Geurie crossing loop collision
Encyclopedia
The Geurie crossing loop collision occurred on the night of 23 August, 1963. Geurie
is located between Orange
, New South Wales
and Dubbo.
locomotive 6003. It was refuged so as to cross the Mail train.
The fouling point, as was common practice at the time, was marked by a white lamp on a white post located quite close to the actual fouling point. The points at the entrance to the loop were operated with hand levers, with no interlocking to the signals. There were no track circuit
s over the points which might have detected the foul locomotive and thus held the home signal at red and thus stopped the mail train short of the obstruction.
The collision damaged about 60m of track on the main line and loop and the line was not reopened for another 3 days.
Geurie, New South Wales
Geurie is a small village in central-west New South Wales, Australia in Wellington Council. It is located midway between Wellington and Dubbo in the Orana Region of the State. It is located on the Main Western railway line, and is served by the daily Countrylink XPT service between Sydney and Dubbo...
is located between Orange
Orange, New South Wales
Orange is a city in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney, at an altitude of . Orange has an estimated population of 39,329 and the city is a major provincial centre....
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and Dubbo.
Events leading up to the Accident
The Sydney-bound Bourke Mail train, with 110 passengers, was steaming towards Geurie station. The locomotive was C38 Pacific steam engine, 3817. Standing in the loop, beside a grain silo, was a goods train, hauled by a 265-tonne Beyer-Garratt AD60 classNew South Wales AD60 class locomotive
The AD60 class was a class of steam locomotives operated by the New South Wales Government Railways in Australia. They were built with the 4-8-4+4-8-4 wheel arrangement. They are commonly considered the most powerful Australian steam locomotives although the NSWGR 57 class was actually slightly...
locomotive 6003. It was refuged so as to cross the Mail train.
Goods train foul of Main line
The length from the front of the Garratt locomotive to the driver's position contributed to a misjudgment of standing clear of the mainline. 3817 collided with the Garrett locomotive at an estimated speed of 32 km/h.The fouling point, as was common practice at the time, was marked by a white lamp on a white post located quite close to the actual fouling point. The points at the entrance to the loop were operated with hand levers, with no interlocking to the signals. There were no track circuit
Track circuit
A track circuit is a simple electrical device used to detect the absence of a train on rail tracks, used to inform signallers and control relevant signals.- Principles and operation :...
s over the points which might have detected the foul locomotive and thus held the home signal at red and thus stopped the mail train short of the obstruction.
Collision
The impact of the two locomotives colliding forced the Garratt into the side of the silo and reared up its boiler section on to its leading water unit. 3817 was derailed and pushed over on to its side. Three carriages of the Mail train were also derailed.The collision damaged about 60m of track on the main line and loop and the line was not reopened for another 3 days.