Accident at Peak Forest in the 1950s?

[lather]

Has anyone ever heard anything about a serious (possibly fatal) accident at or near Peak Forest in the mid-1950s?

 

My mum used to travel the line from Derby to Manchester regularly in the 1950s and 1960s, and can remember seeing a serious accident as the train home passed through Peak Forest, but I can't find details anywhere of any such accident having occurred. I've tried general Google searches, books I have on the line, and also looked at the accident listings at the Railway Archive website, but nothing has turned up.

 

As she remembers things, it was a derailment involving a steam-hauled coal or mineral train, which had derailed and the loco and several wagons ended up on their side. This blocked the main running lines, so the passing trains had to use other lines (probably the through sidings) to get past. At the time her train passed the site, they had a crane there and were trying to lift the loco as they thought that one of the crew was trapped under or in it - the other one apparently having been thrown out and killed as the loco rolled.

 

As I say, I've tried looking everywhere I can think of and access at this time, but there doesn't seem to be anything anywhere. From what she says about everything else going off in her life at the time, the time period would be sometime between 1953 and 1956. The location may not be Peak Forest itself, but it would have been in that general area - so possibly anywhere from Dove Holes to Great Rocks Junction. I know it can't be the Chapel-en-le-Frith accident, as that was a year too late and on the wrong route. It would also most likely be a weekend, as that was when she mainly used to travel the line because she was going to visit relatives who lived near Warwick Road station on her days off from working in the wages office at Derby Loco.

 

So has anyone ever heard anything about any such accident? It appears to be a bit of a mystery, and I'd like to find more details if there's any out there.

[The Stationmaster]

Presumably you couldn't find anything on The Railways Archive?  If there's nothing there I think the n best place to look is local 'papers.

[Reorte]

A little bit of light digging and I've only found reference to a rather later derailment at Peak Forest in 1979. I also remember reading somewhere about one at either Chapel or Chinley (not the better-known Chapel accident on the Buxton line) but I think it was considerably earlier than your date.

[MidlandRed]

D5278 was parked at Peak Forest severely damaged at both ends during 1971, details and photo on attached link to the excellent Derby Sulzers site. The loco's FYE (although in green livery) doesn't seemed to have assisted it.

 

Not 50s, or steam but definitely parked in full view for a while, although the link  suggests the collision may have occurred in the Great Rocks area. One of a small batch of class 25s allocated from new to Trafford Park for specific workings from Tunstead. 

 

https://www.derbysulzers.com/5278.html

[65179]

Post deleted

Edited May 18, 2020 by 65179
Didn't read original post properly

[pharrc20]

I haven't heard or seen any photos of any accidents around this time in this area. Someone like Mike Bentley might know as he used to be a Buxton fireman I believe at this time.

Cheers Paul

[Reorte]

The one I was thinking of was Chinley (so not that far from Peak Forest) 1958, but that didn't involve any freight.

 

[astropsidings]

Edit: misread the original post

Edited May 19, 2020 by astropsidings

[Wickham Green too]

May I offer the Chapel runaway as a possibility ? : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Axon

[Compound2632]

1 hour ago, Wickham Green too said:

May I offer the Chapel runaway as a possibility ? : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Axon

 

The OP's question is about the ex-Midland Derby-Manchester line, not the ex-LNWR Buxton line.

[Wickham Green too]

We know the Lady in question used to travel on the Midland line regularly - but that doesn't mean that she never popped up to Buxton .......... I don't think anyone else has offered another possibility in the right timeframe.

[Compound2632]

1 minute ago, Wickham Green too said:

We know the Lady in question used to travel on the Midland line regularly - but that doesn't mean that she never popped up to Buxton 

 

Fair point - she may have misremembered the location.

[Wickham Green too]

...... it was a long time ago !

[lather]

3 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Fair point - she may have misremembered the location.

 

Definitely not Buxton, as she remembers the basic details of the journey very well. This is because the delay to the train (about 90 minutes) meant that it was the only time she missed seeing my dad off when he caught the train to Birmingham at the end of weekend leave from his national service in the RAF (he was at Sutton Coldfield and was one of those from the base called in to help with the Sutton Coldfield crash in 1955). That's how we know the time frame, as that was when he was doing his national service. And she was definitely returning to the Derby area from Manchester, as she regularly went up by train to visit relatives there, and never went to Buxton at all except for a couple of times when the brass band she was part of in her late teens went to competitions there. And, on those occasions, they went by car, not train. 

 

She may be 82, but her memory for things back then (apart from dates and the occasional name) is still very good. For example, she can still clearly remember walking through various locos at the Derby Works open days, both when her dad took her there as a girl (he worked at Crewe, Bow and then Derby Works, and was part of the team that built 10000) and when she was working in the Wages Office there. So she still has clear recollections of walking through locos such as 10000, a Peak and even the Fell.

 

Knowing how good her memory is for events and locations, I'm fairly confident that she's right on the general location and general details. It's just the finer points like the exact location and date that's the issue.

[pharrc20]

I will ask on the MLS Manchester Locomotive Society messageboard as that is quite active at present as you never know some of the members may recall something like this.

Cheers Paul

[pharrc20]

I have checked on the MLS members group and whilst several said about the Chapel accident in 1957 involving John Axon, wrong line of course this being on the ex-LNW line not the ex-MR.

 

Fellow author Eddie Johnson has checked with Mike Bentley and this was his reply...

 

Regarding Paul’s query as to the freight train accident at Peak Forest. I have spoken to Mike Bentley earlier today and he has no knowledge of any accident in or around Peak Forest in the 1950s or 60s. Derailments, he says,were common - echoing what Andrew has said earlier.And as regards a crew member being killed, Mike says he certainly would have known of this.

 

So not much more there but if anything else comes to light will post it here.

 

Cheers Paul