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People in Somerset are commemorating the day, 30 years ago, when 13 passengers were killed in a fire on a sleeper train in Taunton.

The train was travelling from Penzance to Paddington, in London, when it came to a halt at Fairwater Close in Taunton in the early hours of 6 July 1978.

The fire was caused by laundry which was stacked against an electric heater.

Firefighters arrived within four minutes but were slowed down by internal and external locked doors.

See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/7490245.stm

See also http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/6/newsid_2495000/2495703.stm

See also http://www.bbc.co.uk/somerset/content/articles/2008/07/04/train_fire_anniversary_feature.shtml

I can actually say I have had the pleasure of working with both the driver and the guard involved with that sleeper fire. Both good lads, sadly the driver is no longer alive.

Morning

You may be interested in this site for some info
and pics:

http://www.tauntontrains.co.uk/MEMORIES.htm

Scroll down under info regarding D1071.

Regards

Karl.

Today, 6th July 2018, marks the 40th anniversary of the fire on board an overnight sleeper from Cornwall to London. A disaster that claimed 12 lives.

The train was halted just outside Taunton station after the fire took hold in linen that had been stored next to a heater. Smoke and locked doors hampered rescue efforts, many of those who died succumbed to smoke inhalation.

Official report: http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docsummary.php?docID=396

BBC Points West lunchtime news has a report on the anniversary. This will likely be on the evening news too.

Thank you for posting to bring this to our attention.

Will also be on the late news tonight from BBC Spotlight in Plymouth.

Very sad, I remember it well, which makes me feel very old.

A contributory cause of the disaster was the use of electric train heat, rather than steam heat.
Had the bags of linen been piled against a steam heater, no fire would have occurred since nothing can get hotter than the steam supply which is typically only slightly above 100 degrees.

If bags of linen are piled against an electric heater, then in the absence of any suitable and functioning safety device, it will het hotter and hotter until a fire is started.

IIRC after the disaster it was revealed that a number of near misses had occurred with bags of used linen arriving at the laundry scorched or partially burnt. Tragically this was only considered as being a loss of the linen, rather than as being a warning of a narrow escape from a fatal fire.

On this day - 6th July (1978)

I have added a mirrored copy of the official report for forum members at
http://www.passenger.chat/mirror/DoT_Taunton1978.pdf

Thanks for that additional link, grahame.  :)

I'm rather embarrassed that I had completely forgotten that very sad incident - even though I started this topic.

Those links to the BBC site still work and I recommend a look at them for some more detail.  It must have been a shocking early morning incident for everyone involved to deal with.

CfN  :o

When this occurred, I had left the big railway, and was busy re-opening the WSR.  One of the more human management who I was acquainted with in Westbury days had recently moved on promotion to Area Management at Taunton, and we were often in touch.  It was his on-the-spot job to deal with this tragedy.  I didn't envy him at all.

I remember seeing the affected sleeping cars in the loco yard at Taunton, covered by tarpaulins.  Shook me rigid to see them