Salisbury rail crash

The railway accident in Salisbury on July 1, 1906 was caused by excessive speed of a Boat Train, the Plymouth to London Waterloo Station was traveling from Plymouth Friary railway station and derailed shortly after passing the station of Salisbury in a tight corner. 28 people died in the accident. , Others were injured. Among the victims were 24 of the 43 passengers, driver and stoker of the Boat Trains, a brakeman and the train driver of an oncoming freight train.

Framework

The trackage of Salisbury comes from the early days of the railroad. The platforms are in a strong curvature of a reverse curve with a radius of about 160 m joins, which could be traveled before the accident, with a maximum of 48 km / h.

Boat Trains on this route express trains, all stations between Plymouth and London went without traffic stop and only kept for a change of locomotives in Templecombe. They were the only trains that went through the Salisbury train station without stopping.

The accident

The train was traveling at night. He had left late in the evening of the 30th June 1906 in Plymouth and passed the Salisbury train station on July 1, 1906 to 1:50. Instead of the prescribed speed of the train driver went through the station and the curves at a speed of approximately 120 km / h The reasons for this could never be solved:

• Day of the accident, a locomotive of the newer series LSWR L12 was biased opposite the LSWR T9 otherwise used had a higher center of gravity.
• The driver drove for the first time a Boat Train and thus without stopping by the Salisbury train station.
• Behind the curve exit the station Salisbury began a slope. It was common for drivers for it took a " start-up ".
• Time of the accident was between the London and South Western Railway and the Great Western Railway, a violent competition for traffic between Plymouth and London to cargo and passengers from overseas. The staff of the railway companies delivered himself - tolerated by the Directorates - veritable race to lose any passengers to the competition.

The locomotive tipped in the tight curve of the track, grazed an oncoming freight train smashed a bridge pier and finally bumped into a standing behind the bridge steam locomotive. The first passenger car of the train was shattered by the inertia of the following cars on the locomotive, the second bounced off the support of the bridge, the third was destroyed by the final car, which was in turn without major damage.

Follow

The permissible speed in the curve was halved. To date, they may be used only with 24 km / h. In addition, now every train had to stop before the Salisbury train station.