Death of a Fireman 1950

[Andy873]

The following is a sad but interesting true story about a fireman who was killed told by the driver of a Fairburn 2-6-4T.

On Wednesday 15 March 1950, a passenger train left Blackburn at 6.25 am on its way to Burnley via Gt. Harwood. When the train entered Cunliffe cutting (about 1 mile along the loop line), there was a firebox blowback and the driver and fireman tried to get out of the way. The driver found himself holding onto the outside of the engine, unable to get to the controls and not able to see the fireman due to the flames... they were going about 45 mph at the time.

As the train left the cutting the flames died down and the driver managed to get back on the footplate, however he couldn't see the fireman - he was gone. The driver continued around 2.5 miles until he got to Harwood station where obviously he stopped the train. There, he informed the guard and the driver of a passenger train going in the other direction. The fireman was found alive but sadly died later that day in Blackburn Infirmary. The driver had two lucky escapes here, apart from holding on, the engine was running bunker / tender first that day, if it had been the normal way around...

Question - What happens with the passenger train now there's no fireman? does everyone get off at this point etc?

 

[D6130]

The following is a sad but interesting true story about a fireman who was killed told by the driver of a Fairburn 2-6-4T.

On Wednesday 15 March 1950, a passenger train left Blackburn at 6.25 am on its way to Burnley via Gt. Harwood. When the train entered Cunliffe cutting (about 1 mile along the loop line), there was a firebox blowback and the driver and fireman tried to get out of the way. The driver found himself holding onto the outside of the engine, unable to get to the controls and not able to see the fireman due to the flames... they were going about 45 mph at the time.

As the train left the cutting the flames died down and the driver managed to get back on the footplate, however he couldn't see the fireman - he was gone. The driver continued around 2.5 miles until he got to Harwood station where obviously he stopped the train. There, he informed the guard and the driver of a passenger train going in the other direction. The fireman was found alive but sadly died later that day in Blackburn Infirmary. The driver had two lucky escapes here, apart from holding on, the engine was running bunker / tender first that day, if it had been the normal way around...

Question - What happens with the passenger train now there's no fireman? does everyone get off at this point etc?

I would imagine that the train would have been terminated and shunted into a siding. The loco would have been collected later by another loco and returned to the depot or works for repair and the carriages would probably been have collected by a third loco and taken back to Blackburn.

 

[Rescars]

If there happened to be a loco available at Harwood, would there be any reason why this could not have been used to work the train forward?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

The unfortunate fireman from March 1950 was a twenty-one year old from Blackburn, a Mr. Geoffrey George Batten, who had fallen backwards from the train onto the track, and had, in so doing so, sustained a fractured skull. Son of Richard and Eleanor Batten, he was subsequently buried at Pleasington Cemetery/Crematorium.

 

[Andy873]

I would imagine that the train would have been terminated and shunted into a siding. The loco would have been collected later by another loco and returned to the depot or works for repair and the carriages would probably been have collected by a third loco and taken back to Blackburn.

That's what I would have thought happened.

If there happened to be a loco available at Harwood, would there be any reason why this could not have been used to work the train forward?

Another good point here, but it looks to early for an engine to be around the station at that time.

The unfortunate fireman from March 1950 was a twenty-one year old from Blackburn, a Mr. Geoffrey George Batten, who had fallen backwards from the train onto the track, and had, in so doing so, sustained a fractured skull. Son of Richard and Eleanor Batten, he was subsequently buried at Pleasington Cemetery/Crematorium.

Thanks for the extra information there. According to my L&Y Society book about the loop line, the engine involved was No. 42147. The book only says all this happened circa 1950, but thanks to the newspapers it was in fact Wednesday 15 March 1950.