Kentish Town Railway Accident

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The railway accident in Kentish Town on 2 September 1861 was the flank travel of a passenger train in a shunting freight train at the station Kentish Town . At least 16 people died.

Accident site

Starting position

The accident occurred on the route of Hampstead Junction Railway in the exit of the station Kentish Town . This was in a curve. The double-track line connected the North and South-Western Junction Railway in the west with the North London Railway , to which it connected beyond Kentish Town station. The route was to the London and North-Western Railway leased responsible for the rail infrastructure was responsible and all personnel associated with it. There, however, the North London Railway operated as a railway company . The rules of operation of the local railway infrastructure company have always applied . The route was secured by a block with main and distant signals . The railroad worker who operated the signal box at Kentish Town station that evening was only 19 years old and had only eight months of operational experience on site.

An excursion train from Kew to Bow was headed for Kentish Town station from the east . It was one of several who were out here that day. The train was the dispatcher at Kew ahead of schedule on the route sent because he had filled very quickly due to the large crowds back traveling trippers. The train consisted of a tank locomotive , followed by a brake car, which was coupled to the next two cars according to the Chambers' system , and nine other cars without brakes .

At the distance beyond the station Kentish Town were sidings built. The confluence of this construction site track was not secured by signals. A freight train that had brought gravel to the construction site was unloaded at the construction site. It consisted of the locomotive, 19 freight wagons and a brake car and was now to be maneuvered onto the westward track , for which purpose it had to cross the eastward track. The freight train staff had not been informed that an unscheduled train was expected.

the accident

With a hand signal from the signalman in Kentish Town station, the locomotive driver of the freight train felt entitled to push his train onto the eastbound track, especially since all exit signals from the station were on "Stop". The dispatcher did not initiate any safety measures either, but rather trusted that the shunting maneuver would be finished before another train arrived.

The passenger train had been given "free travel" from the preceding station, Hampstead Heath, after Kentish Town station confirmed that the preceding train had cleared the section. The entrance signal for Kentish Town Railway Station read "Drive free". The passenger train drove into and through the station at around 60 km / h. The position of the exit signal at this moment could no longer be clearly determined afterwards. Due to the curve in which the station was located, the engine driver did not notice until 50 meters before the obstacle that the freight train was standing on the track he was traveling on. The locomotive driver of the freight train braked and tried to pull the train he was leading onto the track in the opposite direction and let the warning whistle sound the entire time; The stoker and the conductor held red signal lamps towards the excursion train. The engine driver only managed to pull the locomotive, the tender and the first passenger car onto the other track . The impact could no longer be prevented and occurred around 7.15 p.m. or a few minutes later. The passenger train hit the second freight car. During this flank journey, the locomotive and the six following wagons of the passenger train derailed and fell down a 10-meter-high embankment. Some of the vehicles piled on top of each other and crushed the ones at the bottom.

consequences

At least 16 people died and 321 were injured.

See also

literature

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ So Yolland: [ accident report ], p. 76. However, this also indicates that some were injured so seriously that their survival was not certain.
  2. ^ Yolland: [ accident report ], p. 80, mentions that he earned 14 or 15 shillings a week.
  3. ↑ This was a unit of three tightly coupled cars, where a brakeman could operate the brakes of all three cars from one of the cars.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Yolland: [ accident report ], p. 76.
  2. ↑ Yolland: [ accident report ], p. 79.
  3. ↑ a b Yolland: [ accident report ], p. 77.
  4. ^ Yolland: [ accident report ], p. 78.

Coordinates: 51 ° 33 ′ 8 ″  N , 0 ° 8 ′ 49 ″  W.