Interesting. I came across your discussion and the BBC» article when trying to find the date of this incident, which was back in 1984. I have many photos of the rail crash on the goods line as I was one of the local civil engineers responsible for getting the mess cleared up, which took several months. Although the signalman succeeded in diverting the container wagons onto the goods line, they were doing about 60mph as they hit the first curve with its 20mph speed restriction and underbridge. The wagons and parts of the track were thrown into the air when the engine-less train derailed and hit the parapet walls pushing the bridge off its bearings and into the river. Various 60 foot pieces of rail were hurled javelin style into the air and pierced local warehouse buildings and many of the containers. One container was full of unbonded Guinness and another wagon contained Octel (an anti-knocking and highly explosive additive for gasoline). The clearing up works included diverting the river and evacuating local residents while the UK▸ 's largest crane lifted the debris and containers out of the river and over the roofs of the local buildings. I^m pleased to see that the local signalman was recognized for his quick thinking. The ^word on the track^ at the time was that he was disciplined for not following procedures, which would have been to let the train continue into and then out of the station and come to a stop gently at the north side of the station!
|