Lewisham Railway Accident (1857)
This Lewisham railway accident was a rear-end collision on June 28, 1857 in Lewisham station , in the London borough of the same name . 12 people died.
Starting position
The accident occurred on the route from Strood to London . The front of the train station Lewisham railway station was Blackheath . The route had only been opened a year earlier by the South Eastern Railway . The later accident site was in the east of the train station. Here the entrance was secured by an entrance signal that was just 200 meters from the east entrance . The route itself was equipped with a signaling system, but there was no dependency between the display and the route . They were bell signals that indicated whether a section of the route was free.
A train from Strood was on its way to Lewisham station with a delay of 15 minutes. The train had 14 cars . At 9:15 p.m. he came to a stop in front of the entrance signal because it said "stop". The train driver took a signal lamp with a red light and went to the end of the train to secure it against following trains.
the accident
The train standing in front of the “stop” signal was followed by a second train because - probably due to a technical defect - the bell in Blackheath had signaled “route free”, although the dispatcher in Lewisham had never given a corresponding signal. Since the signals emitted were recorded, this could later be clearly demonstrated. So the following train set out on the line. The driver of the stopping train heard the approaching train as soon as he went to the end of the train. He ran towards him to warn him, waved the lamp and also blew a signal whistle . The locomotive staff of the approaching train did not notice this, but both of its brakemen did . They put on the brakes they operated, which probably slowed the train down a bit, but was nowhere near enough to bring it to a stop in time.
When the locomotive hit the stationary train at about 30 km / h, it pushed the last car, a baggage car , into the busy passenger car running in front of it .
consequences
12 people died and 62 others were injured. The train crew of the locomotive of the approaching train, the engine driver and stoker , were charged with negligent homicide .
Worth knowing
On December 4, 1957, another serious accident occurred at Lewisham station.
See also
Web links
Remarks
- ^ " Neglect of duty causing the deaths of 11 persons ".
Individual evidence
- ^ Railways Archive.
Coordinates: 51 ° 27 ′ 54 ″ N , 0 ° 0 ′ 34.6 ″ E