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Eltham Well Hall station is to be replaced by a massive bus/rail interchange at Glenlea Road. The incident resulted in four fatalities on site, including the driver, with two further passengers dying of their injuries months later. A second trailing crossover between the running lines had been installed 50-yards east of the platforms, and the goods yard acquired a further two sidings and a shed (although, as per that at Bexleyheath, rails did not pass through it). [1] Although Wilsdon paid the fine, British Rail were not notified of this occurrence until a colleague of Wilsdon's was similarly charged five days later. Here, Wilsdon drank two pints of light and bitter and a half pint of light ale which was confirmed by his brothers who'd drunk similarly. More like this London History Local History Family History Eltham Palace London Family The Tudor Boy George Lido Abandoned swimming pools A A.M.C.O. The Bexleyheath line became fully track-circuited at this time and, in the same year, a check rail was laid west from Well Hall station, along what was known as the Well Hall Curve. In 1927, yet another renaming occurred, the Southern Railway designating the site as Eltham (Well Hall) from 26th September. He later claimed to a representative from the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen that he would not drink again. Well Hall, Eltham, train crash, 1972: an injured train driver being carried to an ambulance. As well as Wilsdon, two passengers died at the scene; a woman later died of her injuries in August and a male likewise in November, bringing the number of fatalities to five. As part of British Railways ten-car suburban train scheme, which aimed to boost capacity on South Eastern Division commuter lines, Well Halls platforms were lengthened at their eastern ends in 1955 using prefabricated concrete components. An ambulance was seen landing at the scene and police are also in attendance. On Sunday 11 June 1972, a day-trip to Margate had been arranged for the employees (and their families) of British Rail's Midland Region based at the North London depot at Kentish Town. Although Atterbury had been somewhat concerned about excessive speed between Gillingham and Chatham, he stated that Wilsdon had operated appropriately through Dartford. This procedure was considered practical and was allowed to remain in use, but it was agreed that the method Wilsdon used (where he casually booked on duty and for his own benefit of gaining two additional hours' pay by booking on at 15:22 instead of around 17:00 when he actually did leave home for work) was not appropriate and was to be stopped or prevented wherever possible. The wreckage of a rail crash the day before at Eltham Well Hall railway station in Eltham, London, UK, 12th June 1972. The 1969 incident also showed Wilsdon's disregard of what had occurred in 1961 but it was agreed that the manager at the time had been unwise in waiting two months to question Wilsdon, but had acted appropriately when he did. Eltham Well Hall. -- More Tools -- By the time the train approached Eltham Well Hall station it was running at around 65mph. The actor Phil Daniels, star of Quadrophenia, Scum, and later EastEnders was aboard one of the derailed coaches with his parents after a day trip.[1]. The actions of his superior regarding this incident were criticised as "unwise" but were not considered a serious failing. An excursion train from Margate to Kentish Town derailed on a sharp curve at Eltham Well Hall station, Eltham, London. When Arundell went to examine the cab, he found it empty but after returning shortly afterwards, saw a pair of beer bottles in the cab. At this time, Well Hall gained concrete lampposts with the SRs trademark hexagonal lampshades. It will be noticed on those structures which still survive at Bexleyheath and Welling that their wider, 25-foot portions also demonstrate a higher hipped roof section. His speech was clear and his gait was normal. The Eltham Well Hall rail crash was an accident on the British railway system that occurred on 11 June 1972 at approximately 21:35. Computations later proved that the driver had apparently shut off power where required, but had not made a brake application. 125 passengers were injured. Press Association. A concrete-lined cutting accommodating a dual-carriageway was envisaged, this of which would run parallel with the Bexleyheath Line for about a mile in the vicinity of Eltham, before passing under the railway at Well Hall. Copyright Info. In future, train crew would have to book in by telephone or report to a supervisor who could visibly look for signs of unfitness for duty. 0 references. 6635 documents9207 accidentsUpdated 24th Apr. Whilst it was agreed that it was a fairly common occurrence in the Southern Region and British Rail had adopted a policy where certain drivers could be granted need to book on via telephone (typically those either living far from depots or those whose duties commenced far from their depots). Those who knew the driver said that he was quite a frequent drinker of alcohol and could "carry" much beer. Note how the staircase of the footbridge passed through the roof of the canopy. Cookie policy. Accident at Eltham Well Hall on 11th June 1972 Accident Summary and 2 more images Location Eltham Well Hall Train Operator British Railways (Southern Region) Primary Cause Excessive speed Secondary Cause Driver intoxicated Result Derailment 6 fatalities, 126 injured Accident Investigation Status A third smashed bottle found was later proven to have been a medicine bottle and was unlikely to have carried any alcohol at the time of the accident. The fourth coach had ended up roughly 90 degrees to the track, leaning over on its left side. Wilsdon and Stokes were to sign on duty at Hither Green in person by 15:42 to catch a train as passengers to Ramsgate, transferring at Dartford. The second uncertain moment was what occurred to both him and Stokes during the stop at Margate, in which both seemingly left the station via the Platform No.1 entrance. This caused nine out of 10 carriages to derail, injuring many occupants and killing 6 including the driver. His suspension in 1961 was considered a warning sign of Wilsdon's alcoholic tendencies but it was agreed that at the time there was no evidence to disprove Wilsdon's statements that he would better himself and not drink again. The eighth coach was upright but derailed, the ninth coach was derailed at its leading bogie but also upright, and the tenth coach (in which Atterbury had been riding) was upright and on the rails, though some internal damage had occurred. Exactly where the pair went in this period is unknown owing to Wilsdon's death and Stokes having little recollection of the events after leaving Ramsgate and although another pub was close to the station, it was considered that neither had time to reach it.[2]. That day the Harrow Observer reported the horrific accident and 66 years later, getwestlondon pays tribute to the victims. An excursion train from Margate to Kentish Town derailed on a sharp curve at Eltham Well Hall station, Eltham, London. The inquiry hypothesized that the driver had taken spirits into the cab with him, having collected them during his unexplained absence before leaving Margate. Having left Margate eight minutes late and scheduled to run non-stop (aside from a later stop to change crew), Wilsdon was able to run the train at high speed and according to Atterbury's timings, was only a minute late after passing Faversham (24miles from Margate). Nevertheless, at Wilsdon's suggestion, they both went to the nearby Railway Staff Association Club at about 19:00 and drank three pints of light and bitter beer each. In that year, the Greater London Council (GLC) published proposals for the Rochester Way Relief Road, today known as the A2. Both brothers confirmed that he had not drunk after leaving the pub and were adamant on this point at the later public inquiry. United Kingdom. The train was an excursion for Kentish Town-based railway employees of the London Midland Region and their families. Shortly thereafter, Wilsdon and Stokes returned and entered the cab preparing for departure, with neither seeming unusual: when Arundell told them to hurry up, Wilsdon calmly noted they could regain lost time on the journey. The last train to call at Eltham Park and Well Hall stations was the 23:43 Charing Cross to Dartford. The first coach followed the overturned locomotive but remained upright, the coupling failing quite late into the sequence. The locomotive jumped the sharp curve, derailing and rolling onto its left side and sliding through a coal yard. A combination of the signal checks at Sittingbourne and Rainham and the unscheduled stop at Rainham had caused Wilsdon to lose most of the progress he had made between Margate and Sittingbourne. In reality, Wilsdon did not leave for Rainham station until 17:15 and as such his move was solely to gain pay for an extra two hours for which he had not actually been on duty. The train arrived at Margate and the entrainment of passengers was routine, with boarding complete by 20:04. By 1972 he was married with young children and living in Rainham, Kent - which meant he would usually have to make an almost two hour rail commute to his depot at Hither Green. He had worked with Wilsdon a few times before and considered him an experienced driver. Shortly after leaving Rainham, Atterbury noted that the speed seemed "a little bit excessive" and that Wilsdon had been braking intensely between Gillingham and Chatham railway station. Stationmaster Arundell signalled the train clear to depart for London, but both he and Atterbury found that there was no response in the cab. Credits Decline at Well Hall started when the goods yard ceased to handle coal traffic, in December 1964, followed four years later by the withdrawal of public goods facilities on 7th October 1968. The Report for the crash was released on 1 June 1973 and it quite clearly showed that the accident was caused entirely by the actions of Robert Wilsdon, in that he had "grossly impaired his ability to drive safely by drinking a considerable quantity of alcohol both before and after booking on duty". The inquiry hypothesized that the driver had taken spirits into the cab with him, having collected them during his unexplained absence before leaving Margate. The driver of the Excursion train was Robert Wilsdon, a Driver for British Rail's Southern Region based at Hither Green TMD since December 1961. Wilsdon was not due to be on duty until the afternoon and had gone to a pub at lunchtime with his brothers who said he spent the afternoon at home. Despite this, Robertson felt that there was no severe issue with drinking amongst drivers on Britain's railways, with only two other accidents (one in 1913 and another in 1952) having occurred explicitly due to driver drunkenness in the sixty years prior to the accident, and as such he believed that it was a combination of railway staff's thoughts and self-discipline for drivers' behaviour with alcohol. Poor weather hampered construction and pushed back the commissioning of the new station, both the existing sites lingering on until Saturday 16th March 1985. Shortly thereafter, Wilsdon and Stokes returned and entered the cab preparing for departure, with neither seeming unusual: when Arundell told them to hurry up, Wilsdon calmly noted they could regain lost time on the journey. Please consider donating to help with our running costs. From 1st October 1916, the station was known as Well Hall and North Eltham. He had been working on the railways since 1958 and was experienced to drive the British Rail Class 47 locomotive, which would occasionally come down from trains in other regions. Your author surmises it was during this incident that the up side platform canopy was damaged. Photograph by Press Association, 1972. It also meant that his Supervisors at Hither Green would not see him in person. Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen, Railway accident : Report on the Derailment that occurred on 11 June 1972 at Eltham (Well Hall) Station in the Southern Region, British Railways, Accident at Eltham Well Hall on 11th June 1972. Although it was agreed that the signalling played no part in the collision, it was later agreed that the signals around Eltham Well Hall would be redesigned to slow a train to round the curve rather than remain at green, which would mean it would be less likely a driver would be caught by surprise with the curve. D1671 was withdrawn some four months later. His colleague was similarly promoted but resigned in early 1963 after a series of reprimands and suspensions. The driver Robert Wilsdon and five passengers were killed, and 126 people were injured. It seems these splashes were too late and light to register in the cab. Date: 1972 Reference: 778393i Pictures About this work Publication/Creation [London] : Press Association, 1972. Compliments. The second incident occurred on 28 March 1969, when Wilsdon was fined 1 for being drunk in Lewisham. An excursion train returning from Margate came off the track on the sharp curve outside the station. Investigating this theory, the morning after the accident, the cab was searched and three smashed glasses were found in the cab's wreckage. Links A post-mortem examination of Wilsdon showed that he had a blood alcohol level of 0.278% (the legal limit for driving a road vehicle is 0.08%). The Eltham Well Hall rail crash was an accident on the British railway system that occurred on 11 June 1972 at approximately 21:35. Eltham Well Hall train crash; Statements. Stokes had arrived first, having spoken with the supervisor at Ramsgate to ascertain the details of the train. David Glasspool Collection. He was thoroughly critical of Wilsdon's behaviour, describing it as "reprehensible" and "disgraceful". Please note that the Railways Archive is not responsible for the content of external websites. It was suggested at the time that the closure of both existing Eltham stations and the provision of a new, single set of platforms would save British Rail 45,700 (158,400 at 2018 prices) per year in operating costs. Further modernisation was the order of the day in 1931, when stations at Bexleyheath, Welling, and Eltham (Well Hall) were rebuilt. There was an imbalance with the urine alcohol level which made it very likely that the driver had also been drinking alcohol within an hour of his death, meaning it was possible he had been drinking at the controls. Its nameplates were salvaged, and transferred to No. Although Atterbury had been somewhat concerned about excessive speed between Gillingham and Chatham, he stated that Wilsdon had operated appropriately through Dartford. 11 June 1972: D1630 was involved in the notorious Eltham Well Hall rail crash in which six people were killed. The only other theory was that Wilsdon had obtained a bottle of spirits at some point, stored it on his person and had drunk it at some point after leaving Margate, and later disposed of the glass by throwing it out the window of the locomotive, with the theory being that Wilsdon either obtained the bottle at some point whilst in Margate or had kept one on his person since he left Rainham for work. A combination of the signal checks at Sittingbourne and Rainham and the unscheduled stop at Rainham had caused Wilsdon to lose most of the progress he had made between Margate and Sittingbourne. The first occurred on 7 November 1961, when Wilsdon had been charged 150 for being Drunk and disorderly, causing damage to a shop window and assaulting a Police constable whilst off-duty. 2004 - 2023 railwaysarchive.co.uk - all rights reserved. After arrival at Margate, the train was stabled at Ramsgate. Along this paper, the methodology is exemplified on a specific accident: the derailments caused by over-speed in curve. Six lives were lost including the driver, and 126 people were injured. He used the correct telephone and spoke quite clearly and was not at all slurred according to both Fleming and Obee. Before he could go ask superiors as to where they were, he saw Stokes and Wilsdon return. David Glasspool Collection, The main building on the "up" side was a carbon copy of the structure which still exists today at Bexleyheath. Semi-detached London: Suburban Development, Life and Transport, 1900-39. [2], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}512719N 00301E / 51.45536N 0.05019E / 51.45536; 0.05019, Events prior to Wilsdon arriving at Ramsgate, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen, "Railway crash driver survived dismissal", "Accident at Eltham Well Hall on 11th June 1972", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eltham_Well_Hall_rail_crash&oldid=1142297435, This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 16:48. Royal Borough of Greenwich. This evidence contradicts that of Wilsdon's brothers who claimed that he had not drunk between 14:02 and 17:15. Again, he was off-duty at the time and the British Rail was not informed of this occurrence until April. The Bexleyheath Line was double-track from the outset and, except for the layout at Barnehurst, stations along the route were built to the same standard design. mexico train crash 2,325 Train Crash Premium Video Footage Browse 2,325 train crash videos and clips available to use in your projects, or search for money train crash or mexico train crash to find more footage and b-roll video clips. As well as Wilsdon, two passengers died at the scene; a woman later died of her injuries in August and a male likewise in November, bringing the number of fatalities to five. Book: Ministry of Transport . He stated that he was thoroughly ashamed and that he had been celebrating a promotion to the position of Passed Fireman with his colleague who greatly assisted him. This occasion aside, the station survived the war years intact. Upon completing his phone conversation, Wilsdon returned to his cab and departed having been stopped at Rainham for about four minutes. There was an imbalance with the urine alcohol level which made it very likely that the driver had also been drinking alcohol within an hour of his death, meaning it was possible he had been drinking at the controls. Latest Documents At 19:45 they met with the guard and drove the train to Margate to receive the passengers. In contrast, Stokes claimed that Wilsdon mentioned drinking some sherry when they met at Ramsgate. located in the administrative territorial entity. At the subsequent public inquiry it was revealed that Wilsdon had been intoxicated by alcohol. An intoxicated train driver drove a train at triple the permitted speed around a sharp curve. A medical expert stated that during the time given, 5 pints of bitter, a third of a bottle of sherry and a quarter bottle of spirits would "just about achieve" the levels found, providing that "the bulk of the spirits was drunk between 20:15 and 21:30". The Eltham Well Hall rail crash was an accident on the British railway system that occurred on 11 June 1972 at approximately 21:35. In the background can be seen the structures of the replacement station, today's "Eltham", taking shape. Railman Akehurst, who had heard the derailment, immediately called Dartford signal box and reported the derailment. derailment. The curve had a maximum permitted speed to be taken at 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) but the train was estimated to have been travelling at 65 . As he did not need to be on duty until the afternoon, Wilsdon joined his two brothers for lunch at around 12:55, the three travelling to a local pub where they stayed until closing time just after 14:00. Approaching Eltham Park he became so concerned at the speed that he made two quick applications of the vacuum brake to try to draw the driver's attention, but before he could get a reaction it was too late. The empty train left Ramsgate and made an uneventful journey to Margate, arriving at around 19:59. The original death roll among the passengers was three but one died of her injuries in mid-August and another of his injuries in November.