A4 Accidents

[manna]

G'Day Gents

Hi Steve, I still have my old BR 1951 edition, that was a small pocket sized rule book, not like the great big Red one issued later.

manna

[gner]

In 1945 A4 Silver Fox, encounterd difficulties and lost grip in the Kings Cross gas works tunnle owing to the gradient, and slid backwards into the station. The signalers switched points a to allow it to move back onto an empty platform, however when the points changed, half of the reat carrige had already passes the points causing the rearmost carrige to derail and overturn; hitting a signaling gantry.

Follow the link below for more details and the official report.
http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/events ... ventID=863

[StevieG]

In 1945 A4 Silver Fox, encounterd difficulties and lost grip in the Kings Cross gas works tunnle owing to the gradient, and slid backwards into the station. The signalers switched points a to allow it to move back onto an empty platform, however when the points changed, half of the reat carrige had already passes the points causing the rearmost carrige to derail and overturn; hitting a signaling gantry.

Follow the link below for more details and the official report.
http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/events ... ventID=863

The 'signalling gantry' was actually a section of the west side part of the once extensive and intricate-looking gantries on either side of the signal box, often seen in photos of the '30s and '40s. As well as carrying most of the main intermediate signals (Up and Down direction) between Gasworks Tunnel and the platforms, some of the platform end starting signals, and 'caged' access galleries for the signal linesmen, these also appeared to effectively afford staff walkways across the station yard, though they may have been little used in the latter way.
The afore-mentioned demolished section was never replaced, and this resulted in the signals for both directions on 'C' and 'D' routes thence being mounted on a more modern balanced bracket structure. The incident also brought about the provision of distance-marked (yards) white lights along the down side wall of the centre bore at intervals (of 25 yards I think), which in one form or another lasted for decades; well into the 1990s at least if I remember correctly.

Subsequently the rest of the gantries seemed to have disappeared with more signals ending up on their own structures, although a few clues remained until the 1977 resignalling in the form of a few platform-end and single intermediate signals remaining on latticed structures that were rather more substanial in horizontal section than needed to support the remaining items, some of which also looked a bit 'sawn off' above the extant signal head(s).