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An excursion train from Margate to Kentish Town derailed on a sharp curve at Eltham Well Hall station, Eltham, London. Statistics As he did not need to be on duty until the afternoon, Wilsdon joined his two brothers for lunch at around 12:55, the three travelling to a local pub where they stayed until closing time just after 14:00. Today. A diesel locomotive pulling ten coaches entered the curve which has a 20 mph speed restriction at 65 mph. This caused both coaches to overturn onto their right side, with the leading end of the second coach coming to a stand in front of the locomotive and the rear of the first coach, which in combination with the fourth coach, formed an "N" shape with the first four coaches. Most Wanted "The train was the diesel-hauled 20.05 Margate to Kentish Town excursion train and it comprised ten coaches, well filled with passengers returning from a day's outing at Margate. An excursion train from Margate to Kentish Town derailed on a sharp curve at Eltham Well Hall station, Eltham, London. Trying to gain Wilsdon's attention, he made two light applications ("splashes") of the guard's brake. Please see this explanation for further details. This was a very unusual action, particularly as he had made up almost seven minutes of the lost time. Despite this, Robertson felt that there was no severe issue with drinking amongst drivers on Britain's railways, with only two other accidents (one in 1913 and another in 1952) having occurred explicitly due to driver drunkenness in the sixty years prior to the accident, and as such he believed that it was a combination of railway staff's thoughts and self-discipline for drivers' behaviour with alcohol. The locomotive jumped the sharp curve, derailing and rolling onto its left side and sliding through a coal yard. Running slightly late and at Wilsdon's urging, the pair returned to Ramsgate Depot at around 19:40. In the cab, Stokes later recalled that Wilsdon had suddenly shouted in a frightened way at the sight of the curve approaching, to which Stokes immediately braced himself in the seconds that he had available. Although it was agreed that the signalling played no part in the collision, it was later agreed that the signals around Eltham Well Hall would be redesigned to slow a train to round the curve rather than remain at green, which would mean it would be less likely a driver would be caught by surprise with the curve. Again, he was off-duty at the time and the British Rail was not informed of this occurrence until April. The crash happened at around 3.30pm today (May 23). In contrast, Stokes claimed that Wilsdon mentioned drinking some sherry when they met at Ramsgate. [2], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}512719N 00301E / 51.45536N 0.05019E / 51.45536; 0.05019, Events prior to Wilsdon arriving at Ramsgate, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen, "Railway crash driver survived dismissal", "Accident at Eltham Well Hall on 11th June 1972", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eltham_Well_Hall_rail_crash&oldid=1142297435, This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 16:48. Copyright Info, Accident at Eltham Well Hall on 11th June 1972. The Eltham Well Hall rail crash was an accident on the British railway system that occurred on 11 June 1972 at approximately 21:35. At the subsequent public inquiry it was revealed that Wilsdon had been intoxicated by alcohol. Having been in operation for ninety years, today there is no trace of this station having ever existed, the site having fallen foul to a road widening scheme. The first occurred on 7 November 1961, when Wilsdon had been charged 150 for being Drunk and disorderly, causing damage to a shop window and assaulting a Police constable whilst off-duty. It came to a stand laying parallel with the locomotive, having jack-knifed and pushed slightly around so the leading cab was facing back towards the line and the rear cab was pointing away from the track. Guard Atterbury was 57 and had been a guard since 1948 and was based at London Bridge and although he had worked the Bexleyheath line before, he had never done so on a fast train. It was written by Col. J. R. H. Robertson. The Eltham Well Hall rail crash was an accident on the British railway system that occurred on 11 June 1972 at approximately 21:35. Pin on Eltham and Environs - Pinterest He subsequently gave Wilsdon a stern reprimand and advised him that such behaviour was not acceptable. Report on the Derailment that occurred on 11th June 1972 at Eltham (Well Hall) Station in the Southern Region British Railways Document Summary The report into the derailment at Eltham in 1972, caused by the intoxicated driver taking a sharp curve at excessive speed. Both Wilsdon and his colleague were reinstated on 18 December 1961, with Wilsdon being promoted to driver less than a week later on 25 December with his transfer to Hither Green. A public inquiry carried out into the cause of the accident was launched on 12 June 1972 by Colonel John R.H. Robertson that looked into the cause of the derailment. An excursion train from Margate to Kentish Town derailed on a sharp curve at Eltham Well Hall station, Eltham, London. It also meant that his Supervisors at Hither Green would not see him in person. Well Hall was located exactly nine miles from Charing Cross upon an 86-chain curve, descending at 1 in 120 in the London direction. His suspension in 1961 was considered a warning sign of Wilsdon's alcoholic tendencies but it was agreed that at the time there was no evidence to disprove Wilsdon's statements that he would better himself and not drink again. This document was published on 1st June 1973 by Department of the Environment. Photograph by Press Association, 1972. The second excursion train, scheduled to leave Margate at 20:05 was to be crewed by Driver Wilsdon, Secondman P.E. He stated that he was thoroughly ashamed and that he had been celebrating a promotion to the position of Passed Fireman with his colleague who greatly assisted him. Stokes and Guard H. Atterbury. The train was an excursion for Kentish Town-based railway employees of the London Midland Region and their families. The public inquiry into the accident eleven years later agreed that this incident was a seemingly isolated occurrence and all had reason to believe Wilsdon; the Line Manager who reinstated the two was not criticised for this approach, although some criticism was given to the Management in 1961 for promoting Wilsdon so quickly after being reinstated. Please consider donating to help with our running costs. Pictures by my father, Reg Godsave. An excursion train returning from Margate came off the track on the sharp curve outside the station. The same design came into use at all three stations: a single-storey red brick structure with a hipped tiled roof, complemented with an upward-sloping canopy with plain valance. News Stories This accident has been the subject of a published formal accident investigation, which you will find below. Your author surmises it was during this incident that the up side platform canopy was damaged.