1968

SP9908 : Accident at Berkhamsted Station

taken 56 years ago, near to Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England

Accident at Berkhamsted Station
Accident at Berkhamsted Station
The aftermath of a freight train derailment in the station.

Here we are looking north of west, away from London, at the two Fast lines. On the left is the Down Fast, and closest to the camera is the Up Fast, on which the freight train was travelling. The S-bend mentioned in the Shared Description below can be clearly seen. It looks fairly mild here, but if you are driving a train at 70mph it may seem different!

The Slow (commuter) lines run between the platforms visible on the far right.
Derailment at Berkhamsted Station

On 12 June 1968, just before 6 p.m., a southbound freightliner derailed passing through Berkhamsted Station on the Up Fast line. Much damage was done to the track, both in the station and for about half a mile to the south-east. There was superficial damage to station buildings, but fortunately no injuries. How different things might have been had the train been an express bound for Euston!

As it happens, it was found that the two Slow lines were unaffected, and commuter services were resumed quickly, though with many delays. I think it took about five days before all four lines were open again.

This incident occurred soon after electrification. That is in itself irrelevant, but there was also a process of installing Continuous Welded Track (CWT) on Britain’s main lines, which meant for much smoother running (oldies will recall the previous “de-de-de-doh”). One problem was that CWT was difficult to maintain in position during high temperatures (June?). The other was that the track through the station formed an S-bend, curving left and then immediately right, without even the space for a short straight section between. That imposed more than the usual amount of stress on the rails which could lead them to buckle. That seems to be what happened here.

Five years later, on 6 June 1973, a similar accident occurred at Berkhamsted, this time on the Down Slow line. (No photos – sorry.) On that occasion a couple of wagons derailed, but the train kept going until brought to a halt by signals at Tring. Again the problem was track buckling just north of the station, on a June evening when the rail temperature (as distinct from the air temperature) might have been at its highest. Fortunately this problem seems to have been overcome.


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright David Purchase and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Railways Primary Subject: Accident
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SP9908, 266 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
David Purchase   (more nearby)
Date Taken
13 June 1968   (more nearby)
Submitted
Saturday, 31 December, 2022
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 9924 0818 [10m precision]
WGS84: 51:45.8111N 0:33.8035W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 9933 0815
View Direction
West-northwest (about 292 degrees)
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Image Type (about): geograph 
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