The Violet Town rail accident, also known as the

Southern Aurora The ''Southern Aurora'' was an overnight express passenger train that operated between Australia's two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne. First-class throughout, including the dining facilities, the ''Southern Aurora'' featured all-sleeper ...

disaster, was a railway accident that occurred on 7 February 1969 following the incapacitation of the driver of one of the trains, near the McDiarmids Road crossing, approximately 1 km south of

Violet Town Violet Town is a town in northeastern Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Strathbogie local government area, northeast of the state capital, Melbourne on the Hume Highway. At the , Violet Town and district (Honeysuckle Ward) had a ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seyche ...

, Australia. The crash resulted in nine deaths and 117 injuries.

Background

The ''Southern Aurora'' was an overnight express service between the two largest Australian cities, Melbourne and Sydney. The service began in 1962 with the opening of the

North East standard gauge line North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north' ...

in Victoria, which enabled direct rail traffic between the two capitals for the first time. Owned and operated jointly by the Victorian Railways (VR) and

New South Wales Government Railways The New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was the agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932. Management The agency was managed by a range of diffe ...

(NSWGR), the ''Southern Aurora'' ran in both directions each night with first-class sleeping carriages making up the entire train. Disputes between VR and NSWGR during the design and construction phase of the passenger carriages had led to several compromises, including the ability to fit bogies of the preferred types of both railways. Due to the insistence of manufacturer

Commonwealth Engineering Commonwealth Engineering (often shortened to Com-Eng, later Comeng was an Australian engineering company that designed and built railway locomotives, rolling stock and trams. History Smith and Waddington, the predecessor to Commonwealth Engi ...

, stainless steel was eventually selected as the primary material, despite the initial reticence of the railways, who wished to use their own existing carriage designs. Among the vaunted benefits of stainless steel construction was its superior

crashworthiness Crashworthiness is the ability of a structure to protect its occupants during an impact. This is commonly tested when investigating the safety of aircraft and vehicles. Depending on the nature of the impact and the vehicle involved, different crit ...

, a benefit that was maximised by late design changes made to improve the energy-absorbing capacity of the

draw gear A coupling (or a coupler) is a mechanism typically placed at each end of a railway vehicle that connects them together to form a train. A variety of coupler types have been developed over the course of railway history. Key issues in their desig ...

between carriages. Freight services had also begun on the standard gauge line in 1962, with the commissioning of facilities at Melbourne's South Dynon. Passenger services like the ''Aurora'' shared the primarily single-track main line with freight traffic in both directions; it was usual practice for freight trains to be held at passing loops (short sections of double track) in order to minimise delays to passenger timetables. One such crossing loop was located at Violet Town, around in rail distance to the north-east of Melbourne. The loop had a length of , and, like the rest of the standard gauge line between Melbourne and

Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – t ...

signals In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...

and

points Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Points ...

were operated by

centralised traffic control Centralized traffic control (CTC) is a form of railway signalling that originated in North America. CTC consolidates train routing decisions that were previously carried out by local signal operators or the train crews themselves. The system con ...

from Melbourne. On the night of the accident, 7 February 1969, the ''Southern Aurora'' from Sydney departed with fourteen carriages, carrying a near-capacity load of 192 passengers and 22 crew by the time it reached Violet Town. Its driver was Jack Bowden, a highly experienced 52-year-old VR employee; its

fireman A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

was 30-year-old Mervyn Coulthard; and its

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

William Wyer. A fast freight train of 22 wagons, mostly containing new

cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

, had departed Melbourne at 1:25 a.m. travelling north, driven by Lawrence Rosevear and supported by relief driver Arnfried Brendecke. The train controller on duty at Train Control in Melbourne was Frank McDonnell.

Accident

The southbound ''Southern Aurora'' and northbound freight train were timetabled to cross at

Benalla Benalla is a small city located on the Broken River gateway to the High Country north-eastern region of Victoria, Australia, about north east of the state capital Melbourne. At the the population was 10,822. It is the administrative cent ...

, north of Violet Town, at 6.44 a.m. The freight train was scheduled to enter the Benalla crossing loop at 6.15 a.m. However, at 6.30 a.m., McDonnell observed that both the ''Southern Aurora'' and the goods train were running behind schedule, and so he decided to have the trains pass each other at Violet Town instead. The driver of the goods train was instructed to prepare for a "running cross", under which the freight train would be diverted into the loop line at slow speed, while the ''Southern Aurora'' continued on the main line. As the ''Southern Aurora'' passed through Benalla, driver Bowden increased its speed to the

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of , which was maintained up to the point of impact. Shortly afterwards, his train passed an automatic signal showing "normal speed warning". That signified that the next signal might have a "stop" indication. Although it was standard practice to slow a train by at least after receiving such a warning, Bowden did not respond in any way. It was later established that he had died about before the crash, and had probably not been in effective control of the train for some time before that. After noticing the warning indication on the signal, and anticipating a lengthy stop at Violet Town, fireman Coulthard said he had left his seat and gone into the nose of the locomotive to fill the

electric kettle A kettle, sometimes called a tea kettle or teakettle, is a type of pot specialized for boiling water, commonly with a ''lid'', ''spout'', and ''handle'', or a small electric kitchen appliance of similar shape that functions in a self-contained ...

with water. While performing that task, he heard and felt the train pass over the

at the start of the crossing loop. He noted that the ''Southern Aurora'' had not reduced speed. Upon re-entering the main driving cab, he saw the "stop" signal ahead and the headlights of the freight train. He shouted at Bowden to stop the train, and ran into the

engine room On a ship, the engine room (ER) is the compartment where the machinery for marine propulsion is located. To increase a vessel's safety and chances of surviving damage, the machinery necessary for the ship's operation may be segregated into var ...

behind the cab to take shelter. The freight train had approached Violet Town at , and driver Rosevear saw the headlight of the approaching ''Southern Aurora''. He slowed his train to to safely enter the crossing loop, but realised the oncoming passenger train was not going to stop to allow him to do so. He applied the emergency brake and flashed the headlight of his locomotive in an attempt to warn the driver of the ''Southern Aurora''. He then opened the cab door and helped fireman Brendecke to jump out, before seeking refuge in the engine room of his locomotive. Shortly before 7 a.m., the trains collided head-on at a closing speed later estimated at . According to Brendecke (who survived his fall from the cab and the subsequent crash), as well as motorists on the adjacent Hume Highway, the force of the collision propelled the locomotive of the ''Southern Aurora'', and several of the goods wagons, into the air. Six of the passenger carriages were derailed, and one was completely crushed by other wreckage. The two leading carriages telescoped into the rear of the locomotive, and two others rode over the top of the wreckage, suspending them some in the air. Immediately following the crash, spilt diesel fuel caused the locomotive of the goods train to catch fire. The flames quickly spread to the derailed ''Southern Aurora'' carriages, where passengers were already attempting to escape through broken windows.

Aftermath

Local

Country Fire Authority The Country Fire Authority (CFA) is a volunteer fire service responsible for fire suppression, rescues, and response to other accidents and hazards across most of the state Victoria, Australia. CFA comprises over 1,200 brigades organised in 2 ...

volunteers in Violet Town witnessed the crash, and immediately began organising the firefighting response. Initially, the Euroa Urban Fire Brigade, the nearest major fire service, was told of a collision between two trucks, and later of a truck hit by a train; firefighters were not aware that a major rail accident had occurred until they arrived on scene to find the burning wreckage. Over 100 firefighters eventually arrived from neighbouring districts to assist with the firefighting, rescue and recovery effort. Train controller McConnell observed the crash on his control panel and immediately reported the circumstances to his supervisor, and a recovery effort was shortly underway in Melbourne. Aircraft from the

Department of Civil Aviation A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register. Role Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles, ...

, the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

and Trans Australia Airlines were used to transport rescuers, railway officials and investigators to the crash site.

Memorial

A stone cairn was erected on the 25th anniversary of the tragedy by the

Public Transport Corporation The Public Transport Corporation (PTC) was a Victoria State Government owned statutory authority formed under the Transport Act 1983 which operated passenger and freight trains, trams and bus services. The PTC was also responsible for directl ...

at the site of the accident. Hundreds attended the commemoration in the early morning, which was followed by a morning tea. In early 2018, a local group announced plans to expand the memorial significantly, saying that the existing cairn naming only a "public transport official" was an inadequate tribute to the disaster. The plans include signage listing the names of both the dead and local rescuers who were awarded for their bravery, and organisers anticipated their completion prior to the 50th anniversary of the crash in 2019.February 7th - 10th 2019 Violet Town commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Southern Aurora railway tragedy.
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References

External links