Caledonian Sleeper comes to grief at Beattock Summit

[Metroland]

More than 200 rail passengers were stranded after a Highland-bound sleeper train hit "ballast" on the track.

The accident happened at about 0315 GMT and affected the London to Inverness service, which left Euston at 2002 GMT.

About 240 people were on board. Passenger Russell Sharp, said: "It was a miracle it was not derailed."

The train was moved to Carstairs station at 0940 GMT. First ScotRail said buses were taking passengers to Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William.

The incident happened at Beattock Summit, south of Carstairs.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7159038.stm

 

[richa2002]

Deary do, how can a passenger make an informed decision on whether 'it was a miracle' the train derailed or not. Anything for a good story though!

 

[adambro]

Deary do, how can a passenger make an informed decision on whether 'it was a miracle' the train derailed or not. Anything for a good story though!

I suspect they're in a better position then some guys hundreds of miles away sitting on their computer...

 

[richa2002]

I think asking an engineer would be the best bet.

 

[adambro]

I think asking an engineer would be the best bet.

Sitting in your armchair, are you really in a position to judge this passenger's ability to describe the severity of the incident.

 

[richa2002]

He's a freelance photographer, I doubt he can make an accurate assessment of what happened by just what he felt happen.

 

[Sprog]

Sitting in your armchair, are you really in a position to judge this passenger's ability to describe the severity of the incident.

Says the one............. :???: :roll:

Next they'll have ail 'expert' Christian Wolmar giving his views.

 

[Jord]

I wouldn't fancy being on a bus going from there to either Aberdeen, Inverness or Fort William!

 

[richa2002]

I know! I mean, can't they just put them on a service/extra train? After all, they did pay to go on the train, if they wanted a bus they would have gone for the bus which is after all cheaper.

 

[adambro]

Says the one............. :???: :roll:

Next they'll have ail 'expert' Christian Wolmar giving his views.

Excuse me?

 

[me123]

I wouldn't fancy being on a bus going from there to either Aberdeen, Inverness or Fort William!

I know! Some people do overnight buses from Aberdeen to London, and can get it cheaper on the sleeper :roll:. Well, not all the time to be fair, but I'd rather have a bed or at least the comfy seated sleeper chairs than my school bus all night.

Anyway, this just shows FSR's commitment to their passengers. Clearly, they were conserned about making the duration as comfortable as possible before the alternative transport became available.

 

[rail-britain]

Christian Wolmar and his expertise on the VT Grayrigg incident, well worth a watch!

As I understand it, the taxis took the Fort William passengers, and any other passengers to remote locations
All the other passengers were taken by coach to Edinburgh or Glasgow only, for onward connections

As for the train itself, it would appear it took the train nearly three miles to stop after there was an impact under the loco causing a traction motor flashover
The driver was instructed not to move the train and wait assistance
However, there was initially confusion as it was found the thunderbird loco at Carstairs was another Class 90 and it was not known if the overhead live wires were still powered!

 

[Sprog]

Excuse me?

Christ, it doesnt take a rocket scientist...

Your doing the exact same thing as your having a pop at 'Richard' for doing, [insult removed]......

 

[ChrisCooper]

To be honest, people always come out with "miracle it didn't derail" type comments, and in reality the only people who could make that sort of comment are the investigators after a thorough investigation (if one even happens, in most cases it doesn't since there is no derailment and no injuries or fatalities). I think a lot of the problem though is that statements like that are made not based on the particular incident, but previous ones, for example people often make comments about it being a miracle a train didn't derail after hitting something since other trains have derailed after hitting things on the track, when circumstances are often totally different. I've even known "experts" and rail workers come out with total rubbish when it comes to accidents. Then again, you can't really judge the worth of people's comments without knowing what evidance they based them on (could be based on what they saw or felt).

 

[yorkie]

... you can't really judge the worth of people's comments without knowing what evidance they based them on (could be based on what they saw or felt).

Well I will judge his comments to be untrusted, unconfirmed, and unknowledgable speculation. I will only believe his comments that it was a "miracle it didn't derail" if experts state the same view, after careful consideration of all the facts.

The guy has very little credibility IMO because he said "it appeared to be a deliberate act" yet he has no evidence to suggest this, and "any train travelling at 80mph hitting an object is likely to derail" is totally false. I bet the BBC absolutely loved the fact they got someone who was willing to come up with such wild comments.

He is very confused as to whether he witnessed the moment the train actually hit the object, he said "it hit the engine .... the train came to an abrupt stop, at which point people at the front of the train woke up ... I was, thankfully, at the back of the train and seemed to sleep through most of it. I did wake up at the impact" If he woke up, how come he said he slept through most of it? Perhaps he said he slept through most of it, because he did, and then realised that would demolish his credibility so corrected himself? I don't know, but it's a very confusing statement and I would want the FULL FACTS to be verified before believing it.

To be fair he did credit the staff though, so it wasn't all bad.

 

[me123]

Someguy on BBC news "It's an appauling service, they waited until daybreak to move us to our onward locations. They're children here!"

Why do I htink he's a plonker?

1) He has a bed on the sleeper (or at least a comfy seat).
2) There's no way they can move all the passengers at 3am
3) The families that are inconvenienced: wouldn't the kids be worse sitting in a taxi??? :roll:

 

[adambro]

Christ, it doesnt take a rocket scientist...

Your doing the exact same thing as your having a pop at 'Richard' for doing, [insult removed]......

No I'm not. Oh, feel free to leave the insults in if you feel so desperate as having to resort to that.

 

[BOSCH]

Slow news day for "auntie beeb",so they take a punters ramblings as gospel and then try to make it bigger than it actually is,"its a miracle it didnt derail"..FFS !!!!

 

[O L Leigh]

Blimey!! I wonder if I'll make the news the next time I run over ballast.

What an absolutely non-interesting piece of (ahem) "news". Anyone could be forgiven that it was Christmas!! Surely the reason the train wasn't moved was not because it ran over an object on the rail, but because the loco had suffered a TM flashover whilst at the head of a seriously heavy train on a ridiculously steep hill.

Running over ballast is no biggy. I suppose it could theoretically derail a train, but don't think it very likely. Can anyone provide any evidence to suggest it has ever happened before?

one TN

 

[AlexS]

Think your main issue with ballast is having it ping out from under the wheelset and smashing a window!

 

[O L Leigh]

Not a chance. Ballast explodes into tiny fragments that does little or no damage to the train whatsoever. You may get a pitted wheel tread, but that really would be the extent of it.

one TN

 

[mbonwick]

Piccys:

http://www.thegrimsheeper.photoblog.org.uk/p47405735.html
http://www.thegrimsheeper.photoblog.org.uk/p47405731.html

 

[me123]

Not a chance. Ballast explodes into tiny fragments that does little or no damage to the train whatsoever. You may get a pitted wheel tread, but that really would be the extent of it.

Still fully understandable why they didn't continue the journey, though!

 

[rail-britain]

To give a better account, the roll of tarpaulin (or Terram to give the trade name) impacted the front of the Class 90, and then rolled under the first three coaches, and this would have been the noise the passengers heard as it banged under the entire train (although by then it had become shredded)
The train came to halt three miles later
After initial inspection the driver was advised to proceed
However, the train had suffered more damage than realised and was only able to get as far as Beattock
57307 then assisted but it too was unable to fully release the brakes, so the train was set down into Abington Down Loop
On arrival at Carstairs the Aberdeen and Fort William portions were removed, the remaining Inverness portion was taken to Polmadie

It is likely the Inverness portion will run ECS to Edinburgh, with passengers on Wednesday night travelling by coach between Inverness and Edinburgh

 

[Jord]

M8internet, you seem to really know your stuff on anything that happens on today's railways. . .

 

[BOSCH]

M8internet, you seem to really know your stuff on anything that happens on today's railways. . .

Except Grand Central,

 

[rail-britain]

I worked on the railway for a few years, and now I work behind the scenes as a contractor
Most recently I was part of the team that compiled the Stagecoach Groups bid for InterCity East Coast, but we kind of knew we were wasting our time!
We've already started on compiling the bid for InterCity West Coast, but some basic details are still awaited from the DfT
Anyway, back to the sleeper, most of the people I worked with are still in the railway, and it's great to have those contacts
As soon as I heard the sleeper was being rescued by a 57 I phoned to find out how/why
EWS Control wanted to send the spare Class 90 from Carstairs, but noone was sure if the loss of power was due to the wires being down!

I've got two contacts at Grand Central, but I actually wonder if they deal with anything on a day-to-day basis!
I recently mentioned that their HST had been cancelled and then replaced by a Class 67 and LHCS
The reply that came back suggested they hadn't been informed, but that was an operational decision, furthermore why the company couldn't have done that way back when they first wanted to launch the service...!