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| The 1984 crash that closed the Avoiding Lines. 28/11/2018 at 13:02 #113674 | |
postal
5265 posts 
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The December Modern Railways has a short (and unnecessarily flippant in my view) clip about the 1984 crash when the signaller in the box (Mr. Taylor) diverted a detached portion of a Freightliner onto the Avoiding lines so that there wasn't a major pile up in Carlisle Station. However, the article does point to a YouTube compilation of TV news coverage from the time including a couple of interviews with Mr. Taylor. This can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1ghybKjHUE&feature=youtu.be. We have a copy of Mr. Taylor's hand-annotated station worker for 1979 and this was used in the creation of Pascal's Carlisle TT. The actual sim is dedicated by Tom O'Flaherty to the memory of Mr. Taylor. It was great to see the interviews with him. It is also a salutary reminder that while signalling often appears to be a mundane day-to-day job, it carries heavy responsibilities and sometimes those doing the job have to make decisions which could have life-threatening consequences with no warning and no time to prepare. “In life, there is always someone out there, who won’t like you, for whatever reason, don’t let the insecurities in their lives affect yours.” – Rashida Rowe Last edited: 28/11/2018 at 13:23 by postal Reason: None given Log in to reply The following users said thank you: HST125Scorton, norman B, WesternChampion, KymriskaDraken, 58050, kbarber |
| The 1984 crash that closed the Avoiding Lines. 28/11/2018 at 15:41 #113685 | |
jc92
3690 posts |
In some ways im surprised BR never named a loco after him, given all the other railwaymen that have had the honour. Maybe we should petition DRS (carlisle based of course) to name a loco. "We don't stop camborne wednesdays" Log in to reply |
| The 1984 crash that closed the Avoiding Lines. 28/11/2018 at 18:09 #113691 | |
DaveHarries
1285 posts |
Thank you for sharing that clip. I don't remember seeing the news reports on the TV at the time but I was only 2 back then. Am I right to presume that this crash explains why the goods line in the 1980s-era Carlisle sim between Rome Street Jcn and Carlisle North Jcn does not appear in later eras? Dave Log in to reply The following user said thank you: postal |
| The 1984 crash that closed the Avoiding Lines. 28/11/2018 at 18:36 #113692 | |
58050
2659 posts
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DaveHarries in post 113691 said:Thank you for sharing that clip. I don't remember seeing the news reports on the TV at the time but I was only 2 back then.Yes they were removed & not replaced, plus a bridge was badly damaged by the freightliner vehicles that ran away. Had Mr. Taylor not done what he'd done the damage & loss of life at Citadel station would have been immense. The station might well have been totally levelled as some of the freightliner vehicles that ran away were conveying Dangerous Goods. I remember seeing the clip on Nationwide at the time & the clip also shows the pair of Cl.87 locos that was on the front & that alone is quite a substaintial amount of horsepower at the front (10,000hp on the front). I wonder that the reason BR never named a loco after him was because he didn't die in the incident unlike 86261 Driver John Axon GC or 47574 Benjamin Gimbert GC who were both drivers who stayed on the footplate & lost there lives in the subsequent derailment or explosion. Last edited: 28/11/2018 at 18:37 by 58050 Reason: corrected typo Log in to reply |
| The 1984 crash that closed the Avoiding Lines. 29/11/2018 at 09:15 #113699 | |
kbarber
1743 posts |
I recall that incident very vividly. I was Yard Supervisor at Brent Sidings at the time and, although we didn't deal directly with Freightliners, I'd spent a little while learning freight working in South West Sidings who definitely did. The incident exposed some very slack working that had grown up to be the norm. And if whoever did the brake test had simply waited to hear the brakes blow off before giving the tip, that would have gone on for who knows how long.
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