Clayton Tunnel rail crash
Encyclopedia
The Clayton Tunnel
rail crash, which took place on Sunday 25 August 1861, five miles from Brighton
on the south coast of England
, was the worst accident of the British railway system to that time. Two trains collided inside the tunnel, killing 23 and injuring 176 passengers.
The disaster scenario actually involved three successive northbound trains on the same track, which all left Brighton station within a few minutes of one another. The signalman
at the south end of the tunnel tried to stop the second train from entering the tunnel before the first one had left it, but wrongly thought his red flag had not been seen, and then misinterpreted a telegraph signal from the north end of the tunnel as referring to the second train instead of the first. Assuming that both trains had cleared the tunnel, he signaled the third one to proceed, but in fact the second train was trying to back out.
linked to a signal
, a needle telegraph and a clock
in his cabin close to the south entrance of the tunnel
. He could control the signal by a wheel in the cabin, but it would normally be at "danger" unless he approved a train to enter the tunnel. When a train passed, the signal returned automatically to "danger", but if it did not, the alarm bell would ring. The telegraph was linked to the north signal box, and would show there was a train in the tunnel if the signalman at the other box activated it by pressing and holding down a switch. Otherwise the needle would hang vertically.
Except for the Clayton Tunnel, the line was worked on the time-interval system, requiring trains on the same track to be separated by 5 minutes. Despite this, the three trains actually left Brighton within 7 minutes:
At the tunnel mouth, the first train passed the signal at "clear", but the alarm bell rang to warn Killick that it had not returned to "danger". He sent a "train in tunnel" message to Brown in the north cabin, but did not return the signal to "danger" in time to stop the second train from passing the signal and travelling to the tunnel. It was only 3 minutes behind, and may well have caught up with the first train. Realising that the first train was still in the tunnel, he rushed out of the cabin waving his red flag to stop the second train just as it was passing. He could not be sure that the driver had seen the flag however. He telegraphed Brown "is tunnel clear?"
At that moment, the first train cleared the tunnel, so Brown signalled back "tunnel clear" to Killick. But unfortunately, Killick thought that Brown was referring to the second train and not the first. He was wrong, for the second train had seen the red flag and stopped about half a mile into the tunnel.
Killick then saw the third train approaching, and thinking that the tunnel was clear, waved to him to enter the south end of the tunnel. The third train had stopped at the signal, so Killick used his white flag to tell him to move. The second train actually started to reverse back to the south end to investigate the problem when it collided with great force with the speeding third train. The collision pushed the second train forward, and the loco obliterated the guard's van at the rear before smashing into the last carriage. It then rode up over the carriage roof and smashed its chimney against the tunnel roof before stopping. Many of the 23 deaths were in this last carriage, where passengers were burnt or scalded to death by the broken engine. The bodies of a number of the victims were stored temporarily in the cellar of The Hassocks Hotel.
A nine-day inquest
was held at Brighton town hall into the deaths of the 23 victims. It concluded with the jury giving a verdict of manslaughter
against Charles Legg, the assistant stationmaster of Brighton station, finding him negligent by starting three trains so close together (against one of the rules of the company). The jury did not find any negligence by either Killick or Brown. Legg was committed for trial for manslaughter, but found not guilty.
(rather than the time interval system) for the remainder of the railway system.
One other aspect of this accident was that Signalman Killick was working a continuous 24 hour shift that day, rather than the regulation 18 hours in order to gain a complete day off duty. In his report on the accident Captain Tyler stated that " it was disgraceful that a man in so responsible a position as Signalman Killick should be compelled to work for twenty-four hours at a stretch in order to earn one day of rest a week".
Charles Dickens
probably based his story "The Signal-Man
" on this accident, dramatising the events (especially the bells and the telegraph needle), as well as adding other incidents. His own experience at the Staplehurst rail crash
may have inspired him to write this ghost story. Readers of the story in December 1866 would likely have still remembered the Clayton accident.
Clayton Tunnel
Clayton Tunnel is a railway tunnel located near the village of Clayton, West Sussex between Hassocks and Preston Park railway stations on the Brighton Main Line...
rail crash, which took place on Sunday 25 August 1861, five miles from Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
on the south coast of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, was the worst accident of the British railway system to that time. Two trains collided inside the tunnel, killing 23 and injuring 176 passengers.
The disaster scenario actually involved three successive northbound trains on the same track, which all left Brighton station within a few minutes of one another. The signalman
Signalman (rail)
A signalman or signaller is an employee of a railway transport network who operates the points and signals from a signal box in order to control the movement of trains.- History :...
at the south end of the tunnel tried to stop the second train from entering the tunnel before the first one had left it, but wrongly thought his red flag had not been seen, and then misinterpreted a telegraph signal from the north end of the tunnel as referring to the second train instead of the first. Assuming that both trains had cleared the tunnel, he signaled the third one to proceed, but in fact the second train was trying to back out.
Circumstances
Signalman Henry Killick had an alarm bellAlarm
An alarm device or system of alarm devices gives an audible or visual alarm signal about a problem or condition.Alarm devices include:* burglar alarms, designed to warn of burglaries; this is often a silent alarm: the police or guards are warned without indication to the burglar, which increases...
linked to a signal
Railway signal
A signal is a mechanical or electrical device erected beside a railway line to pass information relating to the state of the line ahead to train/engine drivers. The driver interprets the signal's indication and acts accordingly...
, a needle telegraph and a clock
Clock
A clock is an instrument used to indicate, keep, and co-ordinate time. The word clock is derived ultimately from the Celtic words clagan and clocca meaning "bell". A silent instrument missing such a mechanism has traditionally been known as a timepiece...
in his cabin close to the south entrance of the tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
. He could control the signal by a wheel in the cabin, but it would normally be at "danger" unless he approved a train to enter the tunnel. When a train passed, the signal returned automatically to "danger", but if it did not, the alarm bell would ring. The telegraph was linked to the north signal box, and would show there was a train in the tunnel if the signalman at the other box activated it by pressing and holding down a switch. Otherwise the needle would hang vertically.
Except for the Clayton Tunnel, the line was worked on the time-interval system, requiring trains on the same track to be separated by 5 minutes. Despite this, the three trains actually left Brighton within 7 minutes:
- Portsmouth ExcursionExcursion trainAn excursion train is a chartered train run for a special event or purpose.Examples of excursion trains:* A train to a major sporting event* A train run for railfans or tourism...
left at 8.28 am - Brighton Excursion left at 8.31 am
- Brighton Ordinary left at 8.35 am
At the tunnel mouth, the first train passed the signal at "clear", but the alarm bell rang to warn Killick that it had not returned to "danger". He sent a "train in tunnel" message to Brown in the north cabin, but did not return the signal to "danger" in time to stop the second train from passing the signal and travelling to the tunnel. It was only 3 minutes behind, and may well have caught up with the first train. Realising that the first train was still in the tunnel, he rushed out of the cabin waving his red flag to stop the second train just as it was passing. He could not be sure that the driver had seen the flag however. He telegraphed Brown "is tunnel clear?"
At that moment, the first train cleared the tunnel, so Brown signalled back "tunnel clear" to Killick. But unfortunately, Killick thought that Brown was referring to the second train and not the first. He was wrong, for the second train had seen the red flag and stopped about half a mile into the tunnel.
Killick then saw the third train approaching, and thinking that the tunnel was clear, waved to him to enter the south end of the tunnel. The third train had stopped at the signal, so Killick used his white flag to tell him to move. The second train actually started to reverse back to the south end to investigate the problem when it collided with great force with the speeding third train. The collision pushed the second train forward, and the loco obliterated the guard's van at the rear before smashing into the last carriage. It then rode up over the carriage roof and smashed its chimney against the tunnel roof before stopping. Many of the 23 deaths were in this last carriage, where passengers were burnt or scalded to death by the broken engine. The bodies of a number of the victims were stored temporarily in the cellar of The Hassocks Hotel.
A nine-day inquest
Inquest
Inquests in England and Wales are held into sudden and unexplained deaths and also into the circumstances of discovery of a certain class of valuable artefacts known as "treasure trove"...
was held at Brighton town hall into the deaths of the 23 victims. It concluded with the jury giving a verdict of manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
against Charles Legg, the assistant stationmaster of Brighton station, finding him negligent by starting three trains so close together (against one of the rules of the company). The jury did not find any negligence by either Killick or Brown. Legg was committed for trial for manslaughter, but found not guilty.
Causes
The catastrophe publicised the problem of trains travelling too close together, with signalmen having to appraise the situation too quickly for safety's sake. A simple communication mistake between the two signal boxes caused havoc that Sunday, but the telegraph was also blamed for the tragedy because it did not register without continual pressure on the switch. The signal, too, was also at fault for not returning to "danger" immediately after the train had passed. The accident encouraged the use of the block systemRailway signalling
Railway signalling is a system used to control railway traffic safely, essentially to prevent trains from colliding. Being guided by fixed rails, trains are uniquely susceptible to collision; furthermore, trains cannot stop quickly, and frequently operate at speeds that do not enable them to stop...
(rather than the time interval system) for the remainder of the railway system.
One other aspect of this accident was that Signalman Killick was working a continuous 24 hour shift that day, rather than the regulation 18 hours in order to gain a complete day off duty. In his report on the accident Captain Tyler stated that " it was disgraceful that a man in so responsible a position as Signalman Killick should be compelled to work for twenty-four hours at a stretch in order to earn one day of rest a week".
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
probably based his story "The Signal-Man
The Signal-Man
The Signal-Man is a short story by Charles Dickens, first published as part of the "Mugby Junction" collection in the 1866 Christmas edition of All the Year Round....
" on this accident, dramatising the events (especially the bells and the telegraph needle), as well as adding other incidents. His own experience at the Staplehurst rail crash
Staplehurst rail crash
The Staplehurst rail crash was a railway accident at Staplehurst, Kent, England, which occurred on 9 June 1865 and in which ten passengers were killed and 40 injured...
may have inspired him to write this ghost story. Readers of the story in December 1866 would likely have still remembered the Clayton accident.
Similar accidents
Other accidents in which the signalman forgot, or got confused about, the presence of a train include:- Thirsk rail crash - 1892
- Hawes Junction train disaster - signalman forgets about light engines on line - 1910
- Quintinshill rail crashQuintinshill rail crashThe Quintinshill rail disaster occurred on 22 May 1915 in Scotland near Gretna Green at Quintinshill, an intermediate signal box with sidings on each side on the Caledonian Railway Main Line . The crash involved five trains and killed 226 people...
- signalman forgets about train on line - 1915 - Winwick rail crashWinwick rail crashThe Winwick rail crash took place at Winwick Junction, near Warrington on the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, on 28 September 1934.-Background:...
- 1934
External links
- http://ukhrail.uel.ac.uk/glossary/clayton.html; account of accident
- http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docSummary.php?docID=349; report by railway inspectorate