The Buttevant Rail Disaster was a train crash that occurred on 1 August 1980 at

Buttevant Buttevant ( or ''Ecclesia Tumulorum'' in the Latin) is a medieval market town, incorporated by charter of Edward III of England, Edward III, situated in North County Cork, Ireland. While there may be reason to suggest that the town may occup ...

Railway Station,

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, from

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

on the main line to

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

. More than 70 people were injured, and 18 died, in one of Ireland's worst rail disasters.

The accident

At 12:45pm the 10:00am Dublin (Heuston) to Cork (Kent) express train entered Buttevant station carrying 230

bank holiday A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or held ...

passengers. The train was diverted off the main line across a 1:8 temporary

set of points A railroad switch (), turnout, or ''set ofpoints () is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another, such as at a railway junction or where a spur or siding branches off. The most common ty ...

into a

siding Siding may refer to: * Siding (construction), the outer covering or cladding of a house * Siding (rail) A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch l ...

. The locomotive remained upright but the carriages immediately behind the

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

and generator van jack-knifed and were thrown across four sets of rail lines. Two

coaches Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

and the

dining car A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. It is distinct from other railroad food service cars that ...

were totally demolished by the impact. This resulted in the deaths of 18 people and over 70 people being injured. The accident happened because a set of manual facing points were set to direct the train into the siding. These points had been installed about four months previously and were not connected to the signal cabin. The permanent way maintenance staff were expecting a stationary locomotive at the Up platform to move into the siding and had set the points for the diversion to the siding without obtaining permission from the signalman. Upon seeing that this had been done, the

signalman A signalman is a person who historically made signals using flags and light. In modern times, the role of signalmen has evolved and now usually uses electronic communication equipment. Signalmen usually work in rail transport networks, armed for ...

at Buttevant manually set the signals to the Danger aspect and informed the

pointsman A switchman (North America) or pointsman (British Isles) is a rail transport worker whose original job was to operate various railway switches or points on a railroad. It also refers to a person who assists in moving cars in a railway yard or ...

to reset the points. The train was travelling too fast to stop in time. The derailment occurred at around . Local doctor Finnbarr Kennedy was nearby at the time of the crash, waiting to cross the line, and was able to give aid to those injured.

The train

The train consisted of 071 Class locomotive number 075, a generator van and 11 coaches. Six of the coaches had wooden bodies on steel underframes. Four of these were either destroyed or badly damaged, the two which survived being at the rear of the train. The remainder of the coaches were light-alloy

Cravens Cravens Railway Carriage and Wagon Company Limited was a railway rolling stock builder in the Darnall district of Sheffield, England. Founded by brothers named Craven and known as Craven Brothers, later Cravens Limited, it remained a family busi ...

stock; most of which survived the crash. The generator van, a modified BR Mark 1, was severely damaged. All of the vehicles were coupled using screw shackle couplings. *Locomotive 075 (1976), front plates damaged *Generator/boiler & guards van, No. 3191 (1971), severely damaged *Open 1st class, / timber body No. 1145 (1963), body destroyed *Buffet car / timber body No. 2408 (1953), body destroyed *Self-service car / timber body No. 2412 (1954), body destroyed *Standard carriage / plywood body No. 1491 (1961), badly damaged *Standard craven / light alloy frame No. 1529 (1964), badly damaged *Standard craven / light alloy frame No. 1527 (1964), body damaged *Standard craven / light alloy frame No. 1508 (1964), both ends damaged *Standard craven / light alloy frame No. 1542 (1965), one end damaged *Standard craven / light alloy frame No. 1541 (1965), no damage *Open standard / timber body No. 1365 (1953), no damage *Standard class and brake van / timber body No. 1936 (1959), no damage

Aftermath

This event, and the subsequent Cherryville junction accident, which killed a further seven people, accounted for 70% of all Irish rail deaths over a 28-year period.

CIÉ Córas Iompair Éireann (''Irish Transport Company''), or CIÉ, is a statutory corporation of Ireland, answerable to the Irish Government and responsible for most public transport within the republic and jointly with its Northern Ireland counte ...

and the Government came under severe public pressure to improve safety and to modernise the fleet. A major review of the national rail safety policy was held and resulted in the rapid elimination of the wooden-bodied coaches that had formed part of the train. The passengers who were most severely injured or killed were seated in coaches with wooden frames. This structure was incapable of withstanding a high-speed crash and did not come near to the safety standards provided by modern (post-1950s) metal-body coaches. The expert bodies that reviewed the accident discovered that the old timber-frame carriage bodies mounted on a steel frame were totally inadequate as they were prone to complete collapse (the "accordion" effect) under the enormous compression forces of a high-speed collision. While the steel underbody remained structurally intact, other carriages could "mount" the frame, completely compress and destroy the wooden frame body. The more modern steel-framed carriage bodies remained intact due to their greater structural rigidity. On this basis, the decision was quickly made to purchase a new fleet of modern intercity coaches based on the

British Rail Mark 3 The British Rail Mark 3 is a type of passenger carriage developed in response to growing competition from airlines and the car in the 1970s. A variant of the Mark 3 became the rolling stock for the High Speed Train (HST). Originally conceive ...

design. The Mark 3's longitudinally corrugated roof can survive compression forces of over 300 tonnes. These coaches, of an already well-proven design, were built by BREL in Derby, England and, under licence, at CIÉ's own workshops at Inchicore in Dublin between 1983 and 1989.

Commemoration

On 8 August 2005, a commemoration marking the 25th anniversary of the accident was held at the station. A bronze sculpture in the shape of two crossing train tracks was unveiled alongside a plaque commemorating the names of the victims.
List of names of people who died in the Buttevant train crash
1. Eileen Redmond, aged 66, Leinster Terrace Wexford 2. Patrick Larkin, aged 77, of 18 Parkview West, Templemore, Co Tipperary 3. Sr. De Lourdes O’ Brien, aged 68, of Convent of Jesus and Mary Gortnor Abbey, Crossmolina, Co. Mayo 4. Sr. Mary Stanislaus Kelleher, aged 63, of Convent of Jesus and Mary Gortnor Abbey, Crossmolina, Co. Mayo 5. Bruce Woodworth, aged 36, of Carrighoun, Old Court, Rochestown, Cork 6. Seamus Coffey, aged 27, of Monalea Estate, Tallaght, Co. Dublin 7. Timothy McCarthy, aged 56, of Hansboror Road, Wellington Road, Cork, who was the train guard. 8. Sr. Margaret Mary O’ Donoghue, aged 68, of Sister of Providence in the Rosinian Convent, Leicester, England 9. Margaret Devlin, aged 29, of St. Josephe’s Villas, Athlone, Co. Westmeath 10. John O’Connor, aged 50, of Greenfield Avoca Avenue, Blackrock, Co. Dublin 11. Mark Barron, aged 18, of Palmerstown Avenue, Palmerstown, Co. Dublin 12. Patrick Alan George, aged 25, of 22 Rue Docteur Mazel, Grenoble, France. A native of Middlesex, he had been attached to the staff of the Institute Lauclangeview, Grenoble, for three years 13. Albin Zainer, age 50s, of 1050 Brandmayergasse, Vienna 14. Maria Anna Zainer, wife of Albin Zainer, age 50s, of 1050 Brandmayergasse, Vienna 15. Gertrude Bertha Unterberger, aged 71, of Box 690, R.D., 4 East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, USA 16. Virgil John Livingston, aged 70, of 13030 Mitchwin Road, Mitchwin Road, Dallas, Texas, USA 17. Samuel Samuel Owen Corke, aged 60, of 81 Warick Place, Priors park, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England 18. Winifred Meaher, of Templemore, Co. Tipperary, was originally listed as critically injured and became the 18th fatality of the crash.

References

External links

Buttevant Disaster Official Report

{{1980 railway accidents Derailments in the Republic of Ireland Railway accidents in 1980 1980 in Ireland Transport in County Cork History of County Cork August 1980 events in Europe 1980 disasters in Ireland