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eltham well hall train crash

    eltham well hall train crash

    The derailed train came to a halt very close to an electrical sub-station powering the third-rail for electric multiple unit trains and this had immediately short-circuited. Both were severely damaged. Although it was agreed that the signalling played no part in the collision, it was later agreed that the signals around Eltham Well Hall would be redesigned to slow a train to round the curve rather than remain at green, which would mean it would be less likely a driver would be caught by surprise with the curve. The train passed through at high speed without braking and sped into the curve at around 65mph. This caused both coaches to overturn onto their right side, with the leading end of the second coach coming to a stand in front of the locomotive and the rear of the first coach, which in combination with the fourth coach, formed an "N" shape with the first four coaches. Wilsdon did not meet with the supervisor at Ramsgate, likely owing to the fact that his was the only Class 47 engine at the depot and would have been easy to find. I am a dreamer who dreams of a world full of The eighth coach was upright but derailed, the ninth coach was derailed at its leading bogie but also upright, and the tenth coach (in which Atterbury had been riding) was upright and on the rails, though some internal damage had occurred. Just over half, 542 other passengers were injured, exacerbated as many of the seated passengers had stood up ready to depart. 1630 (latterly Class 47 No. David Glasspool Collection. The front of the cab was torn open and debris thrown and 'ploughed' inside, killing Wilsdon and severely injuring Stokes. [1] Again, he was off-duty at the time and British Rail was not informed of this occurrence until April. At this time, Well Hall gained concrete lampposts with the SRs trademark hexagonal lampshades. He was thoroughly critical of Wilsdon's behaviour, describing it as "reprehensible" and "disgraceful". All three of these coaches were leaning over on their left sides to various degrees, with the leading end of the fifth coach having been badly damaged by the impact with the fourth coach. Of these penalties, three were fairly minor isolated offences (unauthorised absence in October 1960, persistent lateness in February 1961 and a "relatively minor driving offence" in February 1963) but two were serious offences, one of which resulted in a temporary suspension. Upon completing his phone conversation, Wilsdon returned to his cab and departed having been stopped at Rainham for about four minutes. The Eltham Well Hall rail crash was an accident on the British railway system that occurred on 11 June 1972 at approximately 21:35. country. By 1908, Well Hall had acquired a footbridge between the platforms, east of the main building and waiting shelter. 0 references. Two of them were the beer bottles that Stationmaster Arundell had seen at Margate and both were confirmed to have been unopened. Here, Wilsdon drank two pints of light and bitter and a half pint of light ale which was confirmed by his brothers who'd drunk similarly. derailment. At no point did Wilsdon even attempt to slow his train beyond having already shut off the engine to coast which was normal at this long downhill sector of the line. Having left Margate eight minutes late and scheduled to run non-stop (aside from a later stop to change crew), Wilsdon was able to run the train at high speed and according to Atterbury's timings, was only a minute late after passing Faversham (24 miles (39km) from Margate). These trains would be driven by Southern Region drivers for some of the journey (particularly to ensure that experienced drivers took the trains through the complex arrangements around Clapham Junction) and would, on reaching Margate and being cleared of passengers, take them onward to Ramsgate Depot where they would be stored until the return trip. Col J.R.H. Pictures by my father, Reg Godsave. This was a very unusual action, particularly as he had made up almost seven minutes of the lost time. All witnesses who saw the driver including the guard, the station staff at both Rainham and Margate, and the depot staff at Ramsgate, observed no signs of intoxication. By contrast to this, secondman Stokes arrived at Hither Green, signed on duty in person at around 15:12 and was instructed by the Supervisor to travel on the 15:32 train and try to meet Wilsdon on the train. Notable survivors of the 1931 rebuilding at all three stations mentioned were the SER timber waiting shelters. In future, train crew would have to book in by telephone or report to a supervisor who could visibly look for signs of unfitness for duty. Physical description 1 photograph : photoprint ; sheet 15.3 x 20.2 cm Contributors He briefed the pair on the train's particulars with Wilsdon appearing sober and routine. Wilsdon and Stokes were to sign on duty at Hither Green in person by 15:42 to catch a train as passengers to Ramsgate, transferring at Dartford. By 1972 he was married with young children and living in Rainham, Kent - which meant he would usually have to make an almost two hour rail commute to his depot at Hither Green. Shortly after leaving Rainham, Atterbury noted that the speed seemed "a little bit excessive" and that Wilsdon had been braking intensely between Gillingham and Chatham railway station. He stated that he was thoroughly ashamed and that he had been celebrating a promotion to the position of Passed Fireman with his colleague who greatly assisted him. Trying to gain Wilsdon's attention, he made two light applications ("splashes") of the guard's brake. Contributions He was not suspended for this incident owing to the fact that his superior at Hither Green was busy and then went on leave and as such was not able to speak with Wilsdon until June. Despite this, Wilsdon suggested the pair go to the nearby Railway Staff Association Club at about 19:00 and get a drink to which Stokes agreed, with the pair arriving just in time for the club to open at 19:05. The eighth coach was upright but derailed, the ninth coach was derailed at its leading bogie but also upright, and the tenth coach (in which Atterbury had been riding) was upright and on the rails, though some internal damage had occurred. Genealogy Pictures by my father, Reg Godsave. It was concluded that his eventual response to Wilsdon's behaviour was appropriate. Contributions Stokes had arrived first, having spoken with the supervisor at Ramsgate to ascertain the details of the train. The next five coaches were derailed but the 10th, in which the guard was riding, was not. Stokes and Guard H. Atterbury. Pinterest. As he did not need to be on duty until the afternoon, Wilsdon joined his two brothers for lunch at around 12:55, the three travelling to a local pub where they stayed until closing time just after 14:00. His colleague was similarly promoted but resigned in early 1963 after a series of reprimands and suspensions. News Stories The fourth coach had ended up roughly 90 degrees to the track, leaning over on its left side. United Kingdom. In reality, Wilsdon did not leave for Rainham station until 17:15 and as such his move was solely to gain pay for an extra two hours for which he had not actually been on duty. They prepared the train which consisted of a Class 47 diesel locomotive and 10 coaches. British Rail staff who came in contact with Wilsdon on 11 June (his supervisor at Hither Green, depot staff at Ramsgate, Secondman Stokes, Railway Club staff at Ramsgate, Guard Atterbury, Stationmaster Arundell and his staff at Margate, Railman Fleming and Signalman Obee at Rainham) were all intensively questioned and gave evidence at the inquiry regarding the state of Wilsdon, to which all agreed that Wilsdon appeared perfectly fit and sober even as late as his unscheduled stop in Rainham, with the only person aware of Wilsdon already having drunk alcohol prior to reaching Ramsgate being Secondman Stokes, who considered him still fit and sober enough to drive the train. Whilst the original main building of 1908 and sections of platform remain in evidence today at the former site of Eltham Park, at Well Hall not a brick remains. An excursion train from Margate to Kentish Town derailed on a sharp curve at Guard Atterbury was 57 and had been a guard since 1948 and was based at London Bridge and although he had worked the Bexleyheath line before, he had never done so on a fast train. None of the staff were criticised for failing to stop Wilsdon from his duties under the belief he was too drunk and evidence by Wilsdon's father-in-law, brothers and friends confirmed that although Wilsdon did drink heavily, he could "carry" his alcohol well and that the amount of alcohol he drank was not enough to make his drunkenness visible, although the report believed that Wilsdon's actions at Rainham and his reactions at Eltham Well Hall clearly showed that he was beginning to suffer effects of drunkenness. Eccles Rail Crash . All three of these coaches were leaning over on their left sides to various degrees, with the leading end of the fifth coach having been badly damaged by the impact with the fourth coach. He had worked with Wilsdon occasionally before and had driven with him a few times prior. When Arundell went to examine the cab, he found it empty but after returning shortly afterwards, saw a pair of beer bottles in the cab. As well as Wilsdon, two passengers died at the scene; a woman later died of her injuries in August and a male likewise in November, bringing the number of fatalities to five. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence. 2004 - 2023 railwaysarchive.co.uk - all rights reserved. Guard Atterbury, who arrived at Ramsgate some hours earlier and had been relaxing in the staff break room of the station, had gone to prepare the train for its departure at around 19:30 and initially noted that the engine crew were absent. Rail; . This issue was however was brought up again in 1991 after the Cannon Street station rail crash in which the driver in that instance was believed to have been high on cannabis and caused a buffer-stop collision. At about 15:20 he booked on duty by telephone with Hither Green depot and travelled by train to Ramsgate. The Eltham Well Hall rail crash was an accident on the British railway system that occurred on 11 June 1972 at approximately 21:35. Guard Atterbury was not criticised whatsoever for his behaviour and it was considered unfortunate that his "splashes" were too weak to gain Wilsdon's attention. Today. Stokes had arrived first, having spoken with the supervisor at Ramsgate to ascertain the details of the train. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. However, as the train approached Sittingbourne, the train was forced to briefly stop due to signals and it was held again momentarily around Rainham by Signalman Obee who had been forced to open his level crossing to allow a pair of buses through as the train was running late. His suspension in 1961 was considered a warning sign of Wilsdon's alcoholic tendencies but it was agreed that at the time there was no evidence to disprove Wilsdon's statements that he would better himself and not drink again. Ultimately, the later station was intended as a replacement for Well Hall, allowing the SE&CR to close the original site, but legal problems prevented this, as noted in 1973 by Alan A. Jackson in Semi-detached London: Suburban Development, Life and Transport, 1900-39: "The railway company, ever anxious to turn the odd penny, had planned to close [Well Hall] until they discovered they were under a statutory obligation to keep it open and so did not rate their chances of overcoming the opposition very highly.". The public inquiry into the accident eleven years later agreed that this incident was a seemingly isolated occurrence and all had reason to believe Wilsdon; the Line Manager who reinstated the two was not criticised for this approach, although some criticism was given to the Management in 1961 for promoting Wilsdon so quickly after being reinstated. The outbound journeys left Kentish Town around 0830, were completed uneventfully and the trains stabled at Ramsgate as planned. On Sunday 11 June 1972, a day-trip to Margate had been arranged for the employees (and their families) of British Rail's Midland Region based at the North London depot at Kentish Town. Although Atterbury had been somewhat concerned about excessive speed between Gillingham and Chatham, he stated that Wilsdon had operated appropriately through Dartford. As he did not need to be on duty until the afternoon, Wilsdon joined his two brothers for lunch at around 12:55, the three travelling to a local pub where they stayed until closing time just after 14:00. [2], The train arrived at Margate and the entrainment of passengers was routine, with boarding complete by 20:04. Apr 2, 2017 - Eltham Well Hall Rail Crash. There was an imbalance with the urine alcohol level which made it very likely that the driver had also been drinking alcohol at the controls. money train crash mexico train crash 2,339 Train Crash Premium Video Footage Browse 2,339 train crash videos and clips available to use in your projects, or search for money train crash or mexico train crash to find more footage and b-roll video clips. The last recommendation that Robertson made regarding the accident was the usage of telephone to sign on duty within the Southern Region. However, changes were made to the signalling at Eltham so that through trains would receive a yellow signal on approach. The secondman may not have been attentive because he had also been drinking, but he did not know the route and would not have realised that the driver was not braking for the curve when he should have been. Robertson . Please note that the Railways Archive is not responsible for the content of external websites. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. Arundell believed that they were a gift left by the organisers of the excursion to the engine crew - such being a normal 'tip' for excursion drivers to enjoy off-duty - and he did not question their appearance. The driver Robert Wilsdon and five passengers were killed, and 126 people were injured. This document is Crown Copyright, and is subject to the terms governing the reproduction of crown copyright material. Shortly thereafter, Wilsdon and Stokes returned and entered the cab preparing for departure, with neither seeming unusual: when Arundell told them to hurry up, Wilsdon calmly noted they could regain lost time on the journey. This accident has been the subject of a published formal accident investigation, which you will find below. Both men were subsequently suspended shortly afterwards, against which Wilsdon immediately appealed, claiming that the event was an isolated incident. ", -- More Tools -- Emergency services were notified, and arrived between 21:40 and 21:42. The Inspecting Officer, Colonel J.R.H. At the subsequent public inquiry it was revealed that the driver had been intoxicated by alcohol. Both brothers confirmed that he had not drunk after leaving the pub and were adamant on this point at the later public inquiry.

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