Lewisham Train Crash 65 Years Later

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ธ.ค. 2022
  • After the Harrow and Wealdstone crash of 1952 it was thought British Rail had learned it's lesson on the importance of AWS... 5 years later though that would sadly not be the case a combination of factors including no AWS would clash to cause this terrible disaster. Was this a repeat in history? Or something bigger?
    It's about time I make an international documentary namely a British one. This one was highly requested and while I could of remastered the RUBBISH Clapham junction video I wanted something fresh and never done before so here you go!
    Newsreel Footage
    www.britishpathe.com/video/ra...
    Music
    Intro: For Investigation - RealTunesStudio
    audiojungle.net/item/for-inve...
    Track 1: Tension is Rising - TimBeekMusic
    audiojungle.net/item/tension-...
    Track 2: Sad Angelic Choir - Allen Grey
    • Allen Grey - Sad Angel...
    Track 3: Haunted Soul - Richard Zelada
    • DARK HORROR MUSIC - HA...
    Outro: Blinking Star - Stellardrone
    stellardrone.bandcamp.com/tra...
    Please donate!
    www.gofundme.com/thunderbolt-...
    This video was expensive to produce! Donations help to pay off footage licenses, keeps the lights on, etc.
    Discord server: / discord
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    / thunderbolt1000
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ความคิดเห็น • 424

  • @JTA1961
    @JTA1961 ปีที่แล้ว +125

    How could this happen ?? I haven't the "foggiest"

    • @Thunderbolt_1000_Siren
      @Thunderbolt_1000_Siren  ปีที่แล้ว +33

      Underrated comment XD

    • @robdevaney6518
      @robdevaney6518 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      only 90 people dead that's all

    • @MiniforceRailfan
      @MiniforceRailfan ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@Thunderbolt_1000_Siren From that Video of the Tangiwai Rail Disaster, The Only Christmas Gift that New Zealand got after the Disaster was a Lahar Warning System

    • @heathstjohn6775
      @heathstjohn6775 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      Hardly in good taste.
      Very disrespectful.

    • @Otacatapetl
      @Otacatapetl ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@heathstjohn6775 Snowflake.

  • @hairybear7705
    @hairybear7705 ปีที่แล้ว +65

    That night a close friend died in that train crash. Later I attended his funeral, the first time death had crossed my path. Cliff was an up and coming architect, working on what was then the Festival of Britain complex. His death was painful for me to bear.....but incomparable to that suffered by his father and mother. Cliff was their only child.
    Always remembered.....RIP Cliff.

    • @amerikasanimations77
      @amerikasanimations77 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Yeah it sucks when you're first loved one dies, or friend dies, but you will get used to it sooner or later.

    • @nathanielcruz6675
      @nathanielcruz6675 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I'm sorry for your loss.

  • @phaasch
    @phaasch ปีที่แล้ว +17

    I've passed through on this line, to and from London countless times, and never cease to be amazed that the emergency replacement bridge, put up in just a few days by the Royal Engineers, is still there and doing service 65 years on, having carried God knows how many thousands of trains since. The picture of the crushed carriage underneath the bridge is particularly chilling.
    Superb account.

    • @markrl75
      @markrl75 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      I believe its known on the railway as 'the military bridge' and its amazing its never been replaced. Its not a thing of beauty but its still doing its job after all these years.

    • @phaasch
      @phaasch ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@statuescher That's fascinating, particularly the Teddy boys as a sidebar, which places it so firmly in time and place. Past, but no, not forgotten.

  • @secretsquirrelnutkin9499
    @secretsquirrelnutkin9499 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    My mum should have been on this train but decided to wait for the next one, as it was too crowded. That decision very possibly saved her life.

  • @SELondonUSA
    @SELondonUSA ปีที่แล้ว +24

    Horrible accident. So many lives lost and severe injuries to many others. Excellent video and narrative.
    I was 6 when this happened and remember it well. My mother was worried when my father did not come home to Catford at the usual time. We did not have a telephone. He arrived several hours later. He had walked home for miles like infantryman he was during WW2.

  • @neiloflongbeck5705
    @neiloflongbeck5705 ปีที่แล้ว +51

    It was the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation and not the Ministry of Transport and Civilisation.

    • @MrDavil43
      @MrDavil43 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Transport AND Civilisation would be one hell of a brief for those civil servants! We could do with such a Department now.

    • @neiloflongbeck5705
      @neiloflongbeck5705 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@MrDavil43 funny you should say that, they wanted to name the Department of the Environment the Department for Life.

    • @amandajane8227
      @amandajane8227 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      I did wonder about that but as governments regularly change the names of departments just gave a shrug to the odd name.

    • @PurityVendetta
      @PurityVendetta ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Yes, we long ago abandoned the concept of civilisation here in the UK, formally abolishing it in 2016.

    • @Quebecoisegal
      @Quebecoisegal ปีที่แล้ว

      Thank you, that had me puzzled.

  • @mrb.5610
    @mrb.5610 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    Worth pointing out that London still burned a lot of coal in 1957 - the fog would have been thick and heavy - they weren't called 'pea soupers' for nothing.

  • @muddymrt
    @muddymrt ปีที่แล้ว +16

    A very well put together video...I lost an Aunt in the accident and I was never told the details of what happened. it was interesting to see the events that lead up to the event. Thank you.

  • @pavelslama5543
    @pavelslama5543 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    The British definition of "temporary trestle" is "a trestle that was built to stand as long as it can".

  • @DC4260Productions
    @DC4260Productions ปีที่แล้ว +67

    The 'Battle of Britain' and 'West Country' classes were actually the same class, with the different names only being used for marketing purposes by the Southern (as far as I know). Examples of each naming convention include 34053 'Sir Keith Park' and 34105 'Swanage'.
    110 of them were built, with around 20 surviving into preservation, and collectively they are known as Bulleid 'Light Pacifics' because they were a slightly smaller version of the Merchant Navy class.

    • @nickjames9764
      @nickjames9764 ปีที่แล้ว

      Okay dog

    • @jeremypreece870
      @jeremypreece870 ปีที่แล้ว

      I thought that the West Country class was smaller and lighter than the Merchant Navy and Battle of Britain classes. This was to enable the West Country Class to operate over bridges etc. that the other two classes would have exceeded the weight restrictions. I was also under the impression that the slightly shorter length was better for tighter bends. Merchant Navy and Battle of Britain ran the express routes such as to Dover etc. However, all three classes were look a like Spam Cans

    • @andrewtaylor5984
      @andrewtaylor5984 ปีที่แล้ว

      ​@@jeremypreece870There was no difference mechanically between the West Country and Battle of Britain locos. In theory, the West Country class was to work on the lines from Waterloo, whilst the Battle of Britain class was to be used in Kent, but this was never fully realised, and it is a long story to tell in full.

    • @andrewtaylor5984
      @andrewtaylor5984 ปีที่แล้ว

      The Hayes train was scheduled to leave Charing Cross at 17.18, not 19.18. 2-EPB no 5766 was built as recently as 1955.

    • @jeremypreece870
      @jeremypreece870 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@andrewtaylor5984 Hello Andrew Taylor. Yes, you are correct, the Battle of Britain and the West Country classes of 'Spam Cans' are mechanically identical and it is the Merchant Navy class that is longer and much heavier.

  • @N.Y.CHudson
    @N.Y.CHudson ปีที่แล้ว +19

    I love how you organize these parts and give so many factor details. Keep up the good work.

  • @griffinrails
    @griffinrails ปีที่แล้ว +18

    Much better job than the old one I made a few years back. Great work as always!

  • @matthewpowell2429
    @matthewpowell2429 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    Amazing job. Your documentaries on wrecks are the best I've ever seen. Looking forward to the next one as always!

  • @gregsmith1719
    @gregsmith1719 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Great video! You have a real talent for making these things! Your voice is perfect -- clear and easy to understand and with the right amount of emotion to give your credibility. Plus, your editing of the story and video it excellent! Keep it up!

  • @statuescher
    @statuescher ปีที่แล้ว +6

    My mum, uncle and grandmother lived nearby in Tresillian Road at the time of the crash. My uncle rode with some ambulances, that had come from outside the area, to help direct them to the hospital in the fog. He said that some Teddy boys helped get people out, climbing over the wreckage and tearing their expensive drape jackets in the process (they were seen as rough types so their brave assistance was perceived as out of character). A major incident at the time but long forgotten by now I think.

    • @carlteacherman194
      @carlteacherman194 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Our families could have been neighbours.

  • @CardScientist
    @CardScientist ปีที่แล้ว +9

    I had a dvd that had old news reels of rail disasters. The news reel for this wreck described it as "Scenes reminiscent of the bomb blitz of London..." Really gives a chilling insight into how the severe the wreck was and what it must have been like to witness it in that fog

  • @albertplumb7206
    @albertplumb7206 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I was ten at this time and lived at Blackheath opposite the then Shunting yard. So all of the rescue equipment came through there. I also recall the swimming baths at Ladywell(?) were used as a morgue for families to try to recognise missing family members. I have never forgotten that crash.

  • @MerseyTransport
    @MerseyTransport ปีที่แล้ว +6

    The dark times of Lewisham along the railways, this brings back memories when my grandfather was involved.

  • @MapleManYT
    @MapleManYT ปีที่แล้ว +5

    The auto system: becomes smart
    Snowpeircer: oh wow you have a special thing just for signals, how cute

  • @HeavyRescue1267
    @HeavyRescue1267 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    Great job as always. I really enjoy these documentaries.

  • @htos1av
    @htos1av ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Nicely covered, comprehensive! Thanks for the hard work!

  • @calebtrains2261
    @calebtrains2261 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    @Thunderbolt 1000 Siren Productions Great Video, And You Mentioned About A Previous Lewisham Train Crash From 1857, Will You Do A Documentary On That One In The Future?

  • @anthonyehrenzweig1635
    @anthonyehrenzweig1635 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I love the reference to the "Ministry of Transport & Civilization". I think he means "Ministry of Transport & Civil Aviation".

  • @amandajane8227
    @amandajane8227 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Wow I lived in Lewisham for many years but had never heard about this crash that occurred before my birth. Appreciate your well presented video.

    • @kennypaul428
      @kennypaul428 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Almost exactly 10 years later in 1967 there was another appalling accident just down the road at Hither Green. Dozens of people lost their lives.

    • @andrewtaylor5984
      @andrewtaylor5984 ปีที่แล้ว

      There is now a commemorative plaque on Lewisham Station.

  • @IorekByrnison086
    @IorekByrnison086 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Great video... Learned alot about safety on rails thanks to you. Keep up the great job...

  • @lukegreen5341
    @lukegreen5341 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    2:45 3:14 This Famous Southern Railway Buileid Battle Of Britain And West Country Pacific Locomotives Are Entered By 1945 Just After The Second World War From 1939 To 1945 To 1950 By The Late 1940's And The 1950's In The 20th Century. Thanks Mate. X

  • @-JeffreyDahmer-
    @-JeffreyDahmer- ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Ahh , another story ! How long do I gotta wait ?! Love ur channel . One of my top favorites.

  • @kenstevens5065
    @kenstevens5065 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I remember this as a junior schoolboy on the television news. Looking at my parents holding back tears. I grew up a lot that day.

  • @davidwhite9159
    @davidwhite9159 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Two points:
    1) The GWR precursor to AWS didn’t use magnets but had an electrical contact system. This was later developed into the AWS system that used magnets.
    2) Spitfire didn’t have the driver on the LH aside, he was on the usual RH aside.

  • @annegoodreau4925
    @annegoodreau4925 ปีที่แล้ว

    Just watched another video on this accident, and yours is so superior. Much more informative. Why people (in this case train officials) aren't more eager to learn from these accidents and implement upgrades to the system I'll never know.

  • @jimdieseldawg3435
    @jimdieseldawg3435 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    The Bulleid Pacifics were rebuilt to rid them of the problematic valvegear which was chain-driven and enclosed in an oil bath. Chains stretched and the oil bath seals were not up to the task and leaked. Perhaps not surprising for a locomotive built with wartime economies in mind; the “sealed” valvegear was intended to reduce maintenance costs, and the “air-smoothed casing” was in fact designed to save on cleaning costs by allowing the loco to be cleaned by driving through a carriage-washing plant. The casing of course restricted access to many components - this is why it was removed on rebuilding, rather than any visibility concerns. The cabs went through several iterations of width/slope/front window size and the final iteration was carried-over onto the rebuilds. Slipping is de rigeur for Pacifics; I can testify that a rebuilt West Country can still slip like a Spamcan 🙂

  • @jerichokane5880
    @jerichokane5880 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    That train still ran to Folkestone up until a few years ago when the closed off the harbour line, mad to think you’re covering my little English town on your video

  • @northpennvalleysteamrailroad
    @northpennvalleysteamrailroad ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Great documentary!

  • @formulafish1536
    @formulafish1536 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I’ll correct you there. As a St John Ambulance member I must tell you that it is St John, not St John’s.

    • @alisonwilson9749
      @alisonwilson9749 ปีที่แล้ว

      The area it happened in is called St John's.

    • @formulafish1536
      @formulafish1536 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@alisonwilson9749 Forgive me then if that is the case. I wasn't aware of this fact, and thank you for correcting me. If St John Ambulance still ran the ambulance service then it would have been the St John Ambulance Brigade, St John's Division.

  • @daniellickel9867
    @daniellickel9867 ปีที่แล้ว +20

    These are by far your best videos. Sad they have to be so traject. When my sister was a baby and wouldn't fall asleep, my parents would go find a train and she would fall asleep. Lots of trains where I am from.. I've handled a couple accidents as a deputy Sheriff and they are just something that is hard to describe. Takes a true trail lover to do it.

  • @adamrushton1740
    @adamrushton1740 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    110 Bullied Light Pacifics were built from 1945 to 1951, the first group were known as The West Country Class (numbered from 34001 to 34048, then from 34091 to 34108 ) and the second group were known as the Battle of Britain class (numbered from 34049 to 34090 and from 34109 to 34110) however the 2 classes are completely identical.

  • @florjanbrudar692
    @florjanbrudar692 ปีที่แล้ว

    Doing a video on the Lewisham disaster of all disasters is a real surprise, even after the 5 year earlier Harrow and Wealdstone crash.

  • @rensleenders1694
    @rensleenders1694 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    dear thunderbolt 1000 siren production,
    I have a question for you i've been watching your channel since day 1 and i really enjoy these videos about train accidents because of the history and the mistakes we made back then and how we learned from them. In all these years of watching your channel i've seen a quite a few videos about crashes outside of the US like Canda and Britian. But you rarely cover other parts of the world like europe, I do rember you made a video about the biggest rail crash in Germany at Etschede with the ICE. But i have a very interesting crash for you to cover witch follows a very similair story like this at lewisham. In the Netherlands in 1962 at a place called Harmelen there was a collision between two trains because the driver of one of the trains had missed a red signal due to the thic around the area. I live in the Netherlands and would like this crash to be known more about because it kinda gets overlooked around the world and even in the Netherlands despite it being the worst rail crash in the Dutch history. If you need any information i would be happy to help!
    Sorry if my English isn't up to standard because its not my first language.
    Thanks for reading my comment and greetings from the Netherlands

    • @keithwaites9991
      @keithwaites9991 ปีที่แล้ว

      Not much wrong with your English...good luck with your project..

  • @adamrushton1740
    @adamrushton1740 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    @Thunderbolt 1000 Siren Productions What I meant to say is that, the West Country and Battle of Britain class Pacific’s are Identical, but distinguished only by the Subjects chosen by their Names.

  • @trainlover16
    @trainlover16 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    13:16 I travel under this “temporary” tressel every time I get the train into London. It’s very dark and nowhere near as pleasant to the eye as this girder bridge was. Since childhood I always found it a strange design for a bridge, and now I know why it looks like that. It’s a scar of this accident I had no idea about.

  • @larryross5665
    @larryross5665 ปีที่แล้ว

    Fascinating but sad, great video, well narrated, nice one

  • @Gabethenwr77
    @Gabethenwr77 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Can’t wait for more documentaries

  • @johnivey6697
    @johnivey6697 ปีที่แล้ว

    A very well-researched and interesting video. I was a boy of 10 years old at the time, living in Bexleyheath
    which is on the Lewisham line. I can well remember the word going up and down the street that
    there had been a train crash at St.Johns. The father of a schoolmate was on the train from Victoria
    which was on the Nunhead flyover at the time of the accident. Apparently, the driver of that train, sensing
    something wrong, used the 'dead man's handle' and stopped the train just in time. It was indeed reported that Driver Trew of the Battle of Britain steam locomotive, could not properly see the colour light
    signals in the cutting at St.Johns and failed to ask his fireman to look out for them. The steam train was
    the 'Man of Kent' , first stop Tonbridge, and was supposed to leave Cannon Street at 16h46. But it departed much later than the 17.18 Hayes train because of the fog. It was a tragic accident. I have never forgotten it.

  • @nathancook1404
    @nathancook1404 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    May have to wait for that other story about what happen before 1957, Good Video! Its sad that History shows us that Human & Locomotive error could lead to a big deadly accidents when it comes to bad weather and there been stories when Man & Machine can sometime be reckless when it come to fog.

  • @martinusher1
    @martinusher1 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I actually remember this crash -- it was rather foggy that evening although not especially so. A couple of details. Those four aspect signals allows the distance between signals to be kept short but the blocks they protect are somewhat overlapped -- a signal will switch to red immediately a train passes but the preceding one won't clear until the first train is well forward of the first signal. This suggests that the locomotive driver not only had to pass two caution signals but quite likely two danger ones before hitting the EMU. That's probably why the report faulted him -- the locomotive crew is supposed to know where all the signals are because you can't guarantee that you'll be able to see them easily in fog or bad weather. (Another detail is that flashing yellow signals to indicated a diverging route are a recent introduction.)

  • @tonymiles5927
    @tonymiles5927 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    4:29
    The old 1957 news report say it was a wreck no one saw but I exquisitely heard one man scream " OH MY GOD!!!" And then many other people proceeded to scream right afterwards so basically everyone at the lewisham platform saw the collision

    • @markrl75
      @markrl75 ปีที่แล้ว

      I doubt it could be seen very much from Lewisham station (particularly in the heavy smog) but you would definitely see it from the station platform at St Johns. For some reason it was called the Lewisham train crash even though it actually happened nearer St Johns.

  • @davidwhitney1171
    @davidwhitney1171 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Seven years earlier there was a similar, and similarly horrible, accident on New York's Long Island Railroad, with enormous casualties, also just before a holiday, Thanksgiving time...

  • @alisonsmith1734
    @alisonsmith1734 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Good video.... although its St John Ambulance not St John's Ambulance:)

  • @unclepauly3205
    @unclepauly3205 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    YES! Please keep up the wreck content! It’s sooooo good and from my limited knowledge your the only guy that does them!

    • @CiaranMaxwell
      @CiaranMaxwell ปีที่แล้ว

      There is one other that I know of. I don't know if he still does them. Ryan's Colorado Train Productions.

    • @rossbrown6641
      @rossbrown6641 ปีที่แล้ว

      Yeah, wreck content, you ghoul!!!!!!!

  • @SaintVerdunStudios
    @SaintVerdunStudios ปีที่แล้ว

    Hey Thunderbolt. Mind if I do documentaries like you? Every train crash documentary I watched makes me inspired and wanting to do the same. Keep up the good work mate. Can't wait to watch the next one to come!

  • @doggerproductions
    @doggerproductions ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Very well presented....excellent work 👏 🙂 🇬🇧 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

  • @lycanmotions
    @lycanmotions ปีที่แล้ว +5

    You're damn good at your documentaries. Keep it up!

  • @michaelgibson4705
    @michaelgibson4705 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I travel this line almost weekly,as a ten year old I remember this accident vividly it was a national tragedy I recall it as the StJohns crash.It often comes to mind passing the site such was its notoriety

  • @westinbridges7321
    @westinbridges7321 ปีที่แล้ว

    One thing I would like to recommend documenting on is the July or December 2013 Spuyten Duyvil derailment. I just googled "Train Derail sound effect" and found out about this while looking at the images. If you get the chance to, try and make a documentary on either one.

  • @whisperingbob
    @whisperingbob ปีที่แล้ว

    You have to love "The Ministry of Transport and Civilisation". Also mixing up the right and left at the end.

  • @UKSpotter2023
    @UKSpotter2023 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Speaking of the Bullied Pacific problems, when I went to the Severn Valley Railway in October, I was watching Bullied Pacific 34027 Taw Valley leave Bridgnorth when it suddenly burst into wheelslip TWICE!

    • @jimthorne304
      @jimthorne304 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Everything slips there! Never watch the trains from the nearby path because you will be covered in soot smuts!

    • @Thunderbolt_1000_Siren
      @Thunderbolt_1000_Siren  ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Hey that's the joy of filming steam! I call such soot "the lucky ashes"

  • @SvenTviking
    @SvenTviking ปีที่แล้ว +1

    My Dad was an east Greenwich fireman and spent a week retrieving bodies from that crash. He didn't eat for over week. The temporary bridge erected by the Royal Engineers is still there, in use.

  • @MarvelMTs
    @MarvelMTs ปีที่แล้ว

    HoooooooRAY! My favorite train related series gets a new entry! Perfect lunch entertainment

  • @sodorcontries4322
    @sodorcontries4322 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Love to see this back 😊😊

  • @grendel_nz
    @grendel_nz ปีที่แล้ว

    Wow, i knew nothing about this. Thank you.

  • @Puckoon2002
    @Puckoon2002 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Love the video. But there was one mistake, which appeared a couple of time, the signal diagram you used had flashing yellow signals, that system was not used back then, it only appeared in the 1990's, or later. The correct sequence would, going downwards, from before the turnout, Red(stop), Single Yellow(caution), Double Yellow(double caution) and Green(clear). The Junction signal would be held at red until the train was either running very slow or had stopped, only then would the junction signal clear.

  • @CrimsonJay21
    @CrimsonJay21 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Been waiting to see my home station in one of these videos 😁

  • @Railman1225
    @Railman1225 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Great documentary, Thunderbolt! Just one suggestion. At 11:45, I think you accidentally reversed the sides(completely understandable, as those would be the sides looking towards the back the locomotive, instead of towards the front).

  • @mater_2492
    @mater_2492 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I like the videos like this they're very interesting

  • @stuew6
    @stuew6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I Love your videos

  • @starpawsy
    @starpawsy ปีที่แล้ว +3

    uhh, in the UK, the guy driving the train is not called an "engineer". He is called a "train driver" or simply "driver".

  • @edwardvincentbriones5062
    @edwardvincentbriones5062 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I finally got to see a Q1 on this video! It is my favorite steam loco ever!

    • @Thunderbolt_1000_Siren
      @Thunderbolt_1000_Siren  ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Glad someone spotted it. It's a personal favorite of mine and definitely my favorite Bulleid design. Some may call it the "Ugly duckling" I call it "an underrated powerhouse"

    • @edwardvincentbriones5062
      @edwardvincentbriones5062 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Thunderbolt_1000_Siren ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

  • @lycanmotions
    @lycanmotions ปีที่แล้ว +1

    There was also reports that ghosts haunt the site calling for help on the annual anniversaries of the rail crash.

  • @thekarlkeeper8727
    @thekarlkeeper8727 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    You should do one on the Chualar bus crash of 1963 in California in September. It’s the deadliest train-bus accident in US history.

  • @MaxTheBlackDragon2010
    @MaxTheBlackDragon2010 ปีที่แล้ว

    Good job I like your channel

  • @alanthornton3654
    @alanthornton3654 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I love your videos thunder

  • @Jessecolliton3992
    @Jessecolliton3992 ปีที่แล้ว

    you are best train youtuber

  • @Cupertinorail
    @Cupertinorail ปีที่แล้ว

    Dear Thomas,
    I have been watching your videos for quite some time I want to ask if you can do a video on the Spuyten Duyvil incident that happened like 9 years ago.

  • @borderlands6606
    @borderlands6606 ปีที่แล้ว

    There is a ghost story associated with the train crash. In the 1980s a British Railways bridge inspector who worked on St Johns flyover, was waiting for a night bus at 2am. While he was waiting he could hear a voice calling for help from the vicinity of the bridge, as if they were trapped. He telephoned the police, who arrived in a patrol car and assured him there was no one trapped. The officer said people had reported the sound of people calling for help ever since the 1957 disaster, but it was futile searching because no one is ever found.

  • @Krzyszczynski
    @Krzyszczynski ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This was the first serious rail accident I can remember hearing about, and I still have clear memories of the reports carried by the following day’s evening paper, complete with sketch diagram of the two crashed trains, the damaged bridge, and the third train travelling on it which had pulled up just in time.
    One contributing circumstance not mentioned here was that the Hayes train need not have been stopped at all. It was a signalman’s error which caused that to happen. (The reasons are complicated and are fully explained by J A B Hamilton in his book “Disaster Down The Line”. The official report, extracts from which appear in the clip, would have this information as well.)
    Of course the signalman can’t be blamed for the disaster in any degree whatever, but it all goes to show that even something comparatively minor like his mistake can be the final link in a chain of events, each unimportant in themselves, but which cumulatively can have the most devastating consequences.
    Also worth noting that Messrs Trew and Hoare had been over an hour on the platform at Cannon Street station, in the freezing fog, waiting for their train to be brought in. At that time the station had no roof. I doubt the experience would have helped their alertness levels.

  • @adamrushton1740
    @adamrushton1740 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    @ThunderBolt 1000 Siren Productions did you know that one of these Battle of Britain locomotives is 34051 named Winston Churchill.

  • @barrydrocknrail2231
    @barrydrocknrail2231 ปีที่แล้ว

    As far as I remember, AWS on multiple units, although fitted, didn't become operational till the early 1980's on Southeastern routes of British Rail.

  • @hamlet7959
    @hamlet7959 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I remember this night well! My father worked in the City and travelled back to through Lewisham on the Bexleyheath to Dartford line. My mother, my sister and I were waiting at home, not expecting him to be back on time because of the fog but, as time went on my mother in particular became quite worried. With no TV, nothing mentioned on the radio and decades before mobile phones there was no way to make contact him or find out more. Then there was a hammering on the front door and the lady from the house behind us burst in and asked to use our phone. She was the sister of the driver of "Spitfire" and had somehow heard about the accident and needed to make contact with his colleagues to find out what had happened to him. This of course caused my mother to panic until my father eventually got home in the early hours of the morning. His train from Cannon Street had been overtaken by the Ramsgate train just before St John's station and they were eventually stopped on the ramp up to Lewisham station when the power was cut off. He remembers hearing voices coming through the fog calling for stretchers etc but because of the fog could see nothing and was totally unaware of what had happened almost next to where he was sitting. Eventually they were taken off the train by ladders and then simply abandonned on the platform at Lewisham to make their own way home. With no bus services running because of the fog he was then forced to walk for several hours to get back. It is true that partial services had been restored by the following day and he never forgot the sight of the piles of the personal belongings of the dead and injured piled up at the end of the platform at Lewisham. My mother kept in contact with the driver's sister and the sad postscript to this story is that, although he was absolved of all blame for the accident after the two trials he never recovered from the horror of the accident and still felt personally responsible for the loss of life. Eventually it drove him mad and he spent the rest of his life in a psychiatric hospital.

    • @rossbrown6641
      @rossbrown6641 ปีที่แล้ว

      I lived at Eliot Park Road, Lewisham at the time of the crash. Self and another NZer went to the site and asked a policeman where we could halp. His reply, was No, you might steal from the dead!

  • @KOE530E
    @KOE530E ปีที่แล้ว +2

    18:07 That’s “Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation” not “Civilisation”.

  • @Merluch
    @Merluch ปีที่แล้ว

    Good video! Will you do the 2012 once rail disaster someday?

    • @brendanu1680
      @brendanu1680 ปีที่แล้ว

      2012 Actually

    • @Merluch
      @Merluch ปีที่แล้ว

      @@brendanu1680 oops

  • @60103FlyingScotsman
    @60103FlyingScotsman ปีที่แล้ว +1

    one little thing , of the 'Light Pacifics' (Battle of Britain and West Country) 20 survive with 10 being in original condition) however all bar 3 (34010 'Sidmouth' 34058 'Sir Frederick Pile' and 34073 '249 Squadron') having run in preservation so far with 34010 and 34058 being restored in their own right as of now and 34073 being used as a parts donor, as for 34066 'Spitfire' Post accident, crew testimony speaks of it being a so called "jinxed" or unlucky engine

  • @grahampearson5670
    @grahampearson5670 ปีที่แล้ว

    Driving Motor Brake Vehicle 14408 of Class 415 SR Bulleid 4-EPB electric unit 5204 was de-registered from service following this deadly disaster (90 perished and 173 were injured) and the set was disbanded with the undamaged cars used in other units from 1958. All Kent suburban and coastal expresses had to use Victoria station while the wreckage was being cleared up.

  • @syko-blud
    @syko-blud ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I missed out. Cool documentary still.

  • @EchtInnviertler1996
    @EchtInnviertler1996 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Watching this on the train home 👍

  • @OptimusPrime2471
    @OptimusPrime2471 ปีที่แล้ว

    Amazing documentary on a very tragic accident hard to believe many years later the Battle Of The Britain basis would become the basis for Rebecca in Thomas and Friends

  • @AndrewTheRocketCityRailfan4014
    @AndrewTheRocketCityRailfan4014 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    How’s the progress on the Penn Central documentary?

  • @JohnDavies-cn3ro
    @JohnDavies-cn3ro ปีที่แล้ว +1

    A very thorough, sensitive account of a tragedy which could, just possibly have been avoided. The WC's and BoB's had a similar, but bigger sister class, the 'Merchant Navy's which had similar problems. Indeed, there was / is a rather cruel joke that all three classes had the big, cast metal name badges to put a bit of weight over the driving wheels to try and solve the slipping problem!
    Their fundamental fault lay in their designer - O V Bullied who introduced too many innovations into the Pacifics. When rebuilt - with decent Walschaerts valve gear instead of Bullied's notorious chain driven gear - they were actually very good locomotives. There's a brief glimpse of a Q1 - a 'Charlie' 0-6-0 in the film, which was possibly his best design - a rugged, basic, slogger that could pull anything and everything you hung behind it.
    Odd, unintentional smiles in the film - the subtitles keep talking about the 'Ministry of Transport and Civilisation'......; British Rail didn't come into existence until at least 10 years after the crash, at the time of which it was still 'British Railways' - and our railways have always had 'drivers' in the cab- over here 'engineers' are the men who design them, not pull the regulator. (throttle). But very well done, and very moving.

  • @andrewlucia865
    @andrewlucia865 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Wasn't one of the main causes of the wheelslip problems of the Battle of Britain Class a result of their valve gear system more than their weight on drivers? The chain driven valve gear system was submerged in an oil bath for constant lubrication, and due to faulty welding, this oil bath was prone to leaking oil onto the tracks. Oil on the tracks would understandably cause extremely violent wheelslip problems.

    • @lorenzosdeadchannel
      @lorenzosdeadchannel ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Not really no, i think it was mostly due to weight rather then the oil (although occasinal spills may have been possible) btw one thing i'd like to point out (and its a very common missconception) is that the Bullied valvegear was NOT submerged in an oil bath. The way it actually worked was there were several oil pots easily accesible by the crew that would be filled with oil which then would flow thorugh small pipes which dribbled it over varius parts of the valvegear, the "bath tub" was only there to stop the oil coming from the pipes and thrown about by the motion from landing on the wheels and track.

    • @JohnDavies-cn3ro
      @JohnDavies-cn3ro ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Originally all three types were designed as 'mixed traffic' locomotives, possibly as a way round wartime construction restrictions. The WCs and BoBs were intended as 'go anywhere' engines that could run on the lightly built lines of the far west of England. There were a lot of innovations in them, some of which were less successful than others. I believe a couple of them suffered the embarrassment of their oil gear catching fire (!) and one certainly dropped its footplate at high speed - the fireman continued plying his shovel while balancing on the mainframes, with the track visibly flying past beneath him. Another one suffered a fractured driving axle, at Crewkerne from memory, where it wrought havoc to the platform furniture but, fortunately without human injury, and her driver brought the train safely to a stand.

    • @andrewtaylor5984
      @andrewtaylor5984 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@JohnDavies-cn3ro The rebuilt Pacifics were not originally allowed beyond Exeter, although they were later allowed to Plymouth only. There were no restrictions on the GW route to Plymouth, and even the Merchant Navy class regularly worked over that line.

  • @adamrushton1740
    @adamrushton1740 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Today 20 of the Class have survived into preservation, 11 are West Countries (7 Rebuilts, the rest unrebuilts) and 9 are Battle of Britains (3 Rebuilts, the rest unrebuilts). In Fact one of the Preserved Battle of Britains is a famous one, it’s 34051 known as ‘Winston Churchill’ named after the Former British Prime Minister. When Winston Churchill Died in January 1965 he given a state funeral. Then it was decided that Churchill’s coffin is to be taken by train from London to Handborough to his final resting place at the parish church of Bladon and that locomotive that pulled his funeral train was the Loco that carried his name, 34051 Winston Churchill. By September that same year, 34051 Winston Churchill was retired from Service and then was put into storage for some years, by 1983 she was bought by the National Railway Museum and was moved to York. It now resides at the National Railway Museum in York as part of the National Collection, also the Luggage Coach that carried Churchill’s Coffin on the funeral train has survived and is also part of the National collection at York.

    • @Krzyszczynski
      @Krzyszczynski ปีที่แล้ว

      In the case of the coach, after a long diversionary journey via California! (I saw it out there in 1987.) But without that, it most likely WOULDN'T have survived. The Americans proved for a time to have more sense of history than we did over that business.

  • @pricey130
    @pricey130 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Ministry of transport and civilisation? Or is that Civil Aviation. Also the flashing yellow lights didn’t come in until the 70s

    • @DaleDix
      @DaleDix ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Civil aviation

  • @funnibaldman
    @funnibaldman ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Can you do the Dorion, QC, Canada level crossing accident (10/7/1966) next?

  • @edwardcole4623
    @edwardcole4623 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Thunder if you remaster teh Clapham Junction wreck you should put Disbelief Papyrus Phase 2 in it

  • @Eddy2730
    @Eddy2730 ปีที่แล้ว

    Although I wasn't born until 30 years after the Lewisham disaster, I lived just up the road from St. John's station, the site of the accident.

  • @HROM1908
    @HROM1908 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Thank you for your much appreciated slow speech and pronunciation. An appalling event. Given the number of train trips per day in the UK the accident rat is remarkably low.

  • @planethook
    @planethook ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Can you make a video about the Westfield New York train wreck?

  • @user-re8jv8ro9g
    @user-re8jv8ro9g 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Hopefully you will cover the incident of Lewisham in 1857

  • @Janice20001
    @Janice20001 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I remember watching ur vids when I was 7 I always got scared

  • @IrishRhapsody
    @IrishRhapsody ปีที่แล้ว

    I love it when Americans try to pronounce the names of places in Britain and Ireland. Still a well made video, and your confidence, especially in how you speak, has definitely grown since your earlier documentaries.

    • @Thunderbolt_1000_Siren
      @Thunderbolt_1000_Siren  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Some are easy such as Edinburgh thanks to my Northern English father and watching Airline (UK) a lot back in the day (mainly for the freakouts XD)

  • @Waukeshasubrailfan
    @Waukeshasubrailfan ปีที่แล้ว

    I know a train crash that happened in July of 2014, it happened in my town of slinger it was caused from a train that accidentally backed up on to the main track or diamond and then a CN train crashed into it.

  • @adelestevens
    @adelestevens ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Flashing yellow aspects on multiple aspect signalling(MAS) didn't come into being until the 1990's.
    The southern region of Btitish Railways at that time used "searchlight" signals , which are a lamp with a rotating disc inside showing different colours through a lens.
    The correct sequence of signal aspects was green > single yellow > red to approaching trains.
    With a train standing at Lewisham the following battle of Britian locomotive only had to miss the green and next yellow to running a train standing at the next red aspect.

    • @modelsteamers671
      @modelsteamers671 ปีที่แล้ว

      Flashing yellows came in well before the 1990s

    • @grahambridge7642
      @grahambridge7642 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@modelsteamers671 not on the Southern Region and not on this route.

    • @modelsteamers671
      @modelsteamers671 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@grahambridge7642 I didn't mention the Southern. They started in the 70s on the Western.

    • @grahambridge7642
      @grahambridge7642 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@modelsteamers671 exactly. The video is about an accident on the Southern, not the Western.

    • @modelsteamers671
      @modelsteamers671 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@grahambridge7642 it was a response to another comment that flashing yellows didn't appear until the 90s.