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Kent train derailed by herd of cows

You are here: Home > Forum > Miscellaneous > The real thing (anything else rail-oriented) > Kent train derailed by herd of cows

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Kent train derailed by herd of cows 28/07/2015 at 15:00 #74551
TimTamToe
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A train between Ramsgate and Charing Cross was derailed partially down a bank by a herd of cows. More in the link below

Gareth

Cows Derail Train

Last edited: 28/07/2015 at 15:00 by TimTamToe
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Kent train derailed by herd of cows 28/07/2015 at 15:34 #74555
03piggs
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I've known of sheep being run-down before. There's an account in the book by Albert grose of a train he was firing on the Buntingford branch allowing through a hurd, with an N7, just outside Widford. Apparently, there was an aroma of roast lamb when they terminated at St Margaret's.
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Kent train derailed by herd of cows 28/07/2015 at 17:38 #74559
Peter Bennet
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Not as bad as the 1987 (I think) crash at Polmont when a shove train hit single cow resulting in a number of fatalities.

Peter

I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs!
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Kent train derailed by herd of cows 28/07/2015 at 18:33 #74561
RainbowNines
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Yes could have been a very nasty business. The rarity of modern carriages being derailed makes the front carriage at a wonky angle look all the more dramatic.

I understand the driver "upheld the traditions of the railway service" (as the accident reports used to say) by responding very quickly and tearing forward to warn an oncoming train. Good on him.

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Kent train derailed by herd of cows 28/07/2015 at 18:52 #74562
58050
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This reminds me of an incident back in 1987 on the Midland main Line in the Flitwick area. I'd been working on a ballast train during a Saturday night/Sunday possession at Harlington. they sent a car cr Cl.317 unit from bedford to Luton with Bedford traincrew relieving other traincrew on these trains & the unit reversed at Luton to go back to Bedford. We were sat in one of the middle cars & on the approach to Flitwick you could hear what sounded like lumps of ballast hitting the floor of the carriage. The train didn't stop, but when we got to Bedford it appeared that we'd run through a flock of sheep that had wandered onto the line. The lumps of ballast hitting the floor of the carriage was actually body parts of the sheep the train had hit. All down the side of the units bogies & body was covered in all sorts of mess & I remember hearing the disc brakes sizzling like the sound of sausages cooking in a frying pan. The unit was taken out of service as one of the air compressors was damaged & no longer working, fortunately the unit had 2 compressors on it. Didn't make us feel any better once we'd found out from the driver what we'd hit.
There was another incident similar to that in 1986/1987 involving a herd of cows & a HST set working towards London St. Pancras one Sunday morning somewhere in the Market Harborough area. The HST was travelling at line speed when it collided with approx. 19 cows on the line. This resulted in the power car being written off. The worst part of that incident was the time taken for the vets to arrive & destroy the cows that weren't killed by the impact. The suffering & pain those animals must have been in was quite difficult to stomach. Fortunately no one was killed in that incident but you can imagine what the scene must looked like when a HST travelling at 100mph hits 19 cows.

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Kent train derailed by herd of cows 28/07/2015 at 19:37 #74563
RainbowNines
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I remember on another forum an ECML driver saying he was driving with DVT leading when he came across some horses in the 4 foot. With Polmont in mind he said he hit the emergency, braced himself and just hoped. Can't be a good place to be when there's nothing you can do.

I agree with Pascal. It is quite sad. These animals are often the victim of someone else's error - obviously the jokes fly around but any sane person shouldn't enjoy seeing animals hurt. Glad that all involved were otherwise unharmed, of course.

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Kent train derailed by herd of cows 28/07/2015 at 20:04 #74564
Peter Bennet
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3mins 10 seconds: :doh

http://www.britishrailways.tv/train-videos/2014-03/bbc-and-itn-tv-news-reports-of-polmont-derailment-30th-july-1984

Peter

I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs!
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Kent train derailed by herd of cows 28/07/2015 at 20:24 #74566
Muzer
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Lol@The main problems about the future of Hong Kong being solved in that...
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Kent train derailed by herd of cows 29/07/2015 at 02:54 #74569
Gwasanaethau
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I remember a train coming into the depot once with a stag’s head hanging by its antlers from the shoebeam. Poor thing had been clobbered at nearly 100mph and didn’t stand a chance. The smell of burnt deer (where it had been skipping along the third-rail) was utterly nauseating!
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Kent train derailed by herd of cows 29/07/2015 at 02:57 #74570
Gwasanaethau
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Also this.
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Kent train derailed by herd of cows 29/07/2015 at 10:51 #74571
Albert
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Only two days earlier, in the night between Sunday and Monday around midnight, two trains in the Netherlands between Heerenveen and Wolvega also collided with a herd of cows on the track. The first, northbound, train had to be carried away using a loco; the southbound train which hit a cow shortly after the northbound one did, could continue its journey after some repairs on-site.
Both trains consisted of one six-carriage VIRM EMU. These units do not derail easily but they are known to have a badly designed crumple zone in front, which can be a danger for the driver. In this case however the only casualty was a cow.

AJP in games
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Kent train derailed by herd of cows 29/07/2015 at 11:44 #74572
Jersey_Mike
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Looks like your MU's could stand to have a cowcatcher fitted B)

[img size=600]http://https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/SEPTA-9009-Lansdale-Pioneer-III-truck%2Bcowcatcher.jpg[/img]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/SEPTA-9009-Lansdale-Pioneer-III-truck%2Bcowcatcher.jpg

Last edited: 29/07/2015 at 11:45 by Jersey_Mike
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Kent train derailed by herd of cows 29/07/2015 at 12:47 #74575
RainbowNines
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I would have thought they probably have obstacle deflectors. Not sure a cow catcher would have prevented derailment if the cows were in fairly close proximity to each other though.
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Kent train derailed by herd of cows 05/08/2015 at 19:18 #74790
03piggs
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Just found this that seams to relate to this.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-33791984

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Kent train derailed by herd of cows 05/08/2015 at 23:19 #74803
Gwasanaethau
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" said:
I would have thought they probably have obstacle deflectors. Not sure a cow catcher would have prevented derailment if the cows were in fairly close proximity to each other though.

They do but they’re not designed to deflect anything near the size (or weight) of a cow.

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Kent train derailed by herd of cows 06/08/2015 at 10:23 #74812
Mothman
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from #7. Cow travelling at 85mph. Moooooo.
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Kent train derailed by herd of cows 06/08/2015 at 12:31 #74816
Jersey_Mike
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" said:
" said:
I would have thought they probably have obstacle deflectors. Not sure a cow catcher would have prevented derailment if the cows were in fairly close proximity to each other though.

They do but they’re not designed to deflect anything near the size (or weight) of a cow.
The original design of an American style cow catcher was optimized for deflecting one or more cows because in the 19th century many fields were either not enclosed or poorly enclosed. Of course as time went on such a circumstance became much less common they were replaced with different types of debris deflecting pilots. However the Reading Railroad was so conservative in its designs that it fitted its 1930's vintage EMU rolling stock with small cow catchers because that's what all the other locomotives had at the time. This design requirement was then not dropped from their 1964 and 1973 orders of Silverliner EMUs resulting in the highly anachronistic photo link. I know it wouldn't have made a difference, but old railway men would have insisted otherwise.

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Kent train derailed by herd of cows 06/08/2015 at 18:56 #74829
Gwasanaethau
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" said:
from #7. Cow travelling at 85mph. Moooooo.

Reminded me of this (especially the last drawing).

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