CEGB staged nuclear train crash - early 80’s - question

[waynemorrell]

Hi,

Can someone help me with the exact date of the CEGB staged train crash, class 46 loco and a rake of mk II?carriages crashed into a neclear flask at Old Dalby? Test track.

Trawling the net I’ve come across dates from July 1984 to 1986. The BBC six o’clock news astons looks like 1986, but I
could be wrong it could have been used earlier.

Thanks

 

[Andy Pacer]

Wikipedia says July 1984 but I guess you’d probably already looked there!

 

[Darandio]

17th July 1984

http://www.old-dalby.com/Crash.htm

 

[Tracked]

If you've not seen it this is an interesting thread:

https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/46009-modifications-for-operation-smash-hit.127095/

 

[bspahh]

If you've not seen it this is an interesting thread:

https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/46009-modifications-for-operation-smash-hit.127095/

That thread has a link to a site with pictures from the crash test. The URL has changed and it is now http://www.nigeltout.com/html/crash-test-old-dalby.html

 

[Hornet]

BBC News Report.

 

[Ash Bridge]

Hi,

Can someone help me with the exact date of the CEGB staged train crash, class 46 loco and a rake of mk II?carriages crashed into a neclear flask at Old Dalby? Thanks

The stock behind the class 46 was a three coach rake of mk1s, and they actually seemed to to stand up very well in this particular collision.

 

[waynemorrell]

Thank you all for the replies, very interesting reading.

 

[furnessvale]

The stock behind the class 46 was a three coach rake of mk1s, and they actually seemed to to stand up very well in this particular collision.

Although to be fair, 100+ tons of locomotive at the front had done the main work of shifting the flask and wagon.

 

[robertclark125]

This is a CEGB video of the whole thing

 

[Ash Bridge]

Although to be fair, 100+ tons of locomotive at the front had done the main work of shifting the flask and wagon.

Yes true enough, I'm sure it would be different story with e.g. a HST powercar leading would it not? Then again I was only recently looking at some images of class 81 E3009 at Crewe Works after the horrendous collision at Hixon in 1968 with the low loader carrying a 150? tonne transformer and with the exception of the crushed front & rear cabs the locomotive seemed to have survived in remarkably good shape and after recovery seems to have been dragged back to Crewe by rail, the same certainly couldn't be said for some of the mk1s in the formation immediately behind it though.

 

[satisnek]

Don't know how I missed the previous thread, it's fascinating stuff, and the photos by Nigel Tout (I'm familiar with his GCR through Leicester website) are a revelation! I had always thought that the engine had flown out through the loco's roof, although I never believed the nonsense that this was by design, I hasten to add! Looking at the footage again, it's now clear that it's the section of loco between the leading cab and the engine compartment which flies up in the air.

One thing still baffles me: the onboard camera was "ejected a split second before impact", they said. There appears to be an external nose-mounted camera which was flung away upon impact, but was there a heavily-protected camera inside the cab as well?