Apr 2, 2017 - Eltham Well Hall Rail Crash. Wilsdon did not meet with the supervisor at Ramsgate, likely owing to the fact that his was the only Class 47 engine at the depot and would have been easy to find.[2]. In contrast, Stokes claimed that Wilsdon mentioned drinking some sherry when they met at Ramsgate. Stokes had arrived first, having spoken with the supervisor at Ramsgate to ascertain the details of the train. The actions of his superior regarding this incident were criticised as "unwise" but were not considered a serious failing. As a result the heavy locomotive entered the curve at some 65 mph and, distorting the track and sharpening the curve immediately ahead of its wheels, overturned to the left and dragged the train after it into almost total derailment. The curve had a maximum permitted speed to be taken at 20 miles per hour (32km/h) but the train was estimated to have been travelling at 65 miles per hour (105km/h) resulting in the locomotive and all but one of the ten carriages derailing. 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. This caused nine out of 10 carriages to derail, injuring many occupants and killing 6 including the driver. He immediately tried to signal to the driver to stop but was unable to gain Wilsdon's attention. The first and most serious of these moments was the fact that it was uncertain what had occurred with Wilsdon and his brothers between 14:02 and 17:15 with his brothers both declaring that Wilsdon had not drunk after returning from the pub in Rainham. Trying to gain Wilsdon's attention, he made two light applications ("splashes") of the guard's brake. Report on the Derailment that occurred on 11th June 1972 at Eltham (Well Hall) Station in the Southern Region British Railways Document Summary The report into the derailment at Eltham in 1972, caused by the intoxicated driver taking a sharp curve at excessive speed. However, changes were made to the signalling at Eltham so that through trains would receive a yellow signal on approach. Photograph by Press Association, 1972. He was not suspended for this incident owing to the fact that his superior at Hither Green was busy and then went on leave and as such was not able to speak with Wilsdon until June. 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 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. An excursion train from Margate to Kentish Town derailed on a sharp curve at Eltham Well Hall station, Eltham, London. The design of the cabin at Well Hall was repeated at all those stations which opened with the route in 1895, and examples can be seen on the website's Barnehurst and Bexleyheath pages. 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. The second incident occurred on 28 March 1969, when Wilsdon was fined 1 for being drunk in Lewisham. However, when approaching Eltham Park railway station he became concerned at the train's apparent speed and more so as it neared Eltham Well Hall, where a sharp curve changed the train's direction from southwest to northwest. Website & Copyright information - Links - Contact the Webmaster, All content is copyright David Glasspool unless otherwise stated. Those who knew the driver said that he was quite a frequent drinker of alcohol and could "carry" much beer. By contrast to this, secondman Stokes arrived at Hither Green, signed on duty in person at around 15:12 and was instructed by the Supervisor to travel on the 15:32 train and try to meet Wilsdon on the train. At about 15:20 he booked on duty by telephone with Hither Green depot and travelled by train to Ramsgate. Well Hall station will be partially covered by the new Rochester Way relief road. The Eltham Well Hall rail crash was an accident on the British railway system that occurred on 11 June 1972 at approximately 21:35. The rear of the coach had been somewhat damaged by the fifth, sixth and seventh coaches passing by it, derailed but still on the track. 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. The next five coaches were derailed but the 10th, in which the guard was riding, was not. All three of these coaches were leaning over on their left sides to various degrees, with the leading end of the fifth coach having been badly damaged by the impact with the fourth coach. This issue was however was brought up again in 1991 after the Cannon Street station rail crash in which the driver in that instance was believed to have been high on cannabis and caused a buffer-stop collision. Eccles Rail Crash . 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. 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. Statistics Eltham Eltham station Well Hall Road Eltham Greater London SE9 6SL GET DIRECTIONS Ticket office opening hours: Monday - Friday - 06:40 to 20:00 Saturday - 06:10 to 20:00 Sunday - 08:10 to 15:40 NO Waiting room YES Ticket machine YES Toilet YES Impaired Access Staff Station facilities Ticketing Services & Information Oyster Pre-Pay YES Yes He later commented to Stokes a joking complaint about the driver of the first excursion train, calling him a "slow bastard". Since 1969, Wilsdon had had a clean record with no reprimands. Touch device users, explore by touch . 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. 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 locomotive . Pictures by my father, Reg Godsave. Contributions By the time the train approached Eltham Well Hall station it was running at around 65mph. 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. Places time Forgot London Bus East London London Areas Old Well Hall Bus Station 1970's J Michele Janes Eltham History This occasion aside, the station survived the war years intact. These trains would be driven by Southern Region drivers for some of the journey (particularly to ensure that experienced drivers took the trains through the complex arrangements around Clapham Junction) and would, on reaching Margate and being cleared of passengers, take them onward to Ramsgate Depot where they would be stored until the return trip. 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 Initial reports suggest a person was hit by a motorbike. He was thoroughly critical of Wilsdon's behaviour, describing it as "reprehensible" and "disgraceful". Physical description 1 photograph : photoprint ; sheet 15.3 x 20.2 cm Contributors Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. Although uncertain, it seems that Wilsdon believed that the two stoppages that occurred to his train at Sittingbourne and Rainham and having not seen the first excursion train at Newington, was because the first train was running slowly and kept stopping his train. The recommendation that booking-on by telephone be carefully controlled was reiterated in the Inspectorate report of the Cannon Street Station rail crash in 1991. This item is linked to the Accident at Eltham Well Hall on 11th June 1972. Credits The first and most serious of these moments was the fact that it was uncertain what had occurred with Wilsdon and his brothers between 14:02 and 17:15 with his brothers both declaring that Wilsdon had not drunk after returning from the pub in Rainham. Robertson, concluded that the driver Robert Wilsdon had "grossly impaired his ability to drive safely by drinking a considerable quantity of alcohol both before and after booking on duty, including some shortly before leaving Margate and some more in his cab during the journey."[2]. None of the staff were criticised for failing to stop Wilsdon from his duties under the belief he was too drunk and evidence by Wilsdon's father-in-law, brothers and friends confirmed that although Wilsdon did drink heavily, he could "carry" his alcohol well and that the amount of alcohol he drank was not enough to make his drunkenness visible, although the report believed that Wilsdon's actions at Rainham and his reactions at Eltham Well Hall clearly showed that he was beginning to suffer effects of drunkenness. The Eltham Well Hall rail crash was an accident on the British railway system that occurred on 11 June 1972 at approximately 21:35. 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. Electric services ran again from 6th June 1926, and the full suburban electric timetable through to Dartford commenced on 19th July 1926. 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. Guard Atterbury was 57 and had been a guard since 1948 and was based at London Bridge and although he had worked the Bexleyheath line before, he had never done so on a fast train. Emergency services were notified, and arrived between 21:40 and 21:42. SYND 12-6-72 AFTERMATH OF ELTHAM TRAIN CRASH AP Archive 4.73M subscribers Subscribe 6 Share Save 2.5K views 7 years ago (11 Jun 1972) The aftermath scenes of a derailment of a excursion. This was agreed as there was no evidence to the contrary and it was believed that Wilsdon was travelling to Ramsgate at this time. After the crossing was cleared, he set the route for the train to proceed but instead, the train came to a stop at the platform. This was a very unusual action, particularly as he had made up almost seven minutes of the lost time. Both were severely damaged. An excursion train from Margate to Kentish Town derailed on a sharp curve at Eltham Well Hall station, Eltham, London. The Eltham Well Hall rail crash was an accident on the British railway system that occurred on 11 June 1972 at approximately 21:35. Of these penalties, three were fairly minor isolated offences (unauthorised absence in October 1960, persistent lateness in February 1961 and a "relatively minor driving offence" in February 1963) but two were serious offences, one of which resulted in a temporary suspension. Between the footbridge and the new station structures, on the left, can just been seen the exit from the "down" platform to Well Hall Road. Single-storey they may have been, but these were substantial main buildings for these intermediate stations, extending for 145-feet in length, with widths of 20-feet and 25-feet at their narrowest and widest points respectively. Please consider donating to help with our running costs. The crash happened at around 3.30pm today (May 23). [1] Again, he was off-duty at the time and British Rail was not informed of this occurrence until April. Closure of Eltham Well Hall and Eltham Park stations was scheduled for Saturday 2nd March 1985, when the new platforms east of the former would be brought into use with a huge interchange with bus services. However when approaching Eltham Park railway station he became concerned at the train's apparent speed and more so as it neared Eltham Well Hall, where a sharp curve changed the train's direction from southwest to northwest. Before he could go ask superiors as to where they were, he saw Stokes and Wilsdon return. 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. 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. Well Hall is a place to the north of Eltham in the Royal Borough of Greenwich in southeast London, England, with no present formal boundaries and located 13.5 km (8.4 mi) east-southeast of Charing Cross. Stokes recalled that when Wilsdon turned to speak with him, he "smelt something pretty strong" on the driver's breath and when asked, Wilsdon explained that he had been drinking at lunchtime and later had some sherry prior to arriving in Ramsgate. This evidence contradicts that of Wilsdon's brothers who claimed that he had not drunk between 14:02 and 17:15. The train passed through at high speed without braking and sped into the curve at around 65mph. Stokes was 18 years old and had been working on the railways for almost two years at the time of the accident, having been based at Hither Green this entire time. An intoxicated train driver drove a train at triple the permitted speed around a sharp curve. This document was published on 1st June 1973 by Department of the Environment. The station building was located on the London-bound platform and was a familiar SER design, being a single-storey timber structure with a hipped slated roof, the main part of which was 60-foot length . 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. Despite this, Wilsdon suggested the pair go to the nearby Railway Staff Association Club at about 19:00 and get a drink to which Stokes agreed, with the pair arriving just in time for the club to open at 19:05. 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. Owing to the large number of day-trippers booked for this customary annual works-outing, a pair of excursion trains were laid on to transport them to Margate and back. This issue was however was brought up again in 1991 after the Cannon Street station rail crash in which the driver in that instance was believed to have been high on cannabis and caused a buffer-stop collision. At 15:22 Wilsdon signed on duty with Hither Green by telephone. This document was kindly sourced from Harry Knox and is in our Accident reports collection. 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. The last station the train passed on its journey that Atterbury had to time was at Bexleyheath railway station 4.3miles east of the accident site. The crew left the cab for a few minutes and as a result the train departed from Margate eight minutes late. Despite his experience and long time working on the railways, Wilsdon had been reprimanded five times throughout his career. 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. His speech was clear and his gait was normal. More significant was the opening of "Shooters Hill & Eltham Park" station, a mere 41-chains to the east of Well Hall. An ambulance was seen landing at the scene and police are also in attendance. The original document format was Stapled Book, and comprised 27 pages. The locomotive jumped the sharp curve, derailing and rolling onto its left side and sliding through a coal yard. The second and third coach followed the first coach until relatively late into the derailment, with the coupling between the first and second failing around the end of the derailment. Eltham Well Hall is seen in this Dartford-bound view less than a year before closure. 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. 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. Latest Documents ASLEF sided with Wilsdon and General Secretary William Evans sided with Wilsdon. An excursion train from Margate to Kentish Town derailed on a sharp curve at Eltham Well Hall station, Eltham, London. This did not occur, and the two met up at Ramsgate Depot by the locomotive at around 18:25. He briefed the pair on the train's particulars with Wilsdon appearing sober and routine. 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.