Accident At Bradford-on-Avon

Apologies if this repeats a thread somewhere else.

I have a reliable (but vague in terms of exactly which train it was) report that a person standing on one of the platforms at Bradford on Avon had their leg broken by a large piece of coal that flew from a steam loco last weekend. There is a severe dip in the track immediately to the London end of the down platform and it is suspected that that was the cause. I haven't heard anything about this anywhere else yet, but, assuming the track was totally at fault, I wonder whether NR will nevertheless now insist on covers over coal on steam locos?

 

Can't find a news report for this. Do you have a source other than your vague but "reliable" one?

 

That seems highly unlikely, not to say alarmist. A steam-only speed limit over the manky bit of track until NR get around to fixing it seems much more appropriate to me.

 

My source was a friend who lives in Bradford, and the victim is a friend of his. He'll be supplying further details in due course, but, in the meantime, I wondered if the accident had made it into the news anywhere yet. I suppose it partly depends on whether/how it was reported at the time.

 

Why ?, I'd say that would be NR's fault for not having the P-way up to scratch, if a dips significant enough to cause that, then it must be a lively dodgy ride through there at speed.

 

This is the piece of track in question - there are significant dips immediately either side of the barrow crossing behind the dmu at the platform, especially the left hand rail. I took this (cropped version shown here) when I was there visiting the friend who reported the incident to me today, but I was unaware at the time that an injury had occurred when one of the steam runs passed. Notwithstanding the exaggeration of the telephoto effect, I imagine a bounce could be set up here which could throw a lump of coal from the top of the tender.

 

Not their call to make.

As the incident happened on railway property, the Station staff are required to report it to the RAIB who may choose to investigate further. Any recommendations made by the RAIB then get passed on to the ORR who have the power to order NR and/or the TOC to make such improvements as they see fit to prevent a re-occurrence as far as is practically possible.

 

Do we have any coal trains left in the UK?

Or ore trains?

Presumably the risk of this sort of thing happening still exist if such traffic is still carried in open freight vehicles?

But living in the past like I do, I am somewhat out of touch with modern day freight traffic.

 

Yes we do Bryan - and although a few have covered wagons (I think), Network Rail actually have charges applied to such services for coal spillage!

Steven

 

When I left Stirling in 2010 there was a farcical investigation going on into whose coal was jamming a FPL as coal to Longannet was falling off the side of the wagons and jamming the lock.

 

This happened on Sat 29 June, but has now hit the press:
34067 and 44932 passed the station on this date. I think the coal fell from 44932.
http://www.bathchronicle.co.uk/Flying-lump-coal-breaks-ex-mayor-s-leg/story-19520702-detail/story.html
Also mentioned in The Times

 

http://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/new...ord_mayor_is_struck_by_coal_from_steam_train/

Wiltshire times coverage.

 

I thought that there a piece of video footage taken last year which showed something falling from a tender at B on A?

 

Was the station staffed at the time when the Steam special went past?

Splendid bit of telephoto photography there. I went past Bradford on Avon twice last week on 1C99, the loco bounced / rolled a bit as it went through the platform, nothing to warrant stopping to report as 57's are given to bouncing and rolling on other bits of the line. Might pay to make sure all the coal is where it should be in the tender before starting out.

 

There must have been a bit of coal sitting loose waiting to fall off somewhere then. As already stated not much of a track defect there even allowing for the massively long lens used. Little bit of cyclic top on the left hand rail, much worse than that out there.