Q16.18 – Damage to Class 47 47324

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Q16.18. Damage to Class 47 47324.
A photograph shows 47324 at Oxley Moor(?) on 18th April 1985. It looks like it was involved in an accident with overhead power lines from the way the cab has been damaged. Research found nothing other than it may have been involved in an incident on a fuel tank run. Further information on any possible occurrences of this damage is requested.
(Mike Sarsfield: 22673)

Answer
British Railways 47324 has been pictured after crashing at Oxley Junction, Wolverhampton in March 1985. The coal train had run driverless from Oxley Carriage Sidings to Oxley Junction where it derailed at speed and ended up embedding itself into the long disused track bed of the former Wolverhampton-Wombourne-Stourbridge line, making it the first train to go further than the buffer stops since 1967.

It has transpired that the the locomotive was parked up without any checking on brakes and the relief crew was late.