The Barnes rail crash, in which 13 people were killed and 41 were injured, occurred at

Barnes railway station Barnes railway station is a Grade II listed station in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, in southwest London, and is in Travelcard Zone 3. It is down the line from . The station and all trains serving it are operated by South Weste ...

late in the evening of Friday 2 December 1955.

Events

The

Southern Region of British Railways The Southern Region was a region of British Railways from 1948 until 1992 when railways were re-privatised. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s. The region covered south London, southern England and the south ...

23:12 electric passenger train travelling from

London Waterloo Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a major central London railway terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Undergroun ...

to Windsor & Eton Riverside and collided with the rear of a LMS class 8 2-8-0 hauled freight train from to Brent at about 35 mph. The wreckage from the passenger train short-circuited the

third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a track (r ...

; electrical

arcing An electric arc (or arc discharge) is an electrical breakdown of a gas that produces a prolonged electrical discharge. The current through a normally nonconductive medium such as air produces a plasma, which may produce visible light. An ar ...

started a fire in the wooden coach frames, and the leading coach of the passenger train was burnt out. The coaches were classified as 2-NOL and were converted in the 1930s from old

London & South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and Weymouth, Do ...

steam carriages.

Causes

Signalling

The accident was caused by irregular operation of the block apparatus by the

signalman A signalman is a rank who makes signals using flags and light. The role has evolved and now usually uses electronic communication equipment. Signalmen usually work in rail transport networks, armed forces, or construction (to direct heavy equi ...

at Barnes Junction. The signals were interlocked so that they could not be freed to show clear unless the block ahead was clear. A manual release key could be used to circumvent this interlocking if, for example, a broken mechanical link or track circuit gave a false indication of a train on the line. The signalman for Point Pleasant, the block behind Barnes, offered the passenger train forward improperly, without waiting for the "Train out of section" acknowledgement from Barnes. The Barnes signalman had forgotten about the freight train and used his release key to clear the signals.

Electrical

A contributory factor was the failure of the

circuit breaker A circuit breaker is an electrical safety device designed to protect an Electrical network, electrical circuit from damage caused by current in excess of that which the equipment can safely carry (overcurrent). Its basic function is to interr ...

s supplying the traction current to the section to trip when the collision occurred – the subsequent arcing and fire caused most of the fatalities. The official report concluded that the current drawn by the short-circuit (approx 5700 A) was only slightly higher than the trip current (5000 A), and the breakers failed to trip due to poor response speed and stiffness of operation.

Casualties

One of the passengers killed was Bernard Crouch, an England table tennis international and world championship medallist.

Notes

References

{{coord, 51, 27, 59, N, 0, 14, 19, W, type:event_region:GB, display=title 1955 disasters in the United Kingdom 1950s fires in the United Kingdom 1955 fires 1955 in London Accidents and incidents involving British Rail Barnes, London December 1955 in the United Kingdom Railway accidents and incidents in Surrey Fires in London History of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Railway accidents and incidents in London Railway accidents caused by signaller's error Railway accidents in 1955 Train and rapid transit fires Train collisions in England Transport in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames