Charing Cross roof collapse on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
On 5 December 1905, the iron-and-glass overall arched roof of London
On 5 December 1905, the iron-and-glass overall arched roof of London Charing Cross railway station
Charing Cross railway station (also known as London Charing Cross) is a central London railway terminus between the Strand and Hungerford Bridge in the City of Westminster. It is the terminus of the South Eastern Main Line to Dover via Ashf ...
collapsed during a long-term maintenance project, killing six people.
Background
The roof was designed by SirJohn Hawkshaw
Sir John Hawkshaw FRS FRSE FRSA MICE (9 April 1811 – 2 June 1891), was an English civil engineer. He served as President of the Institution of Civil Engineers 1862-63. His most noteworthy work is the Severn Tunnel.
Early life
He was born ...
and comprised a single-span trussed arch with wrought iron tie rod
A tie rod or tie bar (also known as a hanger rod if vertical) is a slender structural unit used as a tie and (in most applications) capable of carrying tensile loads only.
It is any rod or bar-shaped structural member designed to prevent the separa ...
s. The roof was wide and long and was designed as a contained arch, with bowstring
A bowstring joins the two ends of the bow stave and launches the arrow. Desirable properties include light weight, strength, resistance to abrasion, and resistance to water. Mass has most effect at the center of the string; of extra mass in th ...
principals.
Collapse
At around on 5 December 1905, one of the tie-rods of a main principal sheared, making a loud noise. Some passengers evacuated the station, although many remained. At about , two complete roof bays (about ) fell onto the platforms and rails, and the western wall collapsed outwards on to the adjacent Royal Avenue Theatre (now thePlayhouse Theatre
The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt i ...
), which was being reconstructed. The glass 'wind-screen' at the river end was also brought down.
There were four trains in the station at the time on platforms 3 to 6 and the girders and debris from the roof fell across them. Many passengers had already boarded the trains, otherwise the total killed could have been greater.
The apparent collapse of the roof was due to the structural failure of a flawed piece of ironwork. The roof had also been heavily loaded with scaffolding and materials just before the final collapse.
Casualties and fatalities
Six people were killed, two of whom were working on the roof at the time. One fatality was an employee ofW H Smith
WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and m ...
and the three remaining fatalities were workmen reconstructing the Royal Avenue Theatre which was crushed by the western side wall.
Eight other workmen were seriously injured and taken to hospital and nineteen others suffered minor injuries.
Aftermath
The station was closed for over three months and during this period the Charing Cross Bridge was also examined and some girders added to reinforce it. TheCharing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway
The Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway (CCE&HR), also known as the Hampstead Tube, was a railway company established in 1891 that constructed a deep-level underground "tube" railway in London. Construction of the CCE&HR was delayed for ...
company – now part of the London Underground's Northern line
The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs from North London to South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. The Northern line is unique on the Underground network in having two different routes through central London, two ...
– was able to take advantage of this closure when constructing its Charing Cross Underground station
Charing Cross (sometimes informally abbreviated as Charing +, Charing X, CHX or CH+) is a London Underground station at Charing Cross in the City of Westminster. The station is served by the Bakerloo and Northern lines and provides an inter ...
, making a large excavation in the main-line station's forecourt that would not have been allowed otherwise. The previous intention was to have excavated upwards from platform level.
The Charing Cross roof was replaced by a utilitarian post and girder structure supporting a ridge and furrow roof. The curve of the original roof design can still be seen on the interior brickwork. The station was re-opened on 19 March 1906.
Because one undetected flaw caused such a large failure, questions were raised about the design and the safety factor
In engineering, a factor of safety (FoS), also known as (and used interchangeably with) safety factor (SF), expresses how much stronger a system is than it needs to be for an intended load. Safety factors are often calculated using detailed analy ...
against failure. A similar roof at Cannon Street station
Cannon Street station, also known as London Cannon Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Travelcard zone 1 located on Cannon Street in the City of London and managed by Network Rail. It is on ...
was taken down in 1958.
References