Sorry, I seem to have pasted the Wikipedia link twice, rather than the pdf which should be the second one on my post.
Oh dear, yet another senior moment.
The report does mention a fatality being removed from a Mk1 coach which had been inundated by the tide, so there might have been some truth in it; if that person was wedged under twisted metal and was about to drown?
Thanks to J27 NER 0-6-0 for identifying the Railway Archive website and its list of railway accidents. Although it doesn't have every accident on - there were some big emw train piles-up around here that aren't listed - it seems to be open to additions. It's certainly easy to add documents or photos to the ones that are recorded. When I sent a correction (attached photo wasn't that accident) I received a response in half an hour - late on Bank Holiday Monday. Just a bit cautious about causes - one at Northampton in 1921 was allocated to "lack of AWS"....... Another good website is SixBellsJunction for old railtours you remember going on but can't recall the details - but this one doesn't seem to respond to updates.
That Northampton accident in the 1920s was one of the earliest reports where the inspector specifically raised the issue of the lack of an automatic train stop device when a signal was passed at danger. What he had in mind was probably something like the bogie trip cock fitted to underground stock or Raven's track mounted stop arm. So 'lack of AWS' does not quite fit but as a general category to reflect much later practice it makes sense.
The Railway Magazine article struck me as ingenious but in conflict with the evidence. The shunter said specifically in his evidence that the brakes were connected and the driver created vacuum. No-one at Grantham saw anything that suggested that the driver was trying to stop a train with no brakes. Surely he'd whistle to at least warn people on the platform. And would there not be a hand brake on the engine or tender?
Not that I have an explanation, I don't suppose we'll ever know.
A snippet from the Lincoln Echo this week talks about a three day disaster exercise to take place 21 - 23 May.
This interesting footnote was part of the story published. Original story credit:- Rachael Cousins (Lincoln Echo)
