On the evening of 4 December 1957, two trains crashed in dense fog on the South Eastern Main Line near

Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...

in south-east London, causing the deaths of 90 people and injuring 173. An electric train to had stopped at a signal under a rail bridge, and the following steam train to crashed into it, destroying a carriage and causing the bridge to collapse onto the steam train. The bridge had to be completely removed; it was over a week before the lines under the bridge were reopened, and another month before the bridge was rebuilt and traffic allowed over it. The driver of the Ramsgate train was acquitted of

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charges after two trials. The

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

report found that he had failed to slow down after passing two caution signals, so he was unable to stop at the danger signal, concluding that the use of an

Automatic Warning System Automatic Warning System (AWS) is a railway safety system invented and predominantly used in the United Kingdom. It provides a train driver with an audible indication of whether the next Railway_signal, signal they are approaching is clear or a ...

would have prevented the collision.

Collision

On the evening of Wednesday 4 December 1957 there was heavy fog in the London area, and trains were running late. The 5:18 pm -to- service, comprising electric multiple units totalling 10 carriages and carrying nearly 1,500 passengers, stopped at a danger signal at Parks Bridge Junction on the South Eastern Main Line, under a bridge carrying rail tracks over the line. Trains were running out of sequence because of the fog, and the Parks Bridge Junction signalman wished to speak to the driver by the telephone at the signal in order to confirm the train's identity and destination. At approximately 6:20 pm it was struck from behind by a train from to via

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, consisting of Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 no. 34066 ''Spitfire'', hauling 11 coaches carrying about 700 passengers and travelling at about . While the rearmost two carriages of the Hayes train sustained moderate damage, the eighth coach was telescoped and destroyed by the ninth coach. The collision also threw the tender and leading coach of the Ramsgate train off the track, dislodging a pier of the bridge, causing it to fall and crush two coaches. Two minutes later, a train due to pass over the bridge stopped short, although its leading coach was tilted. There were 90 fatalities and a large number of people were taken to hospital, of whom 109 were admitted. To this day it is the third-worst railway accident in the United Kingdom, surpassed only by Harrow and Wealdstone (1952) and Quintinshill (1915).

Aftermath

The first emergency response arrived at 6:25 pm with the fire brigade, ambulance and police being assisted by doctors and nurses. Help was accepted from

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, the

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Brigade and local residents. By 10:30 pm all of the injured had been taken to hospital. All four of the running lines under the bridge and the two over it were blocked. At St Johns station, just north of the bridge, the

North Kent line The North Kent Line is a railway line which branches off the South East Main Line at St Johns junction west of Lewisham station in Greater London and runs to Rochester Bridge Junction near Strood, Medway where it links to the Chatham Main ...

diverges; however, during the rescue this needed to be closed and the traction current switched off. An emergency timetable began at 6:10 am the following day, with local trains travelling through

, avoiding the accident, and main line services diverted to Victoria, another London terminus. At 4:00 pm on 9 December, the trains and the fallen bridge had been cut up and removed. The track then had to be relaid and the lines under the bridge were reopened at 5:00 am on 12 December. A temporary bridge was built and the overhead line was reopened at 6:00 am on 13 January.

Coroner's inquest and trial

The jury at the

inquest An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a cor ...

declared by majority that the deaths were due to gross negligence, but the

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death. The official may also investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

rejected the verdict and substituted one of accidental death. The driver of the Ramsgate train was then tried for

, but the jury could not reach a verdict. He was acquitted at a second trial.

Civil action for psychological injury

Henry Chadwick, a member of the public who assisted at the accident, successfully sued the British Railways Board for the "nervous shock" he experienced. The case, '' Chadwick v British Railways Board'', an important precedent for 30 years, was partly overruled by '' White v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire'', 1999 2 A.C. 455.

Report

The

report on the collision was published in 1958. Witnesses were interviewed, the visibility of the signals on the line examined, and tests showed no fault in the signalling equipment. The report found that the driver had not slowed for two caution signals, and applied the brakes only after the fireman had called to him that he had passed a danger signal. Although he had poor visibility of signals from the driver's seat, he did not cross over to see them, or ask the fireman to look for them. The report concluded that an "Automatic Train Control of the Warning type" would have prevented the collision. Although installation had been agreed after the Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash in 1952, priority was being given to main-line routes controlled by semaphore signals. The poor visibility of signals from the steam locomotive,

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

class No. 34066, was mentioned with a recommendation that they be fitted with wider windscreens.

Legacy

The collapsed bridge was replaced by a temporary military trestle structure, still in use. A plaque at Lewisham railway station commemorates the accident.

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

An account of the Lewisham train crash from a passenger :(requires Flash) Video Interview
{{London railway accidents Railway accidents and incidents in London Railway accidents involving fog Transport in the London Borough of Lewisham History of the London Borough of Lewisham Railway accidents in 1957 1957 disasters in the United Kingdom 1957 in England 1957 in London Bridge disasters in the United Kingdom Bridge disasters caused by collision Accidents and incidents involving British Rail Railway accidents involving a signal passed at danger December 1957 in the United Kingdom Train collisions in England Rail accidents caused by a driver's error