Report on the Electrical Fire which occurred on 11th August 1960 between Redbridge and Gants Hill on the Central Line London Transport Railways

"This accident, the results of which might have been much more serious if the train had been full, should not have occurred. If the lessons from the previous similar accident at Holland Park in 1958 had been properly learnt and applied by some of the staff concerned, the car would not have been allowed to go into service without the receptacle box having been changed, and the accident would not have occurred. There is no doubt that since the Holland Park accident, trains have been allowed to go into service from Ruislip depot after arcing has occurred in a receptacle box without the box being changed or properly tested. An accident of this nature was therefore liable to happen sooner or later. Regarding the testing, the depot foreman did not know that the resistance of the insulation between the terminal pins should be measured, in spite of the fact that this was a point to which particular attention had been drawn in the report on the Holland Park accident. It is quite clear that, when the arcing in the receptacle box and the subsequent arcing and fire in the jumper cables occurred, he was far more concerned with the latter, which might have affected the train service, than he was with the integrity of the receptacle box on the train, although he knew that heavy arcing had taken place in it. I am glad to report that since the accident detailed instructions have been issued that in the event of any damage to or arcing taking place in a receptacle box, the car concerned is to be stopped even though it may result in the cancellation of a train."

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