Marden rail crash

Last updated

Marden rail crash
Details
Date4 January 1969
20:42 CET
LocationBetween Paddock Wood and Marden railway stations
CoordinatesApproximately TQ 724 449
51°10′40″N0°27′57″E / 51.17778°N 0.46583°E / 51.17778; 0.46583
CountryEngland
Line South East Main Line
CauseDriver error (Signal passed at danger)
Statistics
Trains2
Passengers170
Deaths4
Injured11
List of UK rail accidents by year

The Marden rail crash occurred on 4 January 1969 near Marden, Kent, United Kingdom, when a passenger train ran into the rear of a parcels train, having passed two signals at danger. Four people were killed and 11 were injured. One person was awarded the British Empire Medal for his part in the aftermath of the collision.

Contents

Background

On the evening of 4 January 1969, the weather in the Paddock Wood and Marden area was foggy, with visibility as low as 25 yards (23 m) in places. There were three trains involved in the sequence of events leading up to the accident. Another factor in the accident was the failure of a track circuit in the Marden area. [1]

The first train was a special rail train comprising five "salmon" wagons loaded with 300-foot (91 m) lengths of continuous welded rail, two brake vans and a seven-wagon fitted head (a rake of wagons fitted with vacuum brakes), which had departed from Paddock Wood Down Siding West at 20:12. This was some two hours later than scheduled because the driver had had to collect the fitted head from Tonbridge. The train was restricted to a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour (40 km/h). The second train was the 19:18 London Bridge to Dover Priory parcels train, hauled by Class 33/0 diesel-electric locomotive D6558 and comprising a 4-wheel refrigerated van, two 4-wheel parcels vans, four bogie parcels vans and a 4-wheel Covered Carriage Truck. This train was running eight minutes behind the rail train. It was scheduled to pass Paddock Wood 20 minutes before the third train, and arrive at Ashford 18+12 minutes before the third train. The third train was the 20:00 Charing Cross to Ramsgate passenger train, comprising two 4CEP electric multiple units, Nos. 7181 and 7117. [1]

Shortly after 19:00, track circuit FJ, on the down line at Marden, failed due to a broken stretcher bar on a set of catch points near Marden station. The effect of the failure was that it caused automatic signal A370 to display a danger aspect. The driver of the first train to reach signal A370 contacted Ashford signal box by telephone. He was informed that the track circuit had failed, and authorised to pass the signal at danger in order to inspect the line as far as the next signal, A372. On reaching that signal, he was again to report by telephone to Ashford signalbox. When he reported from signal A372, the driver was told to continue as normal, obeying whatever aspects the signals were showing. [1]

Six more trains also passed along the line during the period that the track circuit had failed, each passing signal A370 at danger under the authority of the Ashford signalman. At 20:28, the driver of the rail train telephoned the signalman at Ashford and was given the same authority to pass it at danger. The parcels train was then held at signal A324, which was showing a danger aspect as the rail train was still occupying the track circuit ahead of the signal. The secondman of the parcels train was told to wait until the signal cleared as the rail train was ahead of them. He was also told of the track circuit failure, and that he was to report again from signal A370. At about this time (between 20:30 and 20:40), the track circuit fault was fixed, and signal A370 was showing a proceed aspect when the parcels train reached it. The driver stopped and the secondman reported to the Ashford signalman by telephone as previously instructed. He was told to proceed normally, obeying the aspects shown by the signals. [1]

Accident

Marden rail crash
BSicon STRg.svg
BSicon STRf.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon ENDEa.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon STR.svg
Down Siding West
BSicon KRWgl.svg
BSicon KRWg+r.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon KRWg+l.svg
BSicon KRWr.svg
BSicon SBRUCKEa.svg
BSicon SBRUCKEe.svg
B2016 Maidstone Road
BSicon KRW+l.svg
BSicon KRWgr.svg
BSicon KRWgl.svg
BSicon KRW+r.svg
BSicon STR+BSr.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon STR+BSl.svg
BSicon exENDEa+BSl.svg
BSicon STR+BSr.svg
BSicon STRg.svg
BSicon STRf.svg
BSicon STR+BSl.svg
BSicon ENDEa+BSr.svg
Paddock Wood
BSicon exSTR+BSl.svg
BSicon STR+BSr.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon d.svg
BSicon SIGNALf white.svg
BSicon d.svg
BSicon STR+BSl.svg
BSicon STR+BSr.svg
Signal PE129
BSicon exSTR.svg
BSicon xKRWgl.svg
BSicon KRWg+r.svg
BSicon KRWg+l.svg
BSicon KRWgr.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon exKRWl.svg
BSicon exKRWg+r.svg
BSicon kABZg2.svg
BSicon ABZgl.svg
BSicon ABZql.svg
BSicon ABZql.svg
BSicon SHI4grq.svg
BSicon STRfq.svg
BSicon exSTR.svg
BSicon STR+k1.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon kSTRl+4.svg
BSicon STRq.svg
BSicon STRq.svg
BSicon SHI4g+lq.svg
BSicon STRgq.svg
BSicon exCONTgq.svg
BSicon exSTRr.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon d.svg
BSicon SIGNALf white.svg
BSicon d.svg
Signal A322
1,540 yards (1.408 km)
BSicon SBRUCKEa.svg
BSicon SBRUCKEe.svg
Queen Street
BSicon SBRUCKEa.svg
BSicon SBRUCKEe.svg
Willow Lane
BSicon STRg.svg
BSicon STRf.svg
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon WVIADUKT1-R.svg
BSicon WVIADUKT1-L.svg
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon d.svg
BSicon SIGNALf red.svg
BSicon d.svg
Signal A324
2,187 yards (2.000 km)
BSicon SBRUCKEa.svg
BSicon SBRUCKEe.svg
Spenny Lane
BSicon SBRUCKEa.svg
BSicon SBRUCKEe.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon d.svg
BSicon SIGNALf red.svg
BSicon d.svg
Signal A370
2,191 yards (2.003 km)
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon INCIDO.svg
BSicon STR.svg
Site of collision
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon WVIADUKT1-R.svg
BSicon WVIADUKT1-L.svg
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon SIGNALg white.svg
BSicon d.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon d.svg
Signal A321
BSicon VIADUKT2-R.svg
BSicon VIADUKT2-L.svg
BSicon STRg.svg
BSicon STRf.svg
BSicon hSTRae(r).svg
BSicon hSTRae(l).svg
Pattenden Lane
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon STR+BSr.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon STR+BSr.svg
BSicon STR+BSl.svg
Marden
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon STR+BSl.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon d.svg
BSicon SIGNALf white.svg
BSicon d.svg
Signal A372
2,190 yards (2.003 km)
BSicon STRg.svg
BSicon STRf.svg

The passenger train passed Paddock Wood at 20:38+12, which was 3+12 minutes ahead of schedule. At that time, the parcels train was occupying track circuit FH. Signal PE129 was showing line clear. The passenger train cleared track circuits FF and FG, and entered track circuit FH which was still occupied by the parcels train. The signalman at Ashford sent the "obstruction danger" signal to Tonbridge signal box at 20:42. The parcels train had reached a maximum speed of 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) when it was hit from the rear by the passenger train at a closing speed of between 75 miles per hour (121 km/h) and 80 miles per hour (130 km/h), having passed signal A322 at caution and signal A324 at danger. Signal A370 was still showing proceed as the parcels train had not reached track circuit FH, which controlled that signal. [1]

The leading carriage of the passenger train was derailed to the left, and rolled down the embankment ending up upside down at a point some 115 yards (105 m) beyond the point of the collision. The second carriage ended up on its left side between the wreckage of the first carriage and the railway, and slightly ahead of it. The third carriage jack-knifed, with its leading end down the embankment and its trailing end on the railway. The remaining five carriages were all derailed towards the up line, with only the rear bogie of the rear carriage remaining on the rails. [1]

The rear three vans of the parcels train were destroyed; the remains of the rear van ended up on the up line, ahead of the van in front of it, and roughly parallel with the third coach of the passenger train. the seventh van went down the embankment on the up side, ending up roughly parallel with the seventh coach of the passenger train. The sixth van derailed across the up line with one end 15 feet (4.6 m) in the air and at right angles across the rear van. The rear end of the fifth van was burst open, and the van was buffer locked with the fourth van. This van was slightly damaged. Both the fourth and fifth vans remained on the rails, but were too badly damaged to run. The parcels train itself was propelled forwards by the force of the collision. Wreckage from the collision short-circuited the conductor rails, tripping the power supply off. Although wreckage was fouling the up line, it did not short-circuit the track circuits of the up line, allowing Signal A321 to display a proceed aspect. Had a train been on the up line at the time of the collision, there is a strong chance that a second collision would have occurred. Fortunately, the nearest train had not reached Headcorn at the time. [1]

Aftermath

The guard of the parcels train had been travelling in the rear cab of the locomotive. He was thrown from his seat by the force of the collision but was not injured. He walked towards Paddock Wood and was met by the guard of the passenger train. They agreed between themselves that the guard of the passenger train would protect the line to the rear of the accident site and that the guard of the parcels train would go forward to Marden station where he could summon help by telephone from an electricity substation there. The call was made at 20:58. It was then confirmed that the electricity supply was off. The guard of the passenger train reported the accident to Ashford signalbox from signal A370. This call was made at about 20:45. The signalman at Tonbridge stopped an up passenger train at Headcorn and held it there. Agreement was made with Ashford signalbox that no further trains would be despatched from Ashford towards Tonbridge. [1] The Ashford steam crane was used to clear the wreckage. [2]

A total of 18 ambulances and 10 fire engines attended the accident. The first ambulance arrived at Marden station at 21:06. [1] Ambulances from Ashford, the Medway Towns and Southborough attended. The fire engines came from Ashford, Cranbrook, Maidstone, Marden, Matfield, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells. [2] The site of the accident was difficult for the emergency services to reach, with the darkness and fog contributing to this. [1] David Winch, [3] the farm manager at Brook Farm, Marden, and his staff provided access by using farm tractors hauling trailers across two ploughed fields. [1] Rescuers were transported to the site, and the passengers were taken from the site to waiting ambulances. [3] The WRVS set up a field kitchen to provide hot food and drink to the rescuers. The driver of the passenger train and three passengers had been killed in the collision. All the injured had been freed from the wreckage by 23:37. The last of the deceased was not removed until 08:55 on 7 January. Eleven passengers were taken to hospital. Of those, nine were admitted, with eight having been discharged by the end of January and the ninth being discharged on 1 April. [1] Two people were seriously injured; one losing his left arm and the other with a broken back. [4] For his part in the rescue operation, Stanley Skinner, who was the officer in charge of the ambulances at the scene, was awarded the British Empire Medal. [3] All the injured were taken to the West Kent Hospital in Maidstone, [2] apart from one person who was taken by a passing motorist to Ashford Hospital. [4]

Amongst the rescuers were three teenagers who had heard the crash, Steven Nye, Peter Judge and Christopher Peen. They went to Marden station where the clerk on duty had not heard of the crash, and seemed not to believe them when they told him they had heard it. Peen's father was in the Fire Brigade, so they went to the fire station where they found that the fire engines had been called out to a train crash at Brook Farm. The trio returned to the railway station, where the clerk had by now been informed of the crash. After confirmation that the power was off had been given, they were told that they could assist in the rescue and were to report to the police on arrival at the scene. The trio assisted the survivors by escorting and assisting them to the transport provided by Brook Farm, becoming plastered in mud in the process. It was after midnight before they got home to worried parents. [5]

As a result of the line being blocked, trains were diverted to run via the Maidstone East Line. Local trains on the line between Tonbridge and Ashford terminated at Paddock Wood and Staplehurst, with a bus service provided between those two stations and calling at Marden. The wreckage was cleared and the damaged track was repaired overnight, allowing trains to use the line subject to a temporary speed restriction. The line reopened to traffic at 04:23 on 7 January. [1] One of the wrecked vans caught fire on Monday afternoon. Maidstone and Marden fire engines attended. [4]

Inquiry

On 6 January 1969, the Minister for Transport ordered an inquiry into the accident. The inquiry was conducted by Col J. R. H. Robertson, assisted by Lt Col A. G. Townsend-Rose. The report was published on 18 July 1969. The cause of the accident was found to be driver error on the part of the driver of the passenger train, who failed to observe rule 127 of the British Rail Rule Book:

"The driver MUST... observe and obey all signals ... ... and when owing to fog ... ... the fixed signals are not visible at the usual distance, use every precaution and reduce speed if necessary... ...to enable the train to be stopped should it be at Danger. No fault was found with the signalling system or the track circuits, which were all operating as designed, with the signals reacting to the failed track circuit in the correct manner." [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawes Junction rail crash</span> Railway crash in England in 1910

The Hawes Junction rail crash occurred at 5.49 am on 24 December 1910, just north of the Lunds viaduct between Hawes Junction and Aisgill on the Midland Railway's Settle and Carlisle main line in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was caused when a busy signalman, Alfred Sutton, forgot about a pair of light engines waiting at his down (northbound) starting signal to return to their shed at Carlisle. They were still waiting there when the signalman set the road for the down Scotch express. When the signal cleared, the light engines set off in front of the express into the same block section. Since the light engines were travelling at low speed from a stand at Hawes Junction, and the following express was travelling at high speed, a collision was inevitable. The express caught the light engines just after Moorcock Tunnel near Aisgill summit in Mallerstang and was almost wholly derailed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenbrook rail accident</span>

The Glenbrook rail accident occurred on 2 December 1999 at 8:22 am on a curve east of Glenbrook railway station on the CityRail network between Glenbrook and Lapstone, in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. Seven passengers were killed and 51 passengers were taken to hospital with injuries when a CityRail electric interurban train collided with the rear wagon of the long-haul Perth-to-Sydney Indian Pacific.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heart of Wessex Line</span> Railway line in England

The Heart of Wessex Line, also known as the Bristol to Weymouth Line, is a railway line that runs from Bristol Temple Meads to Westbury and Weymouth in England. It shares the Wessex Main Line as far as Westbury and then follows the course of the Reading to Taunton Line as far as Castle Cary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paddock Wood railway station</span> Railway station in Paddock Wood, Kent

Paddock Wood railway station is on the South Eastern Main Line and Medway Valley Line in south-east England, serving the town of Paddock Wood, Kent. The station also serves the villages of Matfield, Brenchley and Horsmonden, which have do not have stations of their own. It is 34 miles 67 chains (56.1 km) down the line from London Charing Cross. The station and all trains calling there are operated by Southeastern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marden railway station</span> Railway station in Kent, England

Marden railway station is on the South Eastern Main Line in England, serving the village of Marden in the borough of Maidstone, Kent. It is 39 miles 31 chains (63.4 km) down the line from London Charing Cross. The station and all trains that serve the station are operated by Southeastern. The station is often referred to as Marden (Kent), to distinguish itself between similarly-named villages across England.

The Charfield railway disaster was a fatal train crash which occurred on 13 October 1928 in the village of Charfield in the English county of Gloucestershire. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Leeds to Bristol night mail train failed to stop at the signals protecting the down refuge siding at Charfield railway station. The weather was misty, but there was not a sufficiently thick fog for the signalman at Charfield to employ fog signalmen. A freight train was in the process of being shunted from the down main line to the siding, and another train of empty goods wagons was passing through the station from the Bristol (up) direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Eastern Main Line</span> Major long-distance railway line in south-east England

The South Eastern Main Line is a major long-distance railway route in South East England, UK, one of the three main routes crossing the county of Kent, going via Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Ashford and Folkestone to Dover. The other routes are the Chatham Main Line which runs along the north Kent coast to Ramsgate or Dover via Chatham and High Speed 1 which runs through the centre of Kent to the coast at Folkestone where it joins the Channel Tunnel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash</span> 1952 train wreck in Wealdstone, England

The Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash was a three-train collision at Harrow and Wealdstone station in Wealdstone, Middlesex during the morning rush hour of 8 October 1952. The crash resulted in 112 deaths and 340 injuries, 88 of these being detained in hospital. It remains the worst peacetime rail crash in British history and the second deadliest overall after the Quintinshill rail disaster of 1915.

The Ais Gill rail accident occurred on the Settle–Carlisle line in Northwest England on 2 September 1913. Two long trains were both ascending a steep gradient with some difficulty, because their engines generated barely enough power to carry the load. When the first train stopped to build-up steam pressure, the driver and fireman of the second train were distracted by maintenance routines, and failed to observe the warning signals. The collision wrecked several carriages, which were then engulfed by flammable gas, killing 16 people and injuring 38.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glasgow Bellgrove rail accident</span> Railway crash at Bellgrove, Glasgow, Scotland, in 1989

The Bellgrove rail accident occurred on 6 March 1989 when two passenger trains collided near Bellgrove station, Glasgow, United Kingdom. Two people were killed and 53 were injured. The cause was driver error, with a signal being passed at danger. The layout of a junction was a contributory factor.

The Darlington rail accident occurred on the evening of 27 June 1928 when a parcels train and an excursion train collided head on at Darlington Bank Top railway station in County Durham, England. The accident was caused by the parcels train driver passing a signal at danger, due to misunderstanding the signalling layout in an unfamiliar part of the station. This accident resulted in the deaths of 25 people and the serious injury of 45 people.

There have been two rail crashes near Welwyn Garden City railway station in Hertfordshire, England, one in 1935 and another less serious accident in 1957.

The Barnes rail crash, in which 13 people were killed and 41 were injured, occurred at Barnes railway station late in the evening of Friday 2 December 1955.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seer Green rail crash</span> 1981 rail crash in England

The Seer Green rail crash occurred on the morning of 11 December 1981 near Seer Green, Buckinghamshire, England between two four-car Class 115 diesel multiple units, killing one driver and three passengers.

The Wrawby Junction rail crash was a train crash which occurred on 9 December 1983, at Wrawby Junction, near Barnetby station, North Lincolnshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amsterdam Westerpark train collision</span> 2012 train crash in the Netherlands

On 21 April 2012 at 18:30 local time, two trains were involved in a head-on collision at Westerpark, near Sloterdijk, in the west of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Approximately 117 people were injured, one of whom later died in hospital. The collision is thought to have been caused by the driver of one of the trains passing a red signal.

The Welwyn Tunnel rail crash took place in Welwyn North Tunnel, north of Welwyn station on the Great Northern Railway, on 9 June 1866. According to L T C Rolt, "from the point of view of damage to engines and rolling stock it was one of the most destructive in railway history."

The St Johns train crash happened at 9 am on 21 March 1898 when, in thick fog, a passenger train waiting to enter St Johns Station on the South Eastern Railway, UK was run into by another passenger train. Three people were killed and about 20 injured in the accident, which was caused by a signalman's error.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coppenhall Junction railway accident</span> 1962 disaster in the United Kingdom

On the evening of 26 December 1962, cold weather and snow in and around Crewe had caused points to become frozen and trains were being detained at signals. About midway between Winsford and Crewe, the 13:30 Glasgow Central to London Euston Mid-Day Scot, hauled by an English Electric type 4 diesel, D215, with 13 coaches and 500 passengers, was stopped at a signal but the driver found the telephone to Coppenhall Junction, the next signal box ahead, out of order. Seeing the next signal ahead he decided to proceed down towards it and use the telephone there, but too fast. In the darkness he failed to notice the 16:45 express from Liverpool Lime Street to Birmingham New Street, hauled by an electric locomotive with eight coaches with 300 passengers, standing on the line ahead and collided with it at about 20 mph (32 km/h).

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Report on the Collision that occurred on 4th January 1969 between Paddock Wood and Marden" (PDF). Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 Kent and Sussex Courier. 10 January 1969. p. 15.{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. 1 2 3 "TRAIN CRASH". The Marden History Group. Archived from the original on 9 May 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 Kent and Sussex Courier. 10 January 1969. p. 16.{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. "Eye witness account of the train crash". The Marden History Group. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2010.