Re: Glenbrook Accident

[David Johnson <trainman@ozemail.com.au>]

Dion Williams wrote:

> There was an accident at Glenbrook around 1976 involving a collision
> between a double-deck interurban and a 46 that led to some controversy
> over NSW rail safety standards. Does anyone have any details on the
> accident and were there any repercussions from it that might have had
> some relevance to the Granville disaster?

SOURCE: Australian Railway Disasters by Kenn Pearce

Glenbrook, NSW, 16 January 1976

In this accident, a goods train ploughed into the rear of a stalled electric
passenger train near Glenbrook station, in the Blue Mountains, killing one
person and injuring 10 others.

Occuring as it did just 12 months before the Granville disaster, the prediction
by a union representative that, unless something was done about the inadequate
maintenance of New South Wales' trains and trackwork, Glenbrook would only be
the forerunner of a major disaster, was to prove all too accurate.

A four carriage double deck electric train had left Sydney for Mount Victoria at
21:30 on 16 January.  On board were 40 passengers when the train stalled 500
metres before Glenbrook station, and just outside the Glenbrook tunnel, shortly
before 22:45.

While the train was halted it was struck from behind by the diesel-hauled 20:20
goods train from Darling Harbour to Orange.  The goods train was superficially
damaged as a result of the collision but the passenger train was rammed forward
50 metres by the impact and its rear carriage was telescoped into the next and
split in several sections.

The driver of the passenger train had left his cab to speak to his guard after
it stalled.  The guard had fortuitously also left his place at the rear of the
train seconds before the goods train demolished it.  His curiousity about the
power problems with the train had probably saved his life.

By 01:30 on 17 January, 12 passengers were still trapped in the upper section of
the rear carriage of the passenger train.  Such was the damage to rolling stock
that it would take rescue workers more than 10 hours to determine that no other
bodies were trapped in the wreckage.

The impact of the collision derailed two carriages of the train besides two
wagons of the Orange goods train.  One of the goods wagons overturned and almost
went over a wall into a deep ravine.

Overhead power lines were brought down and the line completely blocked.

Following the accident rescue units immediately sped to the crash scene.  Five
of the injured passengers were taken to Penrith Hospital.

A passenger on the train said there was no warning of the impact.

"We had been stopped only for a few minutes when there was this crash and a
severe vibration as the wheels left the tracks", he said.

"We were all thrown to the floor and the lights went out."

He said although there were screams and shouts from the injured and frightened
passengers, they dared not leave the carriage for fear of being electrocuted by
the power lines.

"We waited in the blackness for what seemed like hours until I saw lights from a
landrover.  Our first rescuers."

Following the accident, the State Opposition, railway unions, public transport
activists and survivors of the accident called for a major investigation into
State Rail services, particularly on the Western line.

Typical of the criticism was that of the NSW secretary of the AFULE, who claimed
the train broke down because of a faulty electrical system.

"Despite the Minister's assurances that everything is all right, something is
obviously very wrong", he said.

"Maybe this tragedy will bring this Government to its senses."

A spokesman for the Save the Public Transport Committee said the accident was an
horrific vindication of its repeated warnings to the NSW Government: "The lack
of proper maintenance to all sections of our rail system ensured that such an
accident was only a matter of time."  Sadly the comments by such community
groups would appear all too true following the disaster that befell the State's
Rail system at Granville on 18 January, 1977.

End quote.


A friend of mine has an 8mm movie of the rescue.  A crane picks one of the V set
cars up, and puts it next to the tracks.  A few minutes later, that car topples
over the edge and crashes into the ravine.  Apparantly helicopters were required
to get thecarriage out of the valley after that!


--
David Johnson
CityRail Guard
trainman@ozemail.com.au
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~trainman/