Vintage railway film - Mishap - 1958

a small station on one of british railways main lines six o'clock in the morning it's a quiet time of day and as usual everything is in order at the next box up the line beaten the report is the same everything in order the next train will be a fast passenger on the up line due past avery at 6 28 and here it comes right on time a quiet time and everything in order but all the same accidents can happen between avery and beaten there's a tunnel and this has an important bearing on the provisions of regulation eleven which lays down what must be done when a train takes an unusually long time in section if there is a tunnel in the section as there is here the first train on the opposite line a freight in this case must be held the signalman draws forward the hell train to his red flag and tells the driver why he is being held something may have happened to the passenger train in fact something did happen to it not long after it cleared the tunnel yes it's an accident the engine and two front coaches are derailed and worse still they are fouling the opposite line the train men's first job is to protect the opposite line and their own train the fireman goes forward with detonators and a red flag the opposite line is the main danger since it may not be protected by a signal meanwhile the guard has come forward with his detonators and red flag on the offside of the train if the footplate crew had been knocked out it would have been his duty to go ahead but with that end looked after by the firemen the guard can go to protect the rear the rear of course is already protected by the avery signals but it must also be protected with detonators and since the guard will have to go through the tunnel he'll need a lamp there's a traveling ticket collector on the train so he can look after passengers while the guard is away he'll get any other railway staff who are traveling to help him and of course there's first aid kit and emergency equipment in the van both guard and firemen show their red flags the danger signal as they go and both are ready to lay three detonators if they hear or see a train approaching each man in any case lays one detonator at a quarter of a mile from the obstruction each lays another one at half a mile just over half a mile to the rear is the tunnel as the guard goes through it he'll show his hand lamp at red but he must also lay three detonators before entering when a signal box is reached three must be laid in such a position as to prevent any train entering the section without passing over them if there's no signal box within three quarters of a mile from the obstruction three detonators must be laid at three quarters of a mile as soon as a signal man can be told of the situation a further stage of protection can be set in motion the emergency drill is carried out beaten sends obstruction danger for the upline avery acknowledges beaten phones avery to tell him that the downline is also fouled avery sends obstruction danger for the downline beaten acknowledges abery puts the downline indicator to train online lever colors are put on the starters at each end then the avery signalman must lay three detonators at his entry to the section the beaten entry of course has already been protected with detonators by the firemen meanwhile the beaten man rings control and tells them of the mishap the controller who takes the call is given all the details so far available and with these he can alert a breakdown gang and make other arrangements ready for when the full picture is known he'll also notify the district operating superintendent the avery signalman has laid his detonators close to the box there's no motive power in his sidings so this will give complete protection as quickly as possible now the station staff must be told of the situation so that they can call out the civil emergency services and round up any nearby railway staff to help deal with casualties meanwhile the signalman will await further information from the scene of the mishap the porter's first job is an emergency call on the gpo system the operator asks which service is wanted it's police first in this case and both she and the supervisor will listen in to the call as a double check the police are told briefly but clearly what has happened and where and very often they'll take over the job of calling the other services when the guard reaches avery he can give the signalman further details of the mishap he also checks that the entry to the section is protected with detonators the porter has called the station master from his house so with the help of the guard report measures to deal with the situation can be advanced a stage further the controller can send the breakdown train to the beaten end of the section he can arrange with the station master for a light engine to go in at the avery end and draw back the undamaged coaches so preparations must be made at the station for receiving the casualties and the uninjured passengers control will also put an emergency traffic service into operation diverting through trains and covering the obstructed section with special buses and of course all stations affected must advise passengers accordingly now the emergency services alerted by the porter's phone call are coming into action the station master has got hold of the local permanent waymen now they with the doctor ambulance men police and any other helpers available go off along the line and through the tunnel to the scene of the mishap to reinforce the first aid work already organized on the spot by the traveling ticket collector meanwhile the controller has been arranging for the necessary train movements to take place in and around the obstructed section and this affects the boxes at each end this is the plan the breakdown train will come in from beaten on the down line so the freight train must be withdrawn to make way for it but before that the light engine will go in from the avery end to withdraw the undamaged coaches it will bring them back along the same line and for this the driver must have a yellow wrong line order form d made out by the signalman controlling the entry to the section the guard of the damaged train will conduct the light engine to the obstruction the signalman sends it off with his green flag and of course he has given the driver authority to pass over detonators and to pass the section signal at danger detonators must be put down again immediately at the entry to the section but those further along the line need not be replaced since the line is fully protected to the rear now all the arrangements are in hand the breakdown train is on its way and has been so martial that when it arrives at beaten it can enter the section crane leading at beaten the freight train is shunted clear all stations affected have been informed of the situation and emergency services are keeping the traffic flowing the light engine draws the undamaged coaches back to avery station on the up platform to make it easier to dispose of the injured and the other passengers most of the casualties have already been given first aid and now the rest can be attended to and any that need further treatment sent off to hospital the gpo telephone is put at the disposal of those who want to make calls or send telegrams and all are made comfortable until they can continue their journeys the signalman has replaced his detonators once more and now with the return of the wrong nine order operations at this end of the section are over for the time being and this is reported to control together with the number of injured and any extra details full protection of the line will of course remain in force until the wreckage is cleared and the track repaired at beaten the breakdown train has arrived and been remarshal for work and now it is brought up to the signalman's red flag ready to enter the section it will be conducted to the obstruction by the firemen of the damaged train before admitting it the signalman confers with his colleague at avery and when he has sent it off with his green flag he sends train entering section on the bell the driver of course has been given authority to pass over the detonators and to pass the section signal at danger and at this entry to the section 2 the detonators must be replaced and full protection maintained the authority for the section to be used again besides being given to the signalman by word of mouth must also be given in writing in his book the signalman passes the information on first to control so that the planned return to normal working can be put in hand then to the other end of the section as a final safeguard the first train in each direction is halted and drawn up to the box caution through the section and send off with a green flag when both trains are passed safely through the line can return once more to full normal working incidents like this don't happen often but if everybody knows how to tackle them when they do occur a lot of suffering and inconvenience can be avoided and the job got back to normal with the minimum delay

Channel: Bennett Brook Railway

Views: 703,018

Rating: 4.7794828 out of 5

Keywords: trains, steam power, train station, train, steam train, rail, tourism, thomas the train, thomas the tank engine, railway, railway line, steam loco, steam locomotive, narrow gauge, passenger train, freight train, whiteman park, swan valley, perth, western australia, australia, bennett brook railway, transperth, transperth trains, perth trains, british transport films, british films, lms films, lms railway films, british railways, british rail, vintage railway films, lms, gwr

Id: BHdhsMAubfk

Length: 18min 25sec (1105 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 24 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/jakb200]

Interesting watch. The procedure for dealing with an emergency/laying emergency protection hasn’t changed much .

[u/Kaymish_]

I had a little chuckle when I saw the lady setting out tea cups, so typically British to have tea ready to go for shocked and damaged passengers and crew and feel that it is important enough to show in a training film.

[u/PensiveObservor]

"For this, the signalman must have a yellow down line order, form D."

This made me laugh. With injuries as yet undiscovered, a derailment blocking two lines, all trains backed up and rerouted, emergency busses in action... they are careful to tell precisely which form is required.