A close relative of mine will be using this line for a daily commute
(poor sod seeing the state of the EMU's in use).

Just out of curiosity I believe that there haven't been any serious
accidents on this line for very many years , well as long as I can
remember since around the early to mid 50's!. Anyone can confirm this
please?....
-- 
Tony Sayer

On Wed, 21 Sep 2005 09:04:02 +0100 someone who may be tony sayer
 wrote this:-


>Just out of curiosity I believe that there haven't been any serious
>accidents on this line for very many years , well as long as I can
>remember since around the early to mid 50's!. Anyone can confirm this
>please?....


Without wishing to tempt fate, nothing leaps into my brain. The
nearest spectacular crash (above ground) seems to my brain to be at
Witham a hundred years ago.

However, places in the deep south are now much of a muchness to me
and I may be more wrong than usual:-) The crash at Potters Bar may
closer and ISTR this involved a train going to Cambridge, but by
another route.


-- 
 David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
 I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
 prevents me by using the RIP Act 2000.

In message , at 18:17:04 on 
Wed, 21 Sep 2005, David Hansen  
remarked:

>Without wishing to tempt fate, nothing leaps into my brain. The
>nearest spectacular crash (above ground) seems to my brain to be at
>Witham a hundred years ago.


There was an ammunition train that derailed in Chelmsford Station about 
30 years ago. Wasn't as spectacular as it would have been, had it blown 
up!


>However, places in the deep south are now much of a muchness to me
>and I may be more wrong than usual:-) The crash at Potters Bar may
>closer and ISTR this involved a train going to Cambridge, but by
>another route.


Chelmsford/Witham and Potters Bar (or indeed Hatfield) are roughly 
equidistant from the Cambridge to Liverpool St line.

-- 
Roland Perry

"Roland Perry"  wrote

>
> There was an ammunition train that derailed in Chelmsford Station about
> 30 years ago. Wasn't as spectacular as it would have been, had it blown
> up!
>

Closer to Cambridge was the ammunition train that did explode at Soham in
1944, though heroic work by the driver and fireman averted an even greater
catastrophe. The George Cross was awarded to Driver Gimbert and posthumously
to Fireman Nightall. Signalman Bridges was also killed in the explosion.

Peter

tony sayer wrote:

> A close relative of mine will be using this line for a daily commute
> (poor sod seeing the state of the EMU's in use).


Only the 3173xx units are really bad. The 3176xx units are perfectly
acceptable, if a bit overcrowded.


> Just out of curiosity I believe that there haven't been any serious
> accidents on this line for very many years , well as long as I can
> remember since around the early to mid 50's!. Anyone can confirm this
> please?....


There was an accident at Bethnal Green in the 1960s/70s(?) caused by a
technician knocking an open control relay (or similar) with a stick
resulting in the points moving under a train.

In 2003(?) a 317 was derailed at low speed entering Cheshunt with a
down train. The driver had been authorised passed the signal due to a
TC failure but the signaller forgot to set the switch diamonds normal
following the passage of an Up Southbury Loop train. Line was shut for
a couple of days.

Anyway, I hope the line remains accident free and safe - I commute on
it twice a day!

regards
HN28

In article ,
hn28_signal@yahoo.co.uk writes

>tony sayer wrote:
>> A close relative of mine will be using this line for a daily commute
>> (poor sod seeing the state of the EMU's in use).
>
>Only the 3173xx units are really bad. 


Yes the few times I use that route I always seem to get lumbered with
one that looks like its just discharged a bunch of footex hooligans;!..


>The 3176xx units are perfectly
>acceptable, if a bit overcrowded.
>
>> Just out of curiosity I believe that there haven't been any serious
>> accidents on this line for very many years , well as long as I can
>> remember since around the early to mid 50's!. Anyone can confirm this
>> please?....
>
>There was an accident at Bethnal Green in the 1960s/70s(?) caused by a
>technician knocking an open control relay (or similar) with a stick
>resulting in the points moving under a train.
>
>In 2003(?) a 317 was derailed at low speed entering Cheshunt with a
>down train. The driver had been authorised passed the signal due to a
>TC failure but the signaller forgot to set the switch diamonds normal
>following the passage of an Up Southbury Loop train. Line was shut for
>a couple of days.
>
>Anyway, I hope the line remains accident free and safe - I commute on
>it twice a day!


How "do" you cope with that;!....

>
>regards
>HN28
>


-- 
Tony Sayer

tony sayer wrote:

> >Anyway, I hope the line remains accident free and safe - I commute on
> >it twice a day!
>
> How "do" you cope with that;!....


When you do a 2 hour each way cross-London commute, you block out many
things and travel on auto-pilot.

On one WA, I am travelling contra-peak, and tend to eat breakfast and
read Metro on the way to work, and sleep or read almost every railway
magazine going on the way home.

Failing that, catch up with my email on the PDA.

regards
HN28

> Just out of curiosity I believe that there haven't been any serious
> accidents on this line for very many years , well as long as I can
> remember since around the early to mid 50's!. Anyone can confirm this
> please?....
> --
> Tony Sayer


My dad was a Driver based at Hertford East. He had about three or four
low speed derailments (from about the 1960s onwards)at Hertford,
Chingford and on the Buntingford Branch, that he told me about.

Since he died, its been mentioned that he came off doing about 70mph
down the Lea Valley line somewhere in an EMU(nobody hurt as far as I
know).

He never mentioned it to me at all so I don't know how true it is.
Dunno if anyone else knows of this incident. Would have been either the
1960s or 1970s...

Another incident he did mention which happened to one of his colleagues
was a unit hitting a fire engine on a unmanned level crossing
somewhere, I believe fatally.