The Camp Mountain rail accident occurred at approximately 9:48am on 5 May 1947 when a crowded

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

train derailed on a sharp left-hand curve between Ferny Grove and Camp Mountain stations on the now-closed

Dayboro railway line The Ferny Grove railway line is a suburban railway line in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It is part of the Queensland Rail City network. History Based on initial surveys, in 1885 the Queensland Government plan ...

, approximately northwest of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, the state capital of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. The Camp Mountain train disaster is still the largest loss of life in a rail accident on the Queensland railway network with 16 fatalities, including both the driver and

fireman A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

of the train; 38 were injured.

History and background

A branch line was opened from the North Coast railway line at Mayne Junction (north of Bowen Hills station) to Enoggera in 1899, to Ferny Grove and Samford in 1918, finally reaching

Dayboro Dayboro is a rural town and locality in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Dayboro had a population of 2,119 people. Geography Dayboro Main Street 002 By 1908, banana growing in the Samford district had become one of the area's most important industries, and in 1926 and 1927, more bananas were sent from Samford railway station, just down from Camp Mountain, to Sydney and

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

than any other station in Queensland. This successful industry existed until the

banana bunchy top virus ''Banana bunchy top virus'' (BBTV) is a plant pathogenic virus of the family Nanoviridae known for infecting banana plants and other crops. It is aphid transmitted. Definition Banana bunchy top is a viral disease caused by a single-stranded ...

wiped out the crops in the early 1930s. Dairy farming and timber were other industries in the district and out to the end of the line at Dayboro, as well as the quarrying of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

at Camp Mountain, used in the foundations of Brisbane City Hall. Traffic on the Dayboro line by 1947 was light, with three weekly

mixed train A mixed train or mixed consist is a train that contains both passenger and freight cars or wagons. Although common in the early days of railways, by the 20th century they were largely confined to branch lines with little traffic. Typically, servic ...

services, a daily railmotor service, and another on Thursdays and Saturdays. Most suburban passenger services from

terminated at Mitchelton, with the occasional through service to Ferny Grove.

Picnic excursion

The train was chartered by the social and recreation club for employees of the

Department of Trade and Customs The Department of Trade and Customs was an Australian government department that existed between 1901 and 1956. It was one of the inaugural government departments of Australia established at federation. History The department was one of the fir ...

, who were travelling to a picnic venue at Closeburn to celebrate the Labour Day public holiday. The special train, service number E91, consisted of a 4-8-0 C17-class steam locomotive, No. 824, and six wooden suburban passenger carriages, Evans Cars numbered 740, 739, 742, 741, 743 and 744. It was one of a number of chartered trains to travel on the line on the day, conveying groups to numerous picnic locations in the scenic country area north-west of Brisbane. The service departed from

Roma Street railway station Roma Street railway station is located in the Brisbane central business district, Queensland, Australia. It is the junction station for the North Coast railway line, Queensland, North Coast, Main Line railway, Main, Gold Coast railway line, Go ...

at 8:50am, then Central railway station in Brisbane at 8:59am. It was estimated that the train carried 215 passengers, most of them Customs employees and their families for a family day out consisting of a picnic lunch with dancing and games of cricket.

Incident

After receiving

authority In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practiced in ways such a judicial branch or an executive branch of government.''The N ...

from

Ferny Grove railway station Ferny Grove railway station is the terminus station of the Ferny Grove line in Queensland, Australia. It serves the Brisbane suburb of Ferny Grove. The Brisbane Tramway Museum is a short walk south of the station. History The station opened ...

to enter the section of track to Samford, the train slowly climbed the Samford Range. Especially due to the hilly area, the speed limit on the Dayboro line at the time was on straight sections of track, and through curves. As the train descended Camp Mountain Knob, it suddenly picked up speed before the first curve, approximately after crossing the peak of the Samford Range. Carriages rocked dangerously, causing luggage to fall from overhead racks, lighting fixtures rattled, and women and children began screaming. The locomotive left the rails on a left-hand curve with a radius of six

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

s (approximately ) at an estimated speed of . The locomotive tipped onto its right side and ploughed into an embankment, the

coal tender A tender or coal-car (US only) is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing its fuel (wood, coal, oil or torrefied biomass) and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, so ...

upended, and water tank set free. The first carriage struck the water tank squarely, with the three leading passenger carriages telescoped into the wreckage; all of the front carriage and the two leading compartments of the second were destroyed, while the leading

bogie A bogie ( ) (in some senses called a truck in North American English) is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transp ...

of the third carriage derailed. The force of the accident was significant, causing the total length of the engine, coal tender, water tank and first three carriages to compress from , to . Damage to the trailing three carriages was minimal. The

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

of the train, Mr GE Evans, was sitting in the rear carriage, looking out of the left window. The force of the crash threw him into the corner of his compartment. He picked himself up after the train stopped, rushed to the top of the

cutting Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. Implements commonly used for wikt:cut, cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scal ...

beside the line as a vantage point to see what had happened, then returned to the carriage and applied the handbrake. He deemed that the time of the accident was 9:48am, after looking at his watch displaying 9:50am and allowing two minutes since the time of impact. Evans took the first aid kit from the Guard's compartment and passed it to a passenger towards the front of the train. He then took the breakdown kit, rushed back along the line passed and set three detonators and red flags to warn and stop the expected following train. The train's whistle sounded constantly after the accident, alerting locals of an incident having occurred. The first call to the headquarters of the Queensland Ambulance Service Transport Brigades was received at 10:08am, and in 70 minutes 18 cars and 26 men were on the scene. The fireman of the train, Mr Augustus, or Gussy Knight, as his workmates called him, from

Grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austral ...

, was killed instantly from being crushed by the wheels of the engine. The driver, Mr Charles Hind, 50, of

Woolloongabba Woolloongabba is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Woolloongabba had a population of 5,631 people. Geography Woolloongabba is located south of the CBD. It contains the Brisbane Cricket Ground ('the Gabba') and t ...

was alive, however pinned across the thighs and knees against the train's boiler in the cabin. Scalded with escaping steam, an ambulance officer gave Hind a syringe of the painkiller

morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...

, which he injected into himself. Driver Hind was only recently transferred to the Mayne Depot, had not driven trains on the line past Ferny Grove before, and was being tutored by Fireman Knight. A former employee of Queensland Government Railways who was on the following train, Mr Patrick Campbell, spoke to Hind when he was trapped. He asked what had happened, and Hind replied that he did not know the line he was driving on, and therefore would not have been entirely aware of the terrain and conditions. The driver died in hospital the next day.

Court inquiry

A Court Inquiry was held into the crash, headed by

Supreme Court of Queensland The Supreme Court of Queensland is the highest court in the Australian State of Queensland. It was formerly the Brisbane Supreme Court, in the colony of Queensland. The original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court allows its trial division to he ...

Judge, Sir

Alan Mansfield Sir Alan James Mansfield, (30 September 1902 – 17 July 1980) was an Australian barrister, judge, and the 18th Governor of Queensland, serving from 1966 until 1972. Early life Mansfield was born on 20 September 1902 in Brisbane, Queensland, wh ...

, and attended by railway experts, several passengers and local witnesses. The inquiry found that the driver had been rostered to drive a train on a line he had little knowledge of, and was driving the train with excessive speed. In his findings, Judge Mansfield said: The driver was charged with having the foremost accountability for the excessive speed the train was travelling at, with shared blame directed to both the fireman and guard. The cost of compensation for the deaths and injuries from the accident was £23,554.

Line closure

After the construction of Samford Road over the Samford Range after World War II, traffic on the Dayboro line declined, with a general shift to road transportation. The Dayboro line was closed beyond Ferny Grove in 1955 and the line in the vicinity of the accident site was converted into a sealed rural road, McLean Road South. The accident site is commemorated with a stone cairn and plaque on the northern side of McLean Road South, erected by the

Pine Rivers The Shire of Pine Rivers was a Local government in Australia, local government area about north of Brisbane in the Moreton Bay, Queensland, Moreton Bay region of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed as ...

council in 1988. Locomotive No. 824 from the accident was repaired and placed back into service, working around

South East Queensland South East Queensland (SEQ) is a bio-geographical, metropolitan, political and administrative region of the state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.8 million people out of the state's population of 5.1 million. T ...

. In 1958 it was transferred to

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...

, and withdrawn from service in May 1967, exactly 20 years after the disaster. At that point, as a donation to the Bungil Shire Council, it was towed to the South-Western Queensland town of Injune, approximately north-west of Brisbane, at the end of a branch line from Roma that had recently closed on 1 January 1967. It sits behind the town's ambulance station and a high fence, and is listed in a town map as an "historical steam train". The locomotive has incorrect numbers and

builder's plate A builder's plate is usually a metal plate that is attached to railway locomotives and rolling stock, bogies, construction equipment, trucks, automobiles, large household appliances, bridges, ships and more. It gives such information as the name of ...

s, as they were purchased by a

railway enthusiast A railfan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff or trainspotter (Australian/British English), or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally interested in trains and rail transport systems. Rail ...

when it was withdrawn from service. At 10:00am on 8 May 1947, memorial services were held at The Cathedral of St Stephen and

St John's Cathedral :''This list is for St. John the Evangelist Cathedrals. For St. John the Baptist Cathedrals, see St. John the Baptist Cathedral (disambiguation)'' St. John's Cathedral, St. John Cathedral, or Cathedral of St. John, or other variations on the name ...

. Seven victims of the disaster rest in five Brisbane cemeteries.

References

External links

* {{1947 railway accidents Railway accidents and incidents in Queensland 1947 in Australia Railway accidents in 1947 Moreton Bay Region Derailments in Australia 1940s in Queensland May 1947 events in Australia 1947 disasters in Australia