Railway accident from Kenn

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The Kenn railway accident on June 10, 1951 was a particularly serious railway accident at a level crossing on the Moselle Railway between the Ruwer West and Kenn stations . 15 people died.

Starting position

The Moselbahn was a small railway that was operated at the time by the Vereinigte Kleinbahn AG , based in Frankfurt am Main . The line crossed what was then federal highway 49 between the Ruwer West and Kenn stations . There was an unrestricted level crossing here . The train came from the direction of Trier and was pulled by a C-coupled steam locomotive.

The men's choir "Cäcilia" from Zewen traveled to Wittlich with 75 people to honor its deceased conductor . From there the participants drove to Bremm and spent a few hours there until they returned home at around 9 p.m. The train bus used for this purpose with a trailer of the Deutsche Bundesbahn drove back via Schweich . Its driver was under the influence of alcohol.

the accident

At around 10:46 p.m. the train approached the level crossing at the prescribed speed of 15 km / h and gave the prescribed warning signal by whistling. This was probably not heard by the driver due to the noise of the engine in the bus and the noise caused by the passengers. On the road side, the level crossing was also properly secured by appropriate traffic signs . The omnibus with the men's choir was approaching in the street . The level crossing was difficult to see for drivers of vehicles driving in the direction of Ruwer. The collision was so violent that the locomotive with its three axles was lifted off the track and stood across the road. The back of the bus was torn open, the trailer knocked over and smashed.

15 people died: 6 people were killed immediately and 9 others later died from their injuries in hospital. Another 20 people were seriously injured and another 13 were slightly injured.

The driver got away unharmed and was later sentenced to nine months in prison .

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