Charing Cross (District Line) tube crash

Charing Cross (District Line) tube crash

The Charing Cross (District Line) tube crash occurred on 17 May 1938 at about 09:55 hours, between Charing Cross (now Embankment) and Temple stations. Six people were killed when a Circle Line service ran through a false clear signal into the rear of a District Line service held at an automatic signal.

The track circuits connected to the signal cabin at Charing Cross had been converted to alternating current on the morning of 8 May. As a result, there was some wiring which needed to be secured. This work was carried out during the engineering hours on 17 May.

The signal wiring engineer had secured and reconnected all wires between the various circuit breakers in the cabin. However, one wire, which linked circuit breaker number 8 to circuit breaker number 9 had been put on the wrong terminal of circuit breaker number 9, thereby causing signal EH9, the eastbound starter signal, to clear too soon, with a train held at automatic signal number 823. [1]

The cabin was put into automatic mode as this was how it was normally set, but no testing was carried out, and traffic began with no observation from the engineers. Manual working was only used when a train was to be reversed at Charing Cross.

The problem was first noticed as the line became busy, and was reported by a motorman on arrival at Temple, at 09:40. The motorman reported that he had nearly run into the train ahead.

The message was conveyed to Charing Cross but no prompt action was taken despite further reports that the signal was clearing too soon. By the time it became clear that there was a significant problem, it was too late to prevent the collision.

The report to the Ministry of Transport held the Signal Installer and Chief Lineman responsible for the wiring error and the failure to test the signals thoroughly, and the Station Foreman, Porter and Inspector responsible for not acting promptly to prevent a collision.

A similar accident involving a signal wiring error had occurred near the same station on the Northern Line on 10 March.

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Charing Cross tube crash — may refer to Charing Cross (Northern Line) tube crash, in 1938 Charing Cross (District Line) tube crash, also in 1938 This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an …   Wikipedia

  • Charing Cross — For other meanings of Charing Cross, see Charing Cross (disambiguation). Coordinates: 51°30′26″N 0°07′39″W / 51.5073°N 0.12755°W / …   Wikipedia

  • Wrong-side failure — A wrong side failure describes a failure condition in a piece of railway signalling equipment that results in an unsafe state. A typical example would be a signal showing a proceed aspect (e.g. green) when it should be showing a stop or danger… …   Wikipedia

  • Docklands Light Railway — (DLR) Overview Type …   Wikipedia

  • Moorgate station — Moorgate Entrance to Moorgate …   Wikipedia

  • London Underground accidents — The London Underground network carries more than a billion passengers a year. On a system of this scale it is impossible to completely prevent accidents although a lot of measures are taken. When such things occur the chance of fatalities is very …   Wikipedia

  • London Heathrow Airport — Heathrow and LHR redirect here. For other uses, see Heathrow (disambiguation) and LHR (disambiguation). London Heathrow Airport …   Wikipedia

  • List of rail accidents (1950–1999) — List of rail accidents from 1950 to 1999.For historic accidents before 1950, see List of pre 1950 rail accidents .For accidents from 2000 to the present, see List of rail accidents . notoc 1950s 1950* February 17 1950 ndash; Rockville Centre, New …   Wikipedia

  • Cheshunt — For the village in Australia, see Cheshunt, Victoria. Coordinates: 51°42′07″N 0°02′06″W / 51.702°N 0.035°W / 51.702; 0.035 …   Wikipedia

  • Tramlink — Tram 2548 in the current livery seen at Arena Overview …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”