Derailment Swanage Railway (12-5-24)

[AndyPJG]

BBC News-Dorset

Heritage train derails at summer festival
A heritage train has derailed during an annual summer gala and beer festival.
The ex-British Rail Class 50 locomotive was on the back of a six-carriage passenger train when it partially derailed at Castle Corfe station at around 18:30 GMT on Saturday.
Services on the Swanage Railway heritage line were suspended briefly afterwards.
No passengers were injured and no damage was sustained to the carriages of the train, said the railway company.
The incident involving the 115-ton heritage diesel locomotive "Indomitable", built in 1968, happened on the second day of the annual three-day gala which is in its 17th year.
Seven of the nine engines featuring in the event travelled via the mainline railway network.
Organisers say the classic locomotives tell the story of the transition from steam to diesel trains in the 1960s.
The Swanage Railway said it had informed the government's Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB), which is investigating the cause.
Chairman Gavin Johns said the line's planned train services for Sunday had been altered.
“There will be 11 trains operating but they will only be running on the five and a half miles of line between Swanage, Corfe Castle and Norden – not beyond Norden on the four miles of line to the River Frome,” he said.
Mr Johns added that the return of the Jurassic Crompton rail tour from Swanage to Eastleigh and London Waterloo, "via our main line connection near the River Frome", would still take place on Sunday afternoon.

 

[Iskra]

Credit to the railway and all involved for getting it re-railed so quickly

 

[12LDA28C]

Not the most successful of weekends for the Class 50s attending the gala.

 

[31160]

Not the most successful of weekends for the Class 50s attending the gala.

Err no,I wouldn't say so no

 

[DarloRich]

should have got a Deltic...........

( what happened to the class 50's then>)

 

[31160]

should have got a Deltic...........

( what happened to the class 50's then>)

021 burst on Friday and 026 subbed in then derailed at corfe Saturday evening

 

[DarloRich]

021 burst on Friday and 026 subbed in then derailed at corfe Saturday evening

oh. Fairly standard late period class 50 performance/availability then

 

[DelW]

oh. Fairly standard late period class 50 performance/availability then

They're evidently aiming for maximum authenticity!

 

[fgwrich]

They're evidently aiming for maximum authenticity!

They did… 33 sent to rescue the service on Friday evening

 

[Ashley Hill]

Any idea how it derailed? Was it over a set of points or plain line? Any photos?

 

[Titfield]

Any idea how it derailed? Was it over a set of points or plain line? Any photos?

Swanage News Derailment Story

There is a report and some pictures (including one of a buckled rail) on the Swanage news website

 

[AndyPJG]

Any idea how it derailed? Was it over a set of points or plain line? Any photos?

Swanage News Derailment Story

There is a report and some pictures (including one of a buckled rail) on the Swanage news website

The photo of the buckled rail appears to show a pair of tie bars at that point (to maintain gauge perhaps?).

 

[Ashley Hill]

Swanage News Derailment Story

There is a report and some pictures (including one of a buckled rail) on the Swanage news website

Thanks. Some interesting marks on the top of the right hand rail opposite the buckling. Perhaps more than two tie bars were required.

 

[norbitonflyer]

Any idea how it derailed? Was it over a set of points or plain line? Any photos?

From the photos it would appear to have just passed over a set of points.

 

[WagonLocoCrew]

Points look fine, for facing moves the points as this was, they will be required to be locked in position.

Appears to just have been the plain rail at fault, particularly given the use of the tie bars.

 

[43096]

oh. Fairly standard late period class 50 performance/availability then

Someone with a Deltic photo on their profile is in no position to poke fun about unreliability.

 

[Western Sunset]

The 50, with its train, was heading towards the points, so nothing to do with them. The weather was quite hot; maybe some buckling of the nearside section of plain line?

 

[racyrich]

The 50, with its train, was heading towards the points, so nothing to do with them. The weather was quite hot; maybe some buckling of the nearside section of plain line?

Really? The newspaper article says it was on the back of the train. Although it does seem to be next to a 33 in the train.

 

[Western Sunset]

I stand corrected, but usually up trains use that platform at Corfe and head towards that set of points.

 

[paul1609]

Points look fine, for facing moves the points as this was, they will be required to be locked in position.

Appears to just have been the plain rail at fault, particularly given the use of the tie bars.

I reckon the tie bars are part of the recovery effort. The locknut doesnt appear to be done up on the one furthest away.

 

[railfan99]

The weather was quite hot; maybe some buckling of the nearside section of plain line?

What temperature was it?

 

[paul1609]

What temperature was it?

22 deg C (in tenterden)

 

[Deepgreen]

The 50, with its train, was heading towards the points, so nothing to do with them. The weather was quite hot; maybe some buckling of the nearside section of plain line?

Seems unlikely as it wasn't searingly hot (21C-ish?), and the joined track is far less prone to heat stress buckling than CWR.

22 deg C (in tenterden)

That's well over 100 miles away...

I stand corrected, but usually up trains use that platform at Corfe and head towards that set of points.

I had heard that the 50 was at the rear, and using the up platform for a down train is a signalled move, so it's possible either is correct. The loco's name has proved ironic as it was not 'Indomitable'!

 

[Ash Bridge]

I’ve not seen any reference up thread so my apologies if someone has already mentioned this, but its got to be said that the BBC and other media outlets covering this story should be congratulated for once in the near 100% accuracy of the description of the locomotive involved. Perhaps the credit should actually go to a detailed press release from the Swanage Railway? but at least on this occasion the journalists seemed to have not dumbed the story down as is often the case nowadays.

 

[Deepgreen]

I’ve not seen any reference up thread so my apologies if someone has already mentioned this, but its got to be said that the BBC and other media outlets covering this story should be congratulated for once in the near 100% accuracy of the description of the locomotive involved. Perhaps the credit should actually go to a detailed press release from the Swanage Railway? but at least on this occasion the journalists seemed to have not dumbed the story down as is often the case nowadays.

True. It's a sad reflection on our media that accuracy is a noteworthy event!

 

[Tom]

The 50, with its train, was heading towards the points, so nothing to do with them. The weather was quite hot; maybe some buckling of the nearside section of plain line?

The 50 was in the process of being attached to the rear of the train. The train affected was the 1815 Norden to Swanage on Saturday evening.

 

[Ash Bridge]

True. It's a sad reflection on our media that accuracy is a noteworthy event!

Indeed!

 

[Titfield]

Really? The newspaper article says it was on the back of the train. Although it does seem to be next to a 33 in the train.

Swanage Railway was topping and tailing services on the Friday and Saturday of the diesel gala. This is because there is no run round facility at the Frome River branch (the extent of SRC's track before it becomes Network Rail) where most services were running to and from. Some services were terminating at Corfe Castle Station so the up platform was on occasion being used in the down direction.

 

[Goldfish62]

the joined track is far less prone to heat stress buckling than CWR.

Completely wrong, but that's for a separate discussion.