Q16.13 – Damaged Diesels (and Electrics) Part IV
This is the Final Colour Rail Selection of accident damaged locomotives with the date of the photograph. 47115 (20th September 1975) 47120 (undated) 47202 (20th April 1987) 47234 (29th July 1990) 47282 (4th July 1987) 47428 (January 1990) 47464 (8th August 1987) 47472 (May 1991) 47504 (25th June 1978) 47522 (8th May 1982) 47844 (18th February 1981) 47850 (7th July 1995) 50025 (November 1989) 50041 (17th January 1984) 56004 (26th September 1982) 56013 (undated) 56066 (10th June 1994) 56122 (August 1992) 81016 (5th May 1984) 86209 (undated) 87023 (9th December1984) Once again there is no record of the place, time or cause of the damage, and any information of a possible occurrence would be helpful. (Paul Chancellor: 9408)
47202 was damaged in an accident at Frome North Junction on 24 March 1987 when hauling a train of empties for Whatley Quarry that overran signals and was in a head-on collision with the 6.50 Yeovil to Cardiff (hauled by 33032) at Frome North Junction, Somerset. Several people were seriously injured. 47202 was towed to Bath Road shed where it remained in the yard until the early 1980s.
47282 suffered a collision at Micheldever on 27th April 1986, near the Kichfield Tunnel, when the locomotive, travelling light to Eastleigh TMD, hit the rear of an engineers’ train, which had stopped at signals, derailing five wagons. The locomotive cab was badly crushed, with casualties.
47464 failed at Elgin whilst hauling 09:35 Aberdeen ? Inverness on 23rd September 1986. 37416 was sent to assist from the front but collided with the Class 47. Both locos were recovered to Inverness depot. The Class 37 was repaired, but the Class 47 was withdrawn.
47472 collided with 47533 at Reading on 12th February 1991, causing damage to No.2 end. Withdrawn for the first time in April 1991.
47504 was taken off the 23.55 Liverpool-Penzance at Plymouth on 22nd July 1978. It was about to run light to Laira but was routed through platform 7 and ran into the back of the 07.25 to Edinburgh. The locomotive buffer-locked with the brake van and was bufferless when separated, as well as suffering extensive cab damage. This is however slightly after the apparent date of the photograph.
47522 was severely damaged after crashing into a tractor at a level crossing at Forteviot (Perth) on 4th May 1982. On 6th May it was moved slowly to Perth and then went under repair at Crewe for nearly 18 months.
47522 collided with a tractor on a level crossing near Forteviot on 4th May 1982. It was recovered to Crewe Works and repaired.
47850 and 90139 collided opposite Longsight Depot, Manchester when a member was the T&RS on-call who attended to this, and, as he was at the depot at the time, he could walk to the incident.
47850 was on a light engine movement from the South to Longsight, and was stood at signal MP94 on the down goods (near the bridge over Hyde Road). The driver had changed ends and was waiting the signal to clear to allow him to proceed in the Up direction and cross all 4 main lines, so entering the depot.
Meanwhile, 90139 was on a light engine move to Trafford Park, and had been routed along the down goods, rather than the down slow. 90139 passed signal MP81 at danger and collided with 47850 at moderate speed (estimated at around 20mph). 90139 was relatively unscathed.
Driver of 47850, on seeing the approach of 90139, managed to leave his cab and safely (!) ran across all 4 running lines and witnessed the collision at a safe distance.
47850 was moved to Longsight TMD, and spent the weekend alongside 47851, which had suffered a bogie fire.
50025, whilst hauling the 21.15 Oxford-Paddington train on 6th August 1989, hit a concrete block at 80mph. The block had been placed across the line near West Ealing. The locomotive was derailed and severely damaged. Fortunately it fell onto the West Ealing platform away from the down fast on which the 22.00 Paddington-Cardiff HST was approaching at about 100 mph (Rail No.623). It was moved to the Waitrose car park at West Ealing and then moved by rail to Old Oak Common two days later and was subsequently withdrawn.
50041 was seriously damaged when it partly turned on its side just outside Paddington on 23rd November 1983. It was hauling a sleeper from the West Country and took the crossovers on the approach to the station at an estimated 70mph. It was concluded that although power to the wheels was off the brakes were not engaged. Amazingly it was repaired at Doncaster and returned to service.
56004, whilst hauling a MGR, collided head-on with 31314 and 31192, which were hauling a fuel tank train outside Lindsey Oil Refinery on 30th July 1982. It was repaired and received later-style cabs. Locomotives 31192 and 31314 were written off after the collision.
56066 was involved in a fatal collision when it ran into the rear of a Leith-Hartlepool pipe train at Clifton Lane Crossing, Morpeth on 13th November 1992 whilst hauling the 6E76 Millerhill-York MGR service. It was stored in Morpeth yard and then taken to Blyth Cambois depot. It was moved to Doncaster Works on 24th January 1993, but repairs did not start until 1994 when it received a replacement cab from 56122. In Mach 1994, it was allocated to CF but was still at Doncaster Works. It entered traffic on 15th July 1995 on a test run.
56122 ran through the buffers at Ryhope Grange Junction, near Sunderland, on 22nd November 1991 damaging No.2 cab end. It was stored in March 1992 and subsequently withdrawn.
81016 was hauling a northbound passenger train on 9th December 1982 when it hit part of a rail assembly which had fallen from a southbound train in LinsladeTunnel (north of Leighton Buzzard on the West Coast main line). The locomotive derailed and hit the support of a road bridge just beyond the north portal of the tunnel. The driver and second man had swapped places, so the driver, in the second man?s seat, was killed but the second man, who was driving, survived.
86209 was the loco that went down the bank at Bushey Curve on 23rd January 1975 after colliding with 83003, which had itself been derailed by an obstruction which had fallen from a preceding train. The class 83 was destroyed while the class 86, although severely damaged, was repaired. A special road had to be built to recover the loco from what was effectively a swamp ? none of the buildings or the dual carriageway which are now at the foot of the curve embankment were there then. The 86 was hauling a northbound express while the 83 was heading south.
(E. Irvine: 8441, Steve Dexter: 14777, Steve Clayton: 14782, Richard Giles 15069, Peter Kerridge: 19017, Dan Glading: 20782, David Farrow: 21416, Guy Vincent: 21540)