86 209 Watford crash

[roythebus]

On another site, there's a discussion about 86 209, the loco involved in a crash at Watford circa 1975. This loco ended up at the bottom of the embankment and was there for what seemed to be a couple of years. Others reckon it was a couple of months.

 

Can anyone tell me how long this loco stayed in the field at the bottom of the bank? I know they had to build a pecial road across swampy and for recovery cranes and other equipment to gain access as rail mounted cranes couldn't operate on the curvature with cant to lift the loco back on the rails.

[TravisM]

86209 was involved in a fatal collision between Watford and Bushey on the 23rd January 1975 whilst working the 1S18 Euston- Glasgow “Night Caledonian”.  It and the front two coaches slid down the steep embankment where it stayed for 4 months, recovered by road and taken to Crewe works, arriving 20th April 1975.

 

86209 collided with 83003 and failed 86204 which was working the late running 1A81 Manchester - Euston.  This train had itself been derailed after it hit debris which had fallen off the 6M50 Dagenham - Halewood “Ford” train hauled by 85017.  The driver of the 1A81 was tragically killed and 83003 was written off.

 

It’s a fair assumption that a temporary road was built to the foot of the embankment to bring the heavy lifting gear in and 86209 and I assume the two coaches out.

Edited February 25, 2020 by jools1959
Typo

[keefer]

Accident report:

http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/DoE_Watford1975.pdf

 

Doesn't mention the clearance of the locomotive but does state the brake coach which followed the loco down the embankment, plus two others which were deliberately pushed down there to aid clearance of the line, were cut up on site.

Edited February 25, 2020 by keefer

[DY444]

3 hours ago, jools1959 said:

86209 was involved in a fatal collision between Watford and Bushey on the 23rd January 1975 whilst working the 1S18 Euston- Glasgow “Night Caledonian”.  It and the front two coaches slid down the steep embankment where it stayed for 4 months, recovered by road and taken to Crewe works, arriving 20th April 1975.

 

86209 collided with 83003 and failed 86204 which was working the late running 1A81 Manchester - Euston.  This train had itself been derailed after it hit debris which had fallen off the 6M50 Dagenham - Halewood “Ford” train hauled by 85017.  The driver of the 1A81 was tragically killed and 83003 was written off.

 

It’s a fair assumption that a temporary road was built to the foot of the embankment to bring the heavy lifting gear in and 86209 and I assume the two coaches out.

 

Iirc a temporary access way was built using pre-fabricated aluminium road sections and a Bailey bridge over the River Colne.

[Keith J]

There was a quite detailed article about the recovery of 86209 in Modern Railways, June 1975 I think. I have the magazine stashed away somewhere.

[4069]

On 25/02/2020 at 04:38, jools1959 said:

86209 was involved in a fatal collision between Watford and Bushey on the 23rd January 1975 whilst working the 1S18 Euston- Glasgow “Night Caledonian”.  It and the front two coaches slid down the steep embankment where it stayed for 4 months, recovered by road and taken to Crewe works, arriving 20th April 1975.

I make that less than three months.

 

The coaches were there unattended long enough for some of the local youth to explore them thoroughly and remove the light fittings for re-use elsewhere. I can't think who that could have been

Edited February 26, 2020 by 4069

[Fat Controller]

1 hour ago, DY444 said:

 

Iirc a temporary access way was built using pre-fabricated aluminium road sections and a Bailey bridge over the River Colne.

I recollect seeing photos; the larger crane needed a smaller one to assemble it.  There was a problem with those Ford Palvans on the Dagenham-Garston trains; if held at signals in North London, the natives used to open the doors to see what was worth taking, moving the stillages (caged pallets) in the process. There was another incident with one falling out in a tunnel on the way to Rugby. 

[Philou]

The cranes were on hire from Sparrows and it was indeed due to the actions of 'others' that a door was left open on one of the Ford Palvans and the stillages fell out. 86 209 was recovered with little damage, due to the embankment being soft, and returned to service as was most of the coaching stock together with 85 017.  83 003, in which occurred the fatality, was almost 'sliced in two' and was scrapped.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

Edited February 26, 2020 by Philou
Amended to remove 'cut up on site'

[The Border Reiver]

The accident happened on 23th January and the line was reopened on the 26th. I travelled to London around the 26th and took some photos from the train of the accident.

Two shots of 83003, on with coaches.
Two shots of 86209 at the bottom of the embankment covered with a tarpaulin.
Two shots of a coach on the side of the embankment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Edwin_m]

1 hour ago, 4069 said:

I make that less than three months.

 

The coaches were there unattended long enough for some of the local youth to explore them thoroughly and remove the light fittings for re-use elsewhere. I can't think who that could have been...

We were staying in the area at the time and my father took us to see the loco in the field.  By that time there was a security guard, who was happy to let us look but explained that there had been thefts.  I recall the loco as being uncovered but don't remember any temporary road having been started at the time of our visit.  

[keefer]

8 hours ago, Fat Controller said:

I recollect seeing photos; the larger crane needed a smaller one to assemble it.  There was a problem with those Ford Palvans on the Dagenham-Garston trains; if held at signals in North London, the natives used to open the doors to see what was worth taking, moving the stillages (caged pallets) in the process. There was another incident with one falling out in a tunnel on the way to Rugby. 

It's mentioned in the official report that a regular signal stop was at Gospel Oak (to avoid delaying passenger trains in the area). The other stop was at Willesden where guards were supposed to check the train - the guard involved in this incident hadn't done so as the train was stopped on the main running lines, so there wasn't any safe way to check both sides of the train

[Fat Controller]

4 hours ago, keefer said:

It's mentioned in the official report that a regular signal stop was at Gospel Oak (to avoid delaying passenger trains in the area). The other stop was at Willesden where guards were supposed to check the train - the guard involved in this incident hadn't done so as the train was stopped on the main running lines, so there wasn't any safe way to check both sides of the train

At one time, they sometimes had a brake van (an SR bogie one, IIRC) with BTP on board.

[Rugd1022]

Some more photos of the accident and the recovery of 86 209....

 

 

[keefer]

Interesting pics, compare pics 3 & 4 to see the two coaches which were deliberately tipped down the embankment to help the clearance operations

[TravisM]

Was 83003 taken to Crewe works for scrapping by road or did they slowly drag it there by rail?

[4069]

Another memory- spotting at WFJ, probably during the Easter holidays shortly before 86209 was removed, a gricer arrived from somewhere way up north who announced that he had copped all the 86s except one- which was lying at the bottom of the bank just down the road. Stuck in my mind at the time as an example of dedication to one's hobby taken to extremes, but since then I've seen much worse!

[Philou]

I may have mis-quoted in my earlier reply as my source says the two 86s were restored by BREL at Crewe and the 83 was scrapped - but no indication as to whether it was on site (as I thought) or elsewhere.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

Edited February 26, 2020 by Philou
Amended my earlier reply regarding 83 003

[Pannier Tank]

2 hours ago, Philou said:

I may have mis-quoted in my earlier reply as my source says the two 86s were restored by BREL at Crewe and the 83 was scrapped - but no indication as to whether it was on site (as I thought) or elsewhere.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

My Datebase shows 83003 cut up at Crewe Works. Also it is listed here https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/380-on-this-day-in-history/&do=findComment&comment=1392809 as at Crewe Works 23/03/1975

[roythebus]

Thanks for the information. the loco down the bank seemed to have been there a lot longer than I thought.

[bécasse]

I served a three month "sentence" at The Grove in the first part of 1975. Incredibly, given that it was several miles away, we quite clearly heard the collision take place. After a brief "what on earth was that" discussion, the conclusion was that it had to be a railway accident and someone rang HQ control at 222 to check. We were put on standby to assist for a while but the logistics of getting us to the site proved too difficult. 

[roythebus]

Thanks for that David. I was secondman at Rugby at the time of that and the Nuneaton crash but don't remember much about either of them except the 86 down the bank at Watford.