Hyde railway accident on June 4, 1943, an express train derailed near Hyde , New Zealand , due to excessive speed in a curve. 21 people died.

Starting position

The daily express train from Cromwell to Dunedin ran on the Otago Central Railway . Shortly after the eastern exit from Hyde train station , the line led in a tight curve with a radius of only 183 meters through a cut in the terrain . A maximum speed of 30 mph (almost 50 km / h) was prescribed here.

The train was pulled by a steam locomotive. It was followed by seven passenger cars , an escort car and two freight cars with express goods . 113 passengers were on the train, which was unusually large because of the long weekend ahead. The king's official birthday and related events in Dunedin and the horse race in Wingatui were coming up.

the accident

The engine driver was drunk . Even before the accident , some travelers had noticed the uneven running of the train, which resulted from its high speed. Nevertheless, the platoon leader did not intervene.

Most of the train derailed at a speed of around 110 km / h around 1:45 p.m. in the narrow curve in the cut in the terrain. The locomotive tipped against the embankment and slid 60 meters along it before coming to a stop. Her boiler exploded, seriously injuring the heater .

The passenger cars also derailed. The second overturned and was thrown in front of the locomotive. Four more cars were pushed into one another, only the accompanying car and the following two freight cars remained on the track .

consequences

Memorial pyramid from 1991

21 people died, 47 were injured, some seriously. Up until the Tangiwai railway accident on December 24, 1953, the Hyde disaster was the worst railway accident in New Zealand's history and has remained the second-highest casualty to this day. Since the scene of the accident was remote, it took 90 minutes before outside help came.

The driver was charged in the Dunedin Supreme Court and sentenced to three years imprisonment for negligent homicide . The platoon driver, on the other hand, was only reprimanded for not intervening, but was not prosecuted.

Because of the war , little was published about the accident. Only in February 1991, on the basis of a private initiative, a 2.5 meter high memorial pyramid was erected near the accident site for the victims. A small exhibition on the accident can be found in the Ranfurly train station .

literature

  • Mike Crean: Memorial to Forgotten Rail Crash Victims . In: Star Sunday of December 16, 1990, part 3, p. 1.
  • Mike Crean: Premonition of Doom . In: Star Sunday of December 16, 1990, part 3, p. 1.
  • Mike Crean: Tragedy for District, Hell for Driver . In: Star Sunday of December 16, 1990, part 3, p. 2.
  • Geoff Conly and Graham Stewart: New Zealand Tragedies on the Track: Tangiwai and Other Railway Accidents . Wellington 1991.
  • JA Dangerfield and GW Emerson: Over the Garden Wall: Story of the Otago Central Railway . 3rd edition Dunedin 1995.
  • Emily Toxward: Service Recalls Hyde Disaster . In: Otago Daily Times, June 5, 1993.
  • Adrian Webb: Doctor Recalls Horrific Scene . In: Star Sunday of December 16, 1990, part 3, p. 2.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dangerfield, p. 42.
  2. ^ Conly, p. 103.
  3. ^ Crean: Premonition ; Toxward.
  4. ↑ Conly, p. 103; Crean: Premonition .
  5. ↑ Conly; Dangerfield, p. 43.
  6. ↑ Conly, p. 104; Webb.
  7. ↑ Conly, p. 103; Crean: Tragedy .
  8. ^ Crean: Memorial .


Coordinates: 45 ° 21 ′ 6.1 ″  S , 170 ° 14 ′ 15.4 ″  O