Lewisham rail crash

On the evening of 4 December 1957, two trains crashed in dense fog on the South Eastern main line near Lewisham in south-east London, causing the death of 90 people and injuring 173. An electric train to Hayes had stopped at a signal under the bridge, and the following steam train to Ramsgate crashed into it, destroying a carriage and causing the bridge to collapse onto the steam train. The bridge had to be completely removed and it was over a week before the lines under the bridge were reopened, and another month before the bridge was rebuilt and traffic allowed over it.

Lewisham rail crash
The rail-over-rail bridge being dismantled
Details
Date	4 December 1957
Location	near St Johns
Coordinates	51°28′03.3″N 0°01′09.3″W
Country	England
Line	South Eastern Main Line
Operator	British Railways
Cause	Signal passed at danger
Statistics
Trains	2
Deaths	90
Injured	173
List of UK rail accidents by year

The driver of the Ramsgate train was acquitted of manslaughter charges after two trials. The Ministry of Transport report found that he had failed to slow down after passing two caution signals, so he was unable to stop at the danger signal, concluding that the use of an Automatic Warning System would have prevented the collision.

Collision

On the evening of 4 December 1957 there was heavy fog in the London area and trains were running late. The 5:18 pm Charing Cross to Hayes, comprising electric multiple units totalling 10 carriages and carrying nearly 1,500 passengers, stopped at a danger signal at Parks Bridge Junction on the South Eastern main line, under a bridge carrying rail tracks over the line.[1] Trains were running out of order because of the fog and the Parks Bridge Junction signalman wished to speak to the driver by the telephone at the signal to confirm the train's identity and destination.[2] At approximately 6:20 pm it was struck from behind by a train from Cannon Street to Ramsgate via Folkestone, consisting of Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 no. 34066 Spitfire, hauling 11 coaches carrying about 700 passengers and travelling at about 30 miles per hour (48 km/h). While the rearmost two carriages of the Hayes train sustained moderate damage, the eighth coach was telescoped and destroyed by the ninth coach. The collision also threw the tender and leading coach of the Ramsgate train off the track, dislodging a pier of the bridge, causing it to fall and crush two coaches. Two minutes later a train due to pass over the bridge stopped short, although its leading coach was tilted.[1]

There were 90 fatalities and a large number of people were taken to hospital, of whom 109 were admitted.[1] To this day, it is the third worst railway accident in the United Kingdom, surpassed only by Harrow and Wealdstone (1952) and Quintinshill (1915).

Aftermath

The first emergency response arrived at 6:25 pm with the Fire Brigade, Ambulance and Police being assisted by doctors and nurses. Help was accepted from the Salvation Army, the Women's Voluntary Service, St John Ambulance Brigade and local residents. By 10:30 pm all of the injured had been taken to hospital.[1]

All four of the running lines under the bridge and the two over it were blocked. At St Johns station just north of the bridge the North Kent line diverges, but this needed to be closed and the traction current switched off during the rescue. An emergency timetable started at 6:10 am the following day, with local trains travelling through Lewisham, avoiding the accident, and main-line services diverted to Victoria, another London terminus.[3]

At 4:00 pm on 9 December the trains and the fallen bridge had been cut up and removed. The track then had to be relaid and the lines under the bridge were reopened at 5:00 am on 12 December. A temporary bridge was built and the overhead line was reopened at 6:00 am on 13 January.[3]

Coroner's inquest and trial

The jury at the inquest declared by majority that the deaths were due to gross negligence but the coroner rejected the verdict and substituted one of accidental death.[4] The driver of the Ramsgate train was then tried for manslaughter, but the jury could not reach a verdict. He was acquitted at a second trial.[1]

Civil action for psychological injury

Henry Chadwick, a member of the public who assisted at the accident, successfully sued the British Railways Board for the "nervous shock" he experienced. The case, Chadwick v British Railways Board, an important precedent for 30 years,[5] was partly overruled by White v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire, 1999 2 A.C. 455.[6]

Report

Memorial to the train crash on the wall of the station

The Ministry of Transport report on the collision was published in 1958. Witnesses were interviewed, the visibility of the signals on the line examined, and tests showed no fault in the signalling equipment.[7] The report found that the driver had not slowed for two caution signals, and applied the brakes only after the fireman had called to him that he had passed a danger signal. Although he had poor visibility of signals from the driver's seat, he did not cross over to see them, or ask the fireman to look for them.[8]

The report concluded that an "Automatic Train Control of the Warning type" would have prevented the collision. Although installation had been agreed after the Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash in 1952, priority was being given to main-line routes controlled by semaphore signals.[9] The poor visibility of signals from the steam locomotive, Battle of Britain class No. 34066,[10] was mentioned with a recommendation that they be fitted with wider windscreens.[11]

Legacy

The collapsed bridge was replaced by a temporary military trestle structure, still in use.[12]

A plaque at Lewisham railway station commemorates the accident.[13]

References

Notes

1. Langley 1958, p. 1.
2. Langley 1958, p. 10.
3. Langley 1958, p. 2.
4. "Negligence Seen In Rail Deaths; Coroner Balks". Globe and Mail. 1 January 1958. p. 2.
5. Woolfson 2015.
6. Giliker. Tort (4th ed.). pp. 4–036.
7. Langley 1958, pp. 19, 21-22.
8. Langley 1958, pp. 22–23.
9. Langley 1958, pp. 23–24.
10. Langley 1958, second diagram at end of report.
11. Langley 1958, p. 25.
12. http://www.londonreconnections.com/2013/st-johns-part-2-world-war-ii-to-the-current-day/
13. Lewisham train disaster: London Remembers, Aiming to capture all memorials in London Retrieved 2017-07-10.

Bibliography

• Langley, Brig. C.A. (1958). Report on the collision which occurred on 4th December 1957 near St Johns station, Lewisham (PDF) (Report). Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
• Woolfson, A. (2015). "Chadwick v British Transport Commission [1967] 2 All ER 945". The London Law Map. Retrieved 16 February 2015.

Further reading

• Hamilton., J.A.B. (1967). British Railway Accidents of the 20th Century (reprinted as Disaster down the Line). George Allen and Unwin / Javelin Books. ISBN 978-0-7137-1973-4.
• Nock, O.S. (1980). Historic Railway Disasters (2nd ed.). Ian Allan.
• Rolt, L.T.C. (1956). Red for Danger. Bodley Head / David and Charles / Pan Books.
• Vaughan, Adrian (1989). Obstruction Danger. Guild Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85260-055-6.
• Tatlow, Peter (2007). Lewisham St John's 50 Years on: Restoring the Traffic. Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0853616696.
• Robert C Turner (1990) Black Clouds and White Feathers Chapter 8 Five Miles and 4 Seconds to Disaster Oxford Publishing Co ISBN 0-86093-457-8

External links

• An account of the Lewisham train crash from a passenger : Video Interview
• The London Law Map: Chadwick v British Transport Commission 1967 2 All ER 945