Lichfield Railway Accident
The Lichfield Railway Accident was a rear-end collision that occurred on January 1, 1946 at Lichfield Trent Valley Railway Station in Lichfield , England . 20 people died. This accident is one of the few in which the mechanical safety of the driveway failed.
Starting position
The accident occurred on the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) network on an extremely cold winter day.
In the overhaul track towards London station Lichfield Trent Valley was the passenger train from Stafford to Nuneaton retracted and waited on by a subsequent Eilgüterzug to be overhauled. The passenger train consisted of a steam locomotive and four older-style passenger cars with wooden superstructures.
The express freight train came from Fleetwood and brought fresh fish to London . His destination there was Broad Street Station . It consisted of his steam locomotive, seven two-axle freight cars for transporting fish and an accompanying car .
the accident
When the signal box was informed that the express freight train was approaching, the employee there put the entry point back in an upright position, on the one hand to enable the freight train to travel on the through-track, but on the other hand also to set the entry signal to the "travel free" position can. The systems were connected to each other accordingly, so that he could only release the signal with the signal if the switch was set accordingly. When he threw the appropriate lever for the switch, the safety device also clicked and he set the signal to "Drive free". What nobody knew at the time: The switch was frozen in the different position and the lever for the switch only clicked into the safety device because the rail pieces in the switch bent accordingly.
When the freight train pulled into the station, it was traveling at around 50 km / h and hit the end of the passenger train on the siding. The last three passenger cars were destroyed and the rest of the train , including the locomotive , was pushed forward 30 meters.
consequences
20 people died and 21 were also injured.
See also
literature
Web links
Coordinates: 52 ° 41 ′ 13.3 " N , 1 ° 48 ′ 2.2" W.