Glenbrook Accident

Dion Williams

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Mar 17, 1998, 3:00:00 AM3/17/98

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Not to dwell too much more on Australian rail's darker moments but...

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?

Dion Williams <di...@hotmail.com>

MarkBau1

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Mar 17, 1998, 3:00:00 AM3/17/98

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Glenbrook was a little historic in it was the first time someone stood up to
the signalling branch and didn't swallow their "our signals are always perfect"
line. Bernie Willingale the then Sec. of the NSW, AFULE fought long and hard to
prove the signal failure and clear his member's names.

Its a great pity the Vic AFULE didn't do the same for Vin Stewart in the
Laverton derailment..

Mark.

THE ROCK is dead
Long live THE ROCK!

David Johnson

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Mar 17, 1998, 3:00:00 AM3/17/98

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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
trai...@ozemail.com.au
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~trainman/

Eddie Oliver

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Mar 18, 1998, 3:00:00 AM3/18/98

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Dion Williams <di...@hotmail.com> 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?

You may be thinking of an incident where there was a VERY rare
case of a wrong-side signal failure, i.e. a signal was not at stop
when it should have been.

If so, it has no relation to Granville, unless you draw a very remote
connection about inadequate maintenance (too remote to be real, I fancy).

Eddie Oliver

David Bennetts

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Mar 18, 1998, 3:00:00 AM3/18/98

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Dion Williams <di...@hotmail.com> wrote in article
<350DC5...@hotmail.com>...

> Not to dwell too much more on Australian rail's darker moments but...
>

> 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?
>

> Dion Williams <di...@hotmail.com>
>
I think this accident had more parallels with the 3801 Cowan Bank accident
than Granville. The track condition was not a factor. Like 3801, the
train had stalled on a significant grade. Even though the electric train
had failed, through poor maintenance or for any other reason, the following
train should not have rammed into it. My now somewhat hazy recollection of
the accident recalls that some blame was put on the crew of the diesel
loco.

When clearing the track, the severely damaged car body of the last car was
tipped over the cliff into the Glenbrook Gorge - whether this was
accidental or deliberate I don't know. Some time later (I think it was
weeks), the body was cut into two sections and removed by a heavy lift twin
rotor chopper.

I can also recall a much earlier accident in the 1950s in the vicinity of
Glenbrook, I think it was between Glenbrook and Blaxland, in steam days
where the "Fish" was involved. One train ran into the back of another,
anyone like to post some details of this accident?

David Bennetts
Canberra

Dion Williams

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Mar 18, 1998, 3:00:00 AM3/18/98

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David Johnson wrote:

Thanks David

> 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!

Not a very green way to dispose of your rubbish!

Dion Williams <di...@hotmail.com>

Eben Levy

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Mar 19, 1998, 3:00:00 AM3/19/98

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I have a photo of one oif the cars involved in that accident on the back
of a low loader at ELCAR. it is in the V-set directory on my Galleries
page on my homepage at,

http://www.klever.net.au/~ebenlevy/

Dion Williams wrote:

> Not to dwell too much more on Australian rail's darker moments but...
>
> 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?
>
> Dion Williams <di...@hotmail.com>

--
Bye for now,
Eben.