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Accident Returns: Extract for the Accident at Streatham Common on 29th May 1863

Document Summary

A derailment with very heavy casualties, caused by speed and the instability of the engine, which burst the track. The inspector was critical of the use of tank engines on the Brighton line.

This document was published on 6th July 1863 by Board of Trade.

It was written by Col. W. Yolland.

This item is linked to the Accident at Streatham Common on 29th May 1863

The original document format was Bound Volume, and comprised 3 pages.

This document was kindly sourced from Office of Rail and Road and is in our Accident reports collection. It was added to the Archive on 22nd June 2020 by Rupert Dyer.

Copyright Information

This document is Crown Copyright, and is subject to the terms governing the reproduction of crown copyright material. Depending on the status and age of the original document, you may need an OPSI click-use license if you wish to reproduce this material, and other restrictions may apply. Please see this explanation for further details.

"This lamentable occurrence happened to the Victoria portion of the 5.0m. p.m. up express passenger train from Brighton, a short distance on the Croydon side of the Streatham Common Station. The train suddenly got off the rails, and the engine, after running somewhere about 224 yards, inclined to the right and then turned sharply round to the left and fell over on its right side, and the dome of the boiler struck a rail, and was knocked off causing the boiler to explode.

I should state that the accident appears to have resulted from a combination of circumstances. An engine of short wheel base, similar to this tank engine, is more liable to oscillate than one of long-wheel base. Some considerable distance before the engine actually got off the line another element came into play, viz., the insufficiency of strength in the permanent way to bear the heavy lateral strain brought against it and the road was entirely destroyed. "

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