Rednal railway accident

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In the Rednal railway accident on June 7, 1865, a train derailed with insufficient braking force in an insufficiently secured construction site in front of Rednal station . 13 people died.

Starting position

The Shrewsbury – Chester line , then operated by the Great Western Railway , runs on a downward slope between Whittington and Rednal. Here the rails were replaced by a construction team. By June 7, 1865, they had already worked 600 meters from Rednal station . They exchanged one 7–8 meter long piece of rail after the other and then tamped the track while the route continued. To secure the construction site, a worker at the beginning of the slope, more than a kilometer from the construction site, put a green signal flag on a four-meter-high pole next to the track. Popcaps that would have been available were not used.

On the route that day, an excursion train from London to Manchester and Liverpool was on its way back to London, which traveled the route from Chester to Shrewsbury . The train was very long and therefore heavy: in addition to the regular locomotive (no. 72), it was also given a leader locomotive (no. 5). Both steam locomotives each had a tender that was equipped with brakes . This was followed by 32 passenger cars without brakes and only 2 brake cars , one of which was in tenth position in the train, the second originally ran at the end of the train. However, four more cars had been attached to him on the way.

the accident

When the train drove down the slope behind Whittington, the locomotive crew of the locomotive in front did not notice the green signal flag. The driver of the second locomotive saw them, removed the steam, and pulled the brakes on the tender. He also gave whistle signals to alert the staff of the front locomotive. During the investigation, it remained unclear whether the whistle signals on the locomotive in front were perceived as a warning, as the locomotive driver of the locomotive in front succumbed to the injuries he had suffered in the process shortly after the accident. Only when he saw the workers on the track did he brake too. Due to the unfavorable relationship between the mass of the train and the low braking force exerted. had little success. The leader locomotive derailed with one set of wheels because the track was not yet tamped again after a section of rail had been replaced and gave way. Otherwise, the locomotive stayed on the track for another 600 meters to the first switch at Rednal station. But the locomotive got stuck in the switch, tipped over and now also derailed the following vehicles. Their tender blocked the way for the next train, which slipped onto the obstacle. The heavy weight of this train, which was pressing on the tender, completely smashed the first four cars and seriously damaged 11 others.

consequences

13 people died, including the engine driver and stoker in the front engine. 30 other people were also injured.

See also

literature

  • Lionel Thomas Caswell Rolt and Geoffrey Kichenside: Red for Danger . Newton Abbot 1982. ISBN 0-7153-8362-0 , pp. 126-127.

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ The train station is closed today.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 40f accident report, p.
  2. ↑ Accident report, p. 39.
  3. ↑ 40f accident report, p.
  4. ^ Accident report, p. 39f.


Coordinates: 52 ° 50 ′ 29.8 "  N , 2 ° 57 ′ 41"  W.