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Coppenhall Junction accident 26th December 1962

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Red Sparrow

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I am trying to ascertain the identity of the Class 40 loco involved in the Boxing Day collision at Coppenhall Junction in 1962. Multiple sources cite D326 as the likely candidate but other sources list D215 or D346 . I have a copy of the original accident report but that has no helpful information at all ! I am a newbie when it comes to railway history so would be grateful if anyone could point me in a direction that would provide absolute closure on this question . Many thanks.
 
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krus_aragon

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I am trying to ascertain the identity of the Class 40 loco involved in the Boxing Day collision at Coppenhall Junction in 1962. Multiple sources cite D326 as the likely candidate but other sources list D215 or D346 . I have a copy of the original accident report but that has no helpful information at all ! I am a newbie when it comes to railway history so would be grateful if anyone could point me in a direction that would provide absolute closure on this question . Many thanks.
The Railway Magazine, writing in 2014, claimed that former Crewe fitter Allan Baker had kept records at the time which showed it was D215. They also drew attention to the fact that they themselves had published an article the previous year claiming that it was D326, but noted that this was in error.

See https://web.archive.org/web/2014100...in-piecing-together-britain-s-railway-history
 

The_Train

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This has definitely intrigued me......
How has the identification of a loco involved in a crash become so clouded in doubt?
 

Red Sparrow

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The Railway Magazine, writing in 2014, claimed that former Crewe fitter Allan Baker had kept records at the time which showed it was D215. They also drew attention to the fact that they themselves had published an article the previous year claiming that it was D326, but noted that this was in error.

See https://web.archive.org/web/2014100...in-piecing-together-britain-s-railway-history
Many thanks for the excellent information there. I am coming into this from an aviation history perspective so excuse me if this is a really daft question - Do individual Locos have the equivalent of an aircraft log book and if so where are they stored once a Loco is retired ?
 

krus_aragon

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Many thanks for the excellent information there. I am coming into this from an aviation history perspective so excuse me if this is a really daft question - Do individual Locos have the equivalent of an aircraft log book and if so where are they stored once a Loco is retired ?
Not to my knowledge. Because locomotives tend to be allocated to one depot at a time, any such records would be kept in the depot's logs instead. I don't know what the extent of these logs would be. If there are any extant log books, they'd probably be at the National Archives (or maybe the National Railway Museum).

Aircraft tend to be maintained at several locations around the world, so it makes sense for them to have a log book that travels with them.

The OP mentioned it in the first post. I've had a quick skim, and found no greater detail than the description of the diesel as a "Class 4 diesel of 2,200 h.p. with 1 Co-Co 1 wheel arrangement".
 

Red Sparrow

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Not to my knowledge. Because locomotives tend to be allocated to one depot at a time, any such records would be kept in the depot's logs instead. I don't know what the extent of these logs would be. If there are any extant log books, they'd probably be at the National Archives (or maybe the National Railway Museum).

Aircraft tend to be maintained at several locations around the world, so it makes sense for them to have a log book that travels with them.


The OP mentioned it in the first post. I've had a quick skim, and found no greater detail than the description of the diesel as a "Class 4 diesel of 2,200 h.p. with 1 Co-Co 1 wheel arrangement".
Again , many thanks for the responses . I will see if I can get anything from the National Archives or York. I am intrigued that the official report makes no direct mention of the actual locos involved , that really seems a monumental omission to me.
 

John Webb

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Again , many thanks for the responses . I will see if I can get anything from the National Archives or York. I am intrigued that the official report makes no direct mention of the actual locos involved , that really seems a monumental omission to me.
As the accident was clearly one of human error, not a fault on the locos concerned, it was probably not thought necessary to record the details of the locos. It is interesting to compare with more recent reports where the reporting inspector will clearly state the loco(s) or unit(s) involved and if their condition was a contributory factor to the accident or not.
 

Red Sparrow

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As the accident was clearly one of human error, not a fault on the locos concerned, it was probably not thought necessary to record the details of the locos. It is interesting to compare with more recent reports where the reporting inspector will clearly state the loco(s) or unit(s) involved and if their condition was a contributory factor to the accident or not.
Many thanks for the reply , I understand that but there must have been substantial damage to the Class 40 loco and I would have thought that would have warranted some acknowledgement of it . I have been looking at more recent accident reports and they are so much more comprehensive than the ones from the 60’s .
 

Bevan Price

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I am trying to ascertain the identity of the Class 40 loco involved in the Boxing Day collision at Coppenhall Junction in 1962. Multiple sources cite D326 as the likely candidate but other sources list D215 or D346 . I have a copy of the original accident report but that has no helpful information at all ! I am a newbie when it comes to railway history so would be grateful if anyone could point me in a direction that would provide absolute closure on this question . Many thanks.

D215 - scroll down the page to Accidents & Incidents.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_40

D326 was involved in the Great Train Robbery.
D346 was an Eastern Region loco in 1962, and would have been very unusual on a WCML service.
 

Red Sparrow

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D215 - scroll down the page to Accidents & Incidents.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_40

D326 was involved in the Great Train Robbery.
D346 was an Eastern Region loco in 1962, and would have been very unusual on a WCML service.
Many thanks , that’s really helpful. There is a YouTube video relating to D346 and the crash although there is nothing that really ties it to the tragedy itself .
 

Red Sparrow

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D215 - scroll down the page to Accidents & Incidents.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_40

D326 was involved in the Great Train Robbery.
D346 was an Eastern Region loco in 1962, and would have been very unusual on a WCML service.
Many thanks , that’s really helpful. There is a YouTube video relating to D346 and the crash although there is nothing
D215 - scroll down the page to Accidents & Incidents.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_40

D326 was involved in the Great Train Robbery.
D346 was an Eastern Region loco in 1962, and would have been very unusual on a WCML service.
The Wikipedia entry for the Coppenhall accident also quotes D346 as the loco involved .
 

Bevan Price

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Many thanks , that’s really helpful. There is a YouTube video relating to D346 and the crash although there is nothing that really ties it to the tragedy itself .

When I get time, I will try to check RCTS Railway Observers from that date, to see if it confirms the loco ID.
 

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D215 - scroll down the page to Accidents & Incidents.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_40

D326 was involved in the Great Train Robbery.
D346 was an Eastern Region loco in 1962, and would have been very unusual on a WCML service.
Am I right in thinking that D326 (40126) was involved in a few incidents/accidents back then?
I seem to recall reading that it was considered ‘unlucky’ by some drivers.
 

Red Sparrow

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Am I right in thinking that D326 (40126) was involved in a few incidents/accidents back then?
I seem to recall reading that it was considered ‘unlucky’ by some drivers.
Yes , it’s early life was full of incident including the tragic death of a secondsman who was electrocuted whilst on duty .
 

Bevan Price

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When I get time, I will try to check RCTS Railway Observers from that date, to see if it confirms the loco ID.
That is brilliant, thank you.

Unfortunately, the Railway Observer (R.O.) does not mention the accident anywhere that I can see. It does note that D215 was in Crewe Works during 1963, but no mention about any damage. (At that time, R.O. reports about "non-steam" were pot luck. Some loco lists from Works visits even omitted any diesels seen during that visit.) Maybe something in other magazines, but they will take longer to locate.
 

Red Sparrow

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When I get time, I will try to check RCTS Railway Observers from that date, to see if it confirms the loco ID.


Unfortunately, the Railway Observer (R.O.) does not mention the accident anywhere that I can see. It does note that D215 was in Crewe Works during 1963, but no mention about any damage. (At that time, R.O. reports about "non-steam" were pot luck. Some loco lists from Works visits even omitted any diesels seen during that visit.) Maybe something in other magazines, but they will take longer to locate.
Once again thank you , I’m staggered by the knowledge and kindness shown on this forum . York came back to me earlier and were unfortunately unable to offer any information over and above that already shown above . I’m going to try the historic newspaper archives next and see if they can offer any insight in to the mystery.
 

delt1c

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D215 - scroll down the page to Accidents & Incidents.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_40

D326 was involved in the Great Train Robbery.
D346 was an Eastern Region loco in 1962, and would have been very unusual on a WCML service.
It wouldn’t be unusual to to see an Eastern loco on the LM at that time. Many diagrams were long and complicated. For instance there were several diagrams in the 70’s which to Stratford Locos to Scotland on a mixture of freight and passenger.
 

Red Sparrow

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It wouldn’t be unusual to to see an Eastern loco on the LM at that time. Many diagrams were long and complicated. For instance there were several diagrams in the 70’s which to Stratford Locos to Scotland on a mixture of freight and passenger.
Thank you , that’s interesting. I had no idea that was any sort of order to where specific locos run , I just assumed they were sent wherever they were needed . In that case , is there any way I could locate the whereabouts of the loco named after Jack Mills at any time in the future ?
 
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I’m going to try the historic newspaper archives next and see if they can offer any insight in to the mystery.

If you can find any images of the loco, even if the number is not visible, the head-code discs / boxes would provide a clue. D215 would have had discs at this time, D326 split-boxes and D346 a full-frontal box. See the Wiki article for an illustration of the various types. D215 was also named in 1962. All the images on-line seem to be just of the terrible damage to the coaches.
 

Red Sparrow

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If you can find any images of the loco, even if the number is not visible, the head-code discs / boxes would provide a clue. D215 would have had discs at this time, D326 split-boxes and D346 a full-frontal box. See the Wiki article for an illustration of the various types. D215 was also named in 1962. All the images on-line seem to be just of the terrible damage to the coaches.
I’ve looked for a photo of actual loco involved but all I can find are a few photos of the carriages ( which is understandable ) . I’ll keep looking.
 

delt1c

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Thank you , that’s interesting. I had no idea that was any sort of order to where specific locos run , I just assumed they were sent wherever they were needed . In that case , is there any way I could locate the whereabouts of the loco named after Jack Mills at any time in the future ?
Back in the 70’s there was a publication that listed all passenger diagrams for every depot including 08’s . If memory serves me correct it also included mixed diagram, which could show some interesting visits. This didn’t list loco numbers only types.
 

Bovverboy

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It wouldn’t be unusual to to see an Eastern loco on the LM at that time. Many diagrams were long and complicated. For instance there were several diagrams in the 70’s which to Stratford Locos to Scotland on a mixture of freight and passenger.

You say it wouldn't be unusual to see an Eastern loco on the LM 'at that time'. We'd been talking about 1962, but you go on to mention the 70s. I can't vouch for the 1970s, but I certainly don't recall seeing an Eastern (or North Eastern) based Type 4 on the WCML in 1962. Steam traditions still prevailed at that time, and an E/NE based Type 4 would have been no more likely to be seen on the WCML than a Gresley Pacific.
 

delt1c

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Wasn’t unusual to LM and E locos on Sc region even as far north as Inverness in the 60’s. One of the big advantages of diesel over steam was versitality and could travel far as long as crew were signed for them.
 

Bovverboy

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Wasn’t unusual to LM and E locos on Sc region even as far north as Inverness in the 60’s. One of the big advantages of diesel over steam was versitality and could travel far as long as crew were signed for them.

We'd been talking about E/NE based Type 4s being seen on the LM. And are you sure that Type 4s would have got to Inverness as early as 1962?
 

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I can still remember the chilling quote attributed to the Class 40 driver at the time (included in the Inspector's report linked above):
"I said (to the fireman) we have wasted enough time in the section, the road looks clear ahead to signal no. 110, and we will make for there."

It was of course at the start of the severe winter of 1962/3, and happened on Boxing Day 1962.
The report also has harsh things to say about the reaction time from some railway staff, and the feeble light from oil tail lamps compared to that of colour-light signals.
Hard to believe it was on one of BR's newly-upgraded and electrified sections of the WCML, but still using equipment and procedures from the 19th century.
 
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APT618S

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Looked at the class 40 motherlist website:
http://www.class40motherlist.com/index.html
This states D326 involved in the 26/12/62 accident ... BUT it is also reported working 1M22 The Royal Scot on 31/12/62. There is no way this could have been repaired in so short a time given the severity of the accident.
http://www.class40motherlist.com/40126.html
D215 has no workings recorded between 08/12/62 and 11/04/63.
http://www.class40motherlist.com/40015.html
D346 has a reported coal empties working on 29/12/63.
http://www.class40motherlist.com/40146.html
So out of the 3 locos stated my money would be on D215.
 
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