{"id":881,"date":"2025-07-07T11:12:32","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T11:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eastdorsetrailways.org\/?page_id=881"},"modified":"2025-10-20T10:57:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T10:57:05","slug":"incidents-test-page","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/eastdorsetrailways.org\/?page_id=881","title":{"rendered":"Incidents"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Railways are inherently dangerous places. Heavy vehicles moving at speed pose real risks to anyone in their way, especially as the very fact that makes trains so efficient \u2013 low friction between wheel and rail \u2013 means they can\u2019t be stopped quickly. William Huskisson, run over by Rocket <\/em>at the Liverpool & Manchester Railway\u2019s opening in 1830, makes the point. Still, even in the early days of Wimborne\u2019s railways, the 1840s and 1850s, trains were quite slow and people (and animals) had time to get out of the way. Even if a train \u2018came off the rails\u2019 \u2013 as derailment was called then \u2013 passengers would be unlucky to be killed or seriously injured, unless carriages tumbled down a high embankment, fell off a bridge, or were crushed in a cutting or tunnel. A collision between two trains could be serious though. And railway staff working on or near tracks were also particularly vulnerable. A moment\u2019s lapse of attention or a trip could easily mean the loss of life or limb for a platelayer or shunter. Yet despite these dangers, casualties were not so numerous as to cause widespread public concern. <\/p>\n\n\n\n


Regulation begins<\/mark><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Officialdom recognised the dangers though. From the early 1840s a new railway couldn\u2019t open until approved by the Board of Trade, the government department responsible for railway safety. The Board also inquired in to \u2018accidents\u2019 involving passenger trains, identifying causes and recommending measures to avoid a repeat. The railway companies didn\u2019t have to adopt these recommendations however, and the Board wasn\u2019t concerned with staff casualties. Nevertheless the Board\u2019s quarterly returns provide valuable insights in to the railways\u2019 failings. Many reports, including those about East Dorset, are available from The Railways Archive<\/a>.

By the 1860s deaths and injuries to passengers and staff were increasing sharply as trains got faster and more frequent. Growing public outrage forced governments to intervene more in the railways\u2019 affairs, encouraging and eventually \u2013 often in the face of a great reluctance to spend money \u2013  requiring safety measures such as better brakes and signalling. Railway operations became more disciplined, increasing relying on formal procedures and rules. All this took several decades \u2013 full \u2018block\u2019 signalling of passenger lines and effective \u2018continuous\u2019 braking of passenger trains wasn\u2019t compulsory until 1889 and took several more years to be installed. And there was still the risk of \u2018human error\u2019 leading to catastrophe. Even so, by 1900 Britain\u2019s \u2013 and Dorset\u2019s \u2013 railways were well on their way to becoming the very safe form of transport they are today, at least for passengers.

Staff safety lagged, although by the 1890s the emerging railway trade unions were bringing pressure on the companies to adopt safer working. The Board of Trade was also more proactive, inquiring into staff casualties and recommending improvements. Many railway jobs remained dangerous however, and continue to be so, particularly for anyone on or around the track. Only strict safety regimes and disciplined working, plus the mechanisation of many jobs, keeps deaths and injuries low.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Broadstone: <\/strong>Derailed BR Standard 5 4-6-0 No.73049 sits across the Down yard throat, fouling the Up (Poole-bound) running line, on 17th October 1962. Meanwhile, BR Standard 4 2-6-0 No.75073 with the 9.03 a.m. Bristol-Bournemouth passes wrong-line. It could regain the Up line via a crossover at the south end of the station. This highlights why the title \u2018Incidents\u2019 covers a wider range of events than \u2018Accidents\u2019, usually taken to imply something serious, perhaps with fatalities. This case was merely a derailment while the loco passed over the point that acted as a catch protecting the running line, except this time it didn\u2019t!
In the aftermath of the derailment, staff organise the re-railing. The rescue loco at right looks like an S&D Class 4F.
All photos: G. A. Richardson; courtesy S&DRT Collection<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The 4F 0-6-0, standing beside the signal box, begins to tension the cables connected to the rear of 73049’s tender, ready for re-railing.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The local scene<\/mark><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This section will look at incidents on East Dorset\u2019s railways from the beginning through to the line closures. Why don\u2019t we use the term \u2018accidents\u2019? Because it\u2019s ambiguous: yes, a railway accident is \u2018a misfortune or mishap, esp one causing death or injury\u2019, and it might also be \u2018anything that occurs unintentionally\u2026\u2019. But it\u2019s not an event \u2018…that occurs\u2026 by chance\u2019, let alone \u2018…one without an apparent cause\u2019. (Collins English Dictionary<\/em>, 2006) Indeed, as we\u2019ve seen, the point of \u2018accident\u2019 inquiries is to identify the cause(s) and try to prevent their reoccurrence.

East Dorset\u2019s railways are all closed but these pages will evolve. We\u2019ve used all sorts of sources \u2013 Board of Trade reports, newspapers, coroner\u2019s findings, letters, diaries, and so on \u2013 to build a database of incidents, but more evidence will more or less inevitably emerge. Please send us anything you find. We in turn contribute to the Railway Work, Life & Death<\/a> project at the University of Portsmouth: so can you.

Sometimes we\u2019ve the evidence to go beyond bare facts, and when possible we aim to tell the wider stories of those who were involved, as well as probing in to the causes of, and remedies for, dangerous working. In so doing we acknowledge how the suffering of those long buried in the historical record helped to make today\u2019s railways so safe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cases<\/mark><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Using the above basic definition of \u2018incidents\u2019, we can classify them according to various criteria, but especially severity \u2013 from those resulting in fatalities to minor mishaps. We will cover from the tragic that received the full attention of the authorities to the amusing that barely got a note in the local press. In strictly technical terms, there could be derailments, collisions, shunting mishaps, partial or wholesale demolition of structures, breakdowns, signalling failures, etc. East Dorset was probably witness to its fair share of all types. We\u2019ll build up a log as we gather the details. Many incidents were too early for photos to be published, certainly not in newspapers, so we are often a bit pushed to find any illustrations other than perhaps artists\u2019 impressions (the Illustrated London News<\/em> often being a good source).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The big ones<\/mark><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These were usually major derailments, involving all or parts of train leaving the track, or collisions resulting in at least one if not multiple fatalities or serious injuries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The front of a Board of Trade report covering major railway incidents in 1894.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Although this looks like a recovery crane for incidents, kept in the former Down Bay at Wimborne, it was normally the traffic department’s mobile crane for unloading anything in excess of the capacity of the yard ground cranes. This is in 1960.
Photo: \u00a9<\/em><\/em> Roger Holmes; Graham Kelsey Collection<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Down-time at Downton, <\/mark><\/strong>
3rd<\/sup> June 1884<\/mark><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While this occurred just north of our study area, over into SE Wiltshire, the derailment was one of the most serious hereabouts, with fatalities, and had a significant impact on services through East Dorset. It happened 1\u00bc miles south of Downton Station, just west of the River Avon Bridge and straddling the Wiltshire-Hampshire border, north of Charford. One of our research associates, Steve Smith, who once lived in Verwood (and is modelling the station there), has long been fascinated by the Downton incident and has undertaken some fresh research, investigating official reports, newspaper reports, and other material, while re-interpreting the evidence and querying apparent contradictions. We are assembling this into an in-depth paper, which will be available in due course as a PDF from a link on this page and the History page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two-train collision, Wimborne, November 1896<\/mark><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re adopting a slightly unusual approach to this case. In November 1896 an early-morning goods train from London collided at Wimborne with an almost empty workmen\u2019s train waiting to leave for Poole. Fortunately no-one was killed, although both passengers were injured, one quite seriously. The subsequent official Board of Trade inquiry details the operating practices and mechanical failures leading to the crash. It also identifies the key railway staff involved, outlining their working conditions. This report along with contemporary newspaper accounts, census returns and L&SWR staff records were enough for Colin Divall to weave a story of the crash, first told to an audience in Bridport\u2019s community orchard in summer 2024.

A later audio recording of the story is available along with a transcript, originally published in the South Western Circular<\/em> (April 2025). Listen to the audio<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Front page news: <\/strong>The national reporting of the Downton accident. How accurate was this drawing, or was some artistic licence used to create extra drama? Source: The Illustrated London News, 14th<\/sup> June 1884.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The accident occurred a few hundred feet west of the River Avon Bridge, seen below from the south. Had it happened seconds earlier, the consequences might have been even greater in terms of lives lost.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Safer crossing<\/mark><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Prior to 1870, passengers catching or leaving trains at Wimborne’s Down platform had to cross the running lines on the level to or from the Up side where the booking office was. That was a hazard even when both lines were clear, but much more so when one line was occupied by a standing train and visibility limited. David Cutler was killed crossing the lines to catch a train in 1870. 

A subway had first been recommended in 1865, but duly opened in 1870. Wimborne never boasted a footbridge, unlike Ringwood to the east and Broadstone to the south.  Here we see Mervyn Coombs, booking clerk at Wimborne in the early 1950s (and an Old Winburnian of that vintage!), standing in front of the forecourt doors leading to the subway (arch just visible behind) that took passengers to the Down platform. The booking office also had a direct access to the subway. Staircases down from both platforms accessed the subway. Apart from Wimborne, the only other station in the area with a subway was Blandford, unless the major case of Bournemouth Central is counted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prominent casualty<\/mark><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On 23d November 1890, the death occurred on the River Stour Bridge of William Beckett, 64, Conservative MP for Bassetlaw, Nottinghamshire. He was a banker and director of the Great Northern Railway. He was using his L&SWR free pass to travel to Bournemouth and arrived at Wimborne by the 2.51 p.m. Down train. Discovering he had over an hour to wait for the 4.5 p.m. Bournemouth service, he decided to wander through the town. Just before 4 p.m. he was spotted by the Wimborne Junction signalman, Levi Amans, taking an illicit short-cut across the 217-feet-long river bridge, walking next to the Up line. A strong breeze whisked off his hat, causing his coat to billow out and drowning out the sound of the approaching 3.20 p.m. Bournemouth Up train.

Amans described the sight. As the train rushed past, Beckett fell under the second or third carriage. His body was rolled along the line as the train passed over it, and it had been carried 56 feet before it came under the last carriage, and was left lying on the line in a shockingly mangled condition, only the head escaping mutilation. The driver of the Up train, William Massey, whose engine was running tender-first saw no-one on the bridge. The coroner noted that this was his third inquest in two years involving people who had met their end near the bridge.

(Report gleaned partly from the Exeter Flying Post, 29th<\/sup> November 1890.)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Wimborne’s subway had two sets of steps up to platform level, those on the Up side leading up from double doors at forecourt level. In photos two decades apart, we see firstly the decaying station on April 1977, with the Up-side steps leading down between the railings and back wall. The subway was still open, but the entry from the forecourt was blocked off. Photo: \u00a9<\/em> Colin Divall
Secondly, we see the entry doors from forecourt level to steps (off left) and subway (ahead), circa 1955, with booking clerk Mervyn Coombs. Photo: \u00a9<\/em> and courtesy Rosemary Coombs<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Portrait of MP William Beckett.<\/strong> Painting by Francis Grant. Courtesy Leeds Civic Collection, via ArtUK<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Railways are inherently dangerous places. Heavy vehicles moving at speed pose real risks to anyone in their way, especially as<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-881","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eastdorsetrailways.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eastdorsetrailways.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eastdorsetrailways.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eastdorsetrailways.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eastdorsetrailways.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=881"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/eastdorsetrailways.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":913,"href":"https:\/\/eastdorsetrailways.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/881\/revisions\/913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eastdorsetrailways.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}