Railway accident at Oerlikon
In the Oerlikon railway accident on December 17, 1932, a passenger train collided with a steam locomotive in the Zurich suburb of Oerlikon . Five people died and 55 were injured.
the accident
Shortly before 6 p.m. on Saturday, December 17, 1932, the electric express train from Zurich to Uster - Rapperswil pulled into Oerlikon station . In the thick fog in the area of the Regensberg Bridge, it collided almost unchecked, at around 75 km / h, from behind with a stationary type Eb 3/5 steam locomotive .
On impact, the coupling between the electric locomotive and the baggage car broke. The force of the impact pushed the two locomotives wedged together almost to the Oerlik station building.
The baggage car behind the locomotive got wedged with the following third class car, in which four passengers were killed. The fifth fatality was the stoker of the steam locomotive, who was thrown in front of the open door of the furnace by the impact, was covered in glowing coals and burned. In addition, 18 people were seriously injured and 37 slightly injured in the express train, including many students from the agricultural winter school in Wetzikon.
The later investigation revealed that the shunting steam locomotive had stood for twelve minutes on the platform intended for the express train. The signalman, who would have had to switch a switch for their onward journey, did not see the locomotive 50 meters away in the thick fog and did not hear its whistle signal. The function of the “pilot”, who used to drive with maneuvering and could have alerted the signal box, was abolished shortly before the accident for cost reasons.
Work-up
Four hours after the accident, the NZZ distributed a special edition . In a special edition on Sunday, she named all those killed and injured, including where they lived and the type of wound. After the communist newspaper “ Fighters ” attributed the accident to austerity measures taken by the railways, the NZZ insulted it as “irresponsible agitators in Moscow's pay”.
The criminal proceedings ended on September 25, 1934 with the acquittal of the three accused subordinate railway employees. The court justified the signalman's acquittal by stating that his boss, the Oerlikon station manager, was not charged and not even questioned. He had ordered the shunting maneuver of the steam locomotive, but neither monitored it nor informed anyone about it. In this, the court recognized the "only human fault" that led to the accident.
The public at the time was satisfied with the acquittals. In retrospect, in 2012, the NZZ assessed the fact that the station management was not charged as the main culprit, however, as scandalous.
Vehicles involved
The express train was hauled by the Ae 3/6 I No. 10640, and the steam locomotive was the Eb 3/5 No. 5831. Both seriously damaged locomotives were repaired and not scrapped.
swell
- Stefan Hotz: A train accident with no official culprit , NZZ of December 17, 2012, p. 11
Individual evidence
- ↑ EA 4/83 page 232