Lewisham rail crash
Lewisham rail crash | |
---|---|
British Railways | |
Cause | Signal passed at danger |
Statistics | |
Trains | 2 |
Deaths | 90 |
Injured | 173 |
List of UK rail accidents by year |
On the evening of 4 December 1957, two trains crashed in dense fog on the South Eastern Main Line near Lewisham in south-east London, causing the deaths of 90 people and injuring 173. An electric train to Hayes had stopped at a signal under the bridge, and the following steam train to Ramsgate crashed into it, destroying a carriage and causing the bridge to collapse onto the steam train. The bridge had to be completely removed; it was over a week before the lines under the bridge were reopened, and another month before the bridge was rebuilt and traffic allowed over it.
The driver of the Ramsgate train was acquitted of
Collision
On the evening of Wednesday 4 December 1957 there was heavy fog in the London area, and trains were running late. The 5:18 pm
There were 90 fatalities and a large number of people were taken to hospital, of whom 109 were admitted.
Aftermath
The first emergency response arrived at 6:25 pm with the fire brigade, ambulance and police being assisted by doctors and nurses. Help was accepted from the
All four of the running lines under the bridge and the two over it were blocked. At
At 4:00 pm on 9 December, the trains and the fallen bridge had been cut up and removed. The track then had to be relaid and the lines under the bridge were reopened at 5:00 am on 12 December. A temporary bridge was built and the overhead line was reopened at 6:00 am on 13 January.[3]
Coroner's inquest and trial
The jury at the inquest declared by majority that the deaths were due to gross negligence, but the coroner rejected the verdict and substituted one of accidental death.[4] The driver of the Ramsgate train was then tried for manslaughter, but the jury could not reach a verdict. He was acquitted at a second trial.[1]
Civil action for psychological injury
Henry Chadwick, a member of the public who assisted at the accident, successfully sued the British Railways Board for the "nervous shock" he experienced. The case,
Report
The
The report concluded that an "Automatic Train Control of the Warning type" would have prevented the collision. Although installation had been agreed after the Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash in 1952, priority was being given to main-line routes controlled by semaphore signals.[9] The poor visibility of signals from the steam locomotive, Battle of Britain class No. 34066,[10] was mentioned with a recommendation that they be fitted with wider windscreens.[11]
Legacy
The collapsed bridge was replaced by a temporary military trestle structure, still in use.[12]
A plaque at
See also
- Granville rail disaster: 84 killed [14] - Australia's worst rail disaster, poor track maintenance causes derailment of a train and subsequent collapse of a bridge in Granville, New South Wales on 18 January 1977.
References
Notes
- ^ a b c d e Langley 1958, p. 1.
- ^ Langley 1958, p. 10.
- ^ a b Langley 1958, p. 2.
- ^ "Negligence Seen In Rail Deaths; Coroner Balks". Globe and Mail. 1 January 1958. p. 2.
- ^ Woolfson 2015.
- ^ Giliker. Tort (4th ed.). pp. 4–036.[full citation needed]
- ^ Langley 1958, pp. 19, 21–22.
- ^ Langley 1958, pp. 22–23.
- ^ Langley 1958, pp. 23–24.
- ^ Langley 1958, second diagram at end of report.
- ^ Langley 1958, p. 25.
- ^ "Tragedy and Turnaround: A History of St Johns Station - Part 2". 29 April 2013.
- ^ Lewisham train disaster: London Remembers, Aiming to capture all memorials in London Retrieved 2017-07-10.
- ^ (Originally 83, but an unborn child was added to the fatality list in 2017) "Unborn child victim remembered at Granville memorial after 40 years".
Bibliography
- Langley, Brig. C.A. (1958). Report on the collision which occurred on 4th December 1957 near St Johns station, Lewisham (PDF) (Report). Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
- Woolfson, A. (2015). "Chadwick v British Transport Commission [1967] 2 All ER 945". The London Law Map. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
Further reading
- Hamilton, J.A.B. (1967). British Railway Accidents of the 20th Century (reprinted as Disaster down the Line). ISBN 978-0-7137-1973-4.
- Nock, O.S. (1980). Historic Railway Disasters (2nd ed.). Ian Allan.
- Rolt, L.T.C. (1956). Red for Danger. The Bodley Head / David and Charles / Pan Books.
- Tatlow, Peter (2007). Lewisham St John's 50 Years on: Restoring the Traffic. Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0853616696.
- Turner, Robert C. (1990). Black Clouds & White Feathers: Southern Steam from the Footplate. Oxford Publishing Co. ISBN 0-86093-457-8.
- Vaughan, Adrian (1989). Obstruction Danger. Guild Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85260-055-6.