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Report on the Derailment that occurred on 20th September 1966 at Chipping Sodbury in the Western Region British Railways

Document Summary

The report on the derailment of a freight train at Chipping Sodbury in 1966.

This document was published on 30th August 1967 by Ministry of Transport.

It was written by Col. J. R. H. Robertson.

This item is linked to the Accident at Chipping Sodbury on 20th September 1966

The original document format was Stapled Book, and comprised 12 pages.

This document was kindly sourced from Stuart Johnson and is in our Accident reports collection. It was added to the Archive on 29th April 2007.

Copyright Information

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"The train was the 2015 hrs Kensington to Whitland Class 3 milk empties train. It comprised 46 empty 6-wheeled milk tanks and two 8-wheeled brakevans and was hauled by a diesel engine. While running at a speed of at least 60 m.p.h., i.e. well above the maximum of 50 m.p.h. that is allowed for empty milk tanks, the trailing wheels under the 30th milk tank became derailed to the left from straight, plain, continuously welded, track in Chipping Sodbury Tunnel and, the train crew remaining unaware that anything was amiss, the train ran on down the steadily falling gradient for l& miles, with this milk tank upright and in line and with its derailed wheels very close to the rails. As the train ran into Chipping Sodbury Station however the derailed wheels struck connections just short of the platform and the general derailment of the rear part of the train started. The already derailed milk tank was not derailed further but the milk tank behind it may have become so: in any case the train became divided, the 15 milk tanks behind this one (the 31%) and the two brakevans breaking away and being derailed into confusion across all four tracks through the station. It was indeed fortunate that an Up goods train had just cleared the site before this happened: had it been still closely approaching the station six empty milk tanks, four of them on their sides, would have been across its path.

As the front part of the train ran on, with its vacuum brakes automatically applied by the severance of the train pipe at its rear, the 31st milk tank turned over onto its near side and was dragged thus until it became detached from the milk tank ahead and came to rest across the Down Main line at a point some 330 yards ahead of the wagons derailed across the station. The first part of the train came to a stand some 1090 yards beyond the point at which the general derailment of its rear portion had started, with the 30th milk tank still with only its trailing wheels off the rails.

In anticipation of casualties, ambulances were sent for at once and three arrived promptly, but fortunately no-one was injured: the guard was severely shaken but was able to continue on duty."