Wootton bridge collapse
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52°19′01″N 1°33′52″W / 52.31687°N 1.56457°W
| Wootton bridge collapse | |
|---|---|
London & North Western Railway | |
| Cause | Bridge failure |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 1 |
| Passengers | 0 |
| Deaths | 2 |
| List of UK rail accidents by year | |
The Wootton bridge collapse occurred on 11 June 1861, when the rail bridge over the road between
Hill Wootton in Warwickshire collapsed under the weight of a passing goods train on the line between Leamington Spa and Kenilworth owned by the London and North Western Railway Company. The train had passed over the bridge safely in the morning with a full load of coal, and was returning to Kenilworth with the empty wagons at 7 am. The 30 ton locomotive fell through the deck of the bridge onto the road below, and the tender
crashed into the cab, killing both driver and fireman instantly. Many of the empty wagons behind were dragged into the gap to form a pile almost up to the height of nearby telegraph poles.
Investigation
Railway Inspectorate examined the accident on behalf of the Board of Trade. He reported that the five cast iron
girders which supported the base of the wooden bridge had all fractured near their centres, and so caused the accident. One in particular had been mended some years before, and he thought that the failure had started here. Angle iron had been fitted along the girder to support a crack in the flange, and had been bolted onto the cast iron. Far from strengthening the girder it had actually weakened it further. In hindsight, it is likely that cracks in the girders had grown to a critical size during the initial passage of the heavy train, which then gave way when the empty train returned.
Similar accidents
It is memorable for coming after the
Inverythan crash in 1882, killing 5 passengers on the train. The event which really focused minds occurred in 1891, when another girder failed under the Brighton express. Although no-one was killed, the furore caused by the Norwood Junction rail accident
led to a survey of all under-bridges. Several thousand were eventually found, and ultimately strengthened or replaced.
References
- Lewis, P.R. (2007). Disaster on the Dee: Robert Stephenson's Nemesis of 1847. Tempus Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7524-4266-2.
External links
- Full report from the Railway Archive
- Discussion of bridge failures in Britain
- Full discussion of the failure
Railway accidents in 1861 | |
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| Location and date |
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| Before 1850 |
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| 1850s |
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| 1860s |
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| 1870s |
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