BRIGHTON

4th AUGUST 1909

INVOLVING 

BRIGHTON DRIVER FREDERICK QUEEN

 AND HIS FIREMAN ALBERT POPE

EXTRACT AND ADAPTED FROM REPORT INTO THE ACCIDENT

BY P. G. VON DONOP Lt.-Col., R.E

PHOTOGRAPHER UNKNOWN

In this case, as the 6.0 a.m. rail motor-car from Shoreham to Brighton, consisting of an engine and one vehicle, was running into No. 3 platform line, Brighton Station failed to come to a stand at the usual place, and ran into the buffer stops at the end of that line. None of the railway staff employed on the train were injured, but 16 passengers and the have notified the Company of injuries sustained; none of these were however, of a serious nature.
The buffer stops were displaced and considerably damaged ; the damage done to the rolling stock is given in the appendix.

The engine of this train was a six-wheels (terrier tank) coupled tank engine, and at the time of the accident it was running bunker first, and was propelling the one vehicle. It was fit with the Westinghouse automatic brake, working blocks on all six wheels, and with hand brake working the same blocks; the automatic brake could also be applied from engine to the blocks on the wheels of the car.

The only vehicle attached to the engine was an eight-wheeled bogie car; it was fitted with the Westinghouse automatic brake, working blocks on all its wheels.

All the brakes are reported as being in good order.

When, as on this occasion, the car is being propelled by the engine, the driver is stationed in a compartment at the front end of the car, and means are provided to enable him from that compartment to both the regulator of the engine and the brakes throughout on the train. The fireman remains on the engine, and he has still the power to apply the Westinghouse brake, through he has not the power to turn it off if it applied by the driver.

Description

There are a number of platform lines in Brighton Station, the general direction of which is north and south, the buffer stop being at the southern ends. No. 3 platform line, on which this accident occurred, is the third one from the west side of the station. The line from Shoreham on which this rail motor-car was running follows an easterly direction, but immediately before entering the station there is a right-hand curve leading to the platform lines described above. Owing to the curve, the driver of a train entering the station does not actually obtain a view of the buffer stop until he is about l50 yards distant from them.

The gradient for trains approaching the station from the west is a slightly rising one, the greatest inclination being 1 in 143, but at a point distant 123 yards from the buffer stops this changes to a slightly falling gradient of 1 in 818.

There is a home, signal for entering No. 3 platform line, situated 317 yards from the buffer stops, and under this home signal is fixed a, distant signal; the arrangement is that, if the line is clear right up to the buffer stops the distant signal is lowered as well as the home signal, while, if there are two or more vehicles standing in No. 3 road, it is only the home signal that can be lowered. These signals are worked from the Brighton West signal-box, which is situated close to them.

The next signal-box in the westerly direction is known as the New England signal-box. and it is situated about 250 yards to the of the West signal-box.

Thomas Knight , signalman, states: I have been 33 years in the service of the Company and I have been a signalman for 31 or 32 years. I am at present employed in the Brighton West signal box and have been employed there for 8 1/2 years. I remember the 6 a.m. rail motor car from Shoreham passing my box on the 4th August. I am not sure exactly at what time it passed my box but it was running punctually. All my signals were lowered for it to run into the station, including the distant signal under the home. I cannot estimate the speed at which the train passed my box but it appeared to me to he the usual speed. I quite thought that the train would stop all right before reaching the buffer stops. I did not know anything about the accident until I was told by a platelayer that it had ran into the buffer stops. I was standing at the window of my box actually watching the train as it passed. There was assistant in my box at the time but it was myself who lowered the signals for the train.

Edward Davey Signalman, states : I have been 31 years in the service of the Company, and have been a signalman the whole time. I am now employed in the New England signal box and have been there about 10 or 11 years. On August 4th. I noticed the 6 a.m. rail motor car from Shoreham passing my box. I did not notice anything unusual about the speed of it. This train usually runs fast past my box but it ran about the same speed as usual on this occasion.
 
G. King, ticket collector, states: I have been in service of the company from 19 to 29 years and have been ticket collector for 15 years. As the 6 a.m. rail motor car from Shoreham was running into Brighton station on the morning of August 4^th I was myself standing on the buffer stops at the end of No.3 platform line. The first thing that drew my attention to the car was the fact that I saw a man alight from it about 50 yards from the buffer stops and he fell. I could not see from what part of the train he alighted. 

I first looked at the man who jumped, and seeing that he was picking his kit I knew that he was not hurt. The reason being of my being on the buffer stops was that I was proceeding to No.3 platform and owing to the gate being closed I was getting there over the buffer stops. The next thing I saw was that when the car was within six or seven yards of the buffer stops I could see that I could not get on to No.3 platform, so turned and came back again. When I turned to get back again I could see that the car not going to stop. It was not until the car was close up to me that I realised it was not going to stop. When I first saw the car I did 
not judge that its speed was excessive. I estimate its speed at the time it struck the buffer stops at about four five miles an hour. I cannot say whether the brakes were applied or not. I see these rail motor cars running into Brighton station every day. I myself have not known of any previous difficulty in stopping one.

Harry Mitchell, signalman, states: I have been 28 years in the service of the Company, and have been a signalman for eight years. I am at present employed in Brighton West Box and have been there for eight years. I was on duty in the box at 6 a.m. on August 4^th. I saw the 6 a.m. rail motor car from Shoreham pass the box. I had not been dealing with the train myself as my mate had done so. I noticed nothing whatever unusual in the speed of the car when it passed my box. It passed my box at the same speed that cars usually do when they enter the station.

Thomas Joslin, Inspector, states: I have been 13 ½ years in the service of the Company and have been an inspector for 2 ½ years. I am now employed at Brighton where I have been for 15 ½ years. On August 4^th, when the 6 a.m. rail motor car from Shoreham was entering the station I was standing about half way up No.3 platform. The whole train passed me and I noticed nothing unusual about it. I should estimate the speed of the car when it entered the platform at from five to six miles an hour and when the car passed me, I should say about 4 miles an hour. It did not occur to me at the time the car would collide with the buffer stops. I saw the car strike the buffer stops, and was surprised to see it do so. I should say that when the car struck the buffers the speed was not more than one mile an hour. I asked the driver how he came to collide with the buffers and he said that the wheels picked up. When the car passed me I noticed the driver applying his brake in the usual way. I refer to his application of the hand brake. I feel positive that the wheels were not skidding when the car passed me, but I think that they began to skid before the car reached the buffer stops.

Frederick Joseph Queen, driver states: I have 20 ½ in the service of the company, and was promoted to driver in August, 1907. I came on duty on August 4^th at 3.55 a.m. to work till 2.35 p.m. I had come off duty at 2.35 p.m. the previous day. I was the driver of the engine of the 6.0 a.m. rail motor car from Shoreham to Brighton, on August 4^th. I had left Brighton at 4.55 a.m. for Shoreham and had returned to Brighton again, arriving at 5.34 a.m. I left Brighton again at 5.39. a.m., arriving at Shoreham at 5.57 a.m. I left Shoreham at 6.0 a.m. for the trip on which the accident occurred. My engine was a six wheels-coupled tank engine, and at the time of the accident it was running bunker first in the rear of the car. My engine was fitted with the Westinghouse automatic brake working blocks on all six wheels, and with a hand brake working the same blocks. My engine could also apply the automatic brake to all wheels of the car. My brakes were in good order. Up to the time that the accident occurred I had not, on that morning, had any trouble at all with my train. I had had no difficulty in controlling it when stopping anywhere. Up till the time of the accident I was perfectly satisfied with the condition of everything. During the last journey from Shoreham to Brighton, I myself was riding in the compartment at the front of the car. From that position I have control of the regulator, and of the Westinghouse brake, and of the hand brake working the blocks on the wheels of the car. My fireman was riding on the footplate of the engine. My last stop before reaching Brighton was Holland Road Halt. I had no difficulty in stopping my train there. On approaching Brighton Station all the signals were off for me and I intended to bring the train to a stand three parts of the way up No. 9 road, by which I mean three-quarters of the way along the platform. I turned off steam just before we reached New England box, and I never turned it on again. I applied the automatic brake just before we reached the west box home signal. I should estimate our speed at from 18 to 20 miles an hour. The automatic brake appeared to act well, but the wheels picked up at once. I then released the automatic brake and I put it on again and it picked up again. I took it off again and put the hand brake on. When I put the hand brake on we were passing the West signal-box. She picked up her wheels again. 

Whilst I was running along the platform, I took the hand brake off and put it on again. I could not do anything more, and we ran into the buffer stops. I estimate our speed at the time we ran into the buffer stops at from five to six miles an hour. I estimate our speed when entering the station at from 10 to 15 miles an hour. I had had no trouble of the description when entering Brighton Station from Shoreham the end of the first journey. The only reason I can give to account for the trouble on the second occasion is the greasy state of the rails. It was not raining at the time. I did not put on the automatic brake again until we were near the 
buffer stops, and this was after I had applied the hand brake. There is a bell communication between me and the fireman. I made use of it on this occasion, when the engine was just by the home signal. I meant this as a signal to my mate to apply the hand brake on the engine. I do not always do this when entering Brighton Station. I did it on this occasion because I found that my wheels were skidding. I have been working on these motor car for just over two years, and have never had any trouble with them before. There was a ganger from Shoreham riding with me in the same compartment. I admit that this is against the rules. 
I did not think it thee was any great harm in it as he was a company’s servant. The conductor was also in the compartment when we was running into the station. We have no means of applying sand from the end of the car of which I was riding, but there is sand on the engine itself. The fireman has charge of that sand when I am at the front of the car. There is no bell code by which I can communicate with fireman and tell him to apply the sand, nor is there any code by which I can tell the fireman to reverse the engine. I think that I might have stopped the train if I had had sand at my end of the car. Company’s servants have dropped in and ridden in the compartment as upon previous occasions. 

Albert Pope, fireman, states: I have been 7 ½ in the company’s service. I passed as fireman in June, 1906, and was promoted to fireman in May of this year. I was employed with driver Queen on the 6 a.m. rail motor car from Shoreham to Brighton on the 4^th August. Until this accident occurred there was no trouble that morning with the train at all. I noticed the rails were greasy that morning, but they were not so greasy on the first trip. When we were approaching Brighton station I was riding on the footplate of the engine at the rear of the car, the engine being controlled entirely by the driver from the front of the car. Our last stop before Brighton was at the Holland Road Halt. There had been no difficulty in stopping the train there. I do not know whether the rails were greasy or not. When we were approaching Brighton I consider that we were going at the usual speed. I noticed that steam was turned off near the New England box. It was never turned on again. The automatic brake was first applied at the home signal of the West signal box. It was taken off almost immediately. I did not know why at the time why it was taken off. The first application of it did not make the engine wheels skid. The driver applied the automatic brake a second time soon after he had taken it off. It was taken off again, but I cannot say how long it was left on the second time. My wheels were not skidding when it was taken off the second time. The automatic brake was applied a third time, but I do not know where the train was when it was applied. Whilst we were running along the platform I noticed that we were going unusually fast and I myself opened the emergency valve. The application of the automatic brake by me did not seem to make any difference on the train at all. As we were passing New England box I applied my hand brake slightly. I think I kept it on for a minute or two and then took it off again and put it on again. I then kept it on altogether right up to the time the collision occurred. It is a recognised thing to keep the hand brake on fully when entering Brighton station, and I always do so. I had done precisely the same when entering Brighton on the first occasion. When we were just entering under the roof of the station the driver rang me up on the bell. The driver gave two rings on this occasion, which he and I agreed was to mean that I was to look out. It was on the receipt of this signal from the driver that I applied the automatic brake by the means of the emergency valve. After the driver had rung me up I used my sanding apparatus. This sanded the rails in front of the six wheels of my engine. I estimate our speed when we struck the buffer stops at about four or five miles an hour. I could not see the buffer stops from my cab on the engine. 

Just before the collision occurred I reversed my engine. I did all I could to assist my driver.