Lewisham

[Jimbob52]

Wednesday, 4th December sees the anniversary of the accident at St John’s, Lewisham in 1957. With 90 fatalities and 173 injured, it remains the third- worst railway accident in the UK.


Peter Tatlow’s ‘St John’s, Lewisham, 50 Years On’ (Oakwood Press, 2007) is recommended.

 

[Dr_Paul]

One of my dad's work colleagues was injured in this accident. He was on the Hayes service that was stopped at the signals and was hit from behind. Somehow, he was thrown through a window and was trapped by his feet, and was dangling downwards until he was rescued.

Another of my dad's work colleagues was involved in the Harrow accident a few years previously. He was on the local service that was hit from behind by the up express. He was uninjured, and made his way into work.

 

[Harvester]

It could have been a lot worse, had the driver of a train slowly approaching the overbridge in the mist not spotted tilting girders. By braking hard he halted his train just yards from disaster with the first coach sitting above the wreckage, and just short of distorted track and the likelihood of being plunged into the carnage below.

 

[Cricketer8for9]

I know someone in his late 70s whose father died at Lewisham. Terribly sad, though the son went on to a productive live which continues to this day. One of the things which makes us human is the capacity to recover from tragedy.

 

[matchmaker]

Is the "temporary" overbridge still in use?

 

[alf]

Yes.
With probably much more passenger traffic because of the newish up chord from the steel bridge to the up fast line to Charing Cross.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Is the "temporary" overbridge still in use?

It is; apparently the lines are too busy to be able to take the necessary possession blockade to build a permanent replacement.

 

[yorksrob]

It always looks pretty solid. If its structurally sound, why replace it.

 

[D Williams]

Something that is often overlooked is the fact that the old railway was very good at killing large numbers of passengers let alone the staff deaths that were almost a daily occurrence. How times have changed.

 

[Rescars]

Something that is often overlooked is the fact that the old railway was very good at killing large numbers of passengers let alone the staff deaths that were almost a daily occurrence. How times have changed.

Happily "pea soup" smogs have also been confined to history. The Lewisham crash occurred during one of the last of these.

 

[norbitonflyer]

I know someone in his late 70s whose father died at Lewisham. Terribly sad, though the son went on to a productive live which continues to this day. One of the things which makes us human is the capacity to recover from tragedy.

I may have been there. My mother certainly was, and I was born the following September.

 

[Trackman]

Thoughts with friends and family, who will remember this date forever.

 

[John Webb]

Happily "pea soup" smogs have also been confined to history. The Lewisham crash occurred during one of the last of these.

I well recall it - I'd started at my new secondary school half a mile from the crash site that September. We were sent home nearly two hours early the day of the crash. I had a five-mile bus journey which usually took half-an-hour or so. That day it took two hours!

 

[Galvanize]

My Great Uncle on my Dad’s side was very nearly caught up in the Lewisham disaster.

He used to catch the Hayes service usually without fail every day when coming home from work…but by stroke of luck, he finished just that little bit late that evening, and saw the train leaving without him!

 

[Turtle]

My Great Uncle on my Dad’s side was very nearly caught up in the Lewisham disaster.

He used to catch the Hayes service usually without fail every day when coming home from work…but by stroke of luck, he finished just that little bit late that evening, and saw the train leaving without him!

I remember it well. It was quite alarming to think how dangerous the London smog was in those days. By the way, does anyone else recall the other bad accident on the Southern in the 1950s. As I recall an old wooden bodied electric train was involved in a collision and caught fire with a number of fatalities. I must try and look it up.

 

[Rescars]

I remember it well. It was quite alarming to think how dangerous the London smog was in those days. By the way, does anyone else recall the other bad accident on the Southern in the 1950s. As I recall an old wooden bodied electric train was involved in a collision and caught fire with a number of fatalities. I must try and look it up.

There was another bad accident on the Southern in thick fog at South Croydon which involved two electric trains, but this happened ten years earlier in 1947.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I remember it well. It was quite alarming to think how dangerous the London smog was in those days. By the way, does anyone else recall the other bad accident on the Southern in the 1950s. As I recall an old wooden bodied electric train was involved in a collision and caught fire with a number of fatalities. I must try and look it up.

That might be a crash in the Chiswick area you're thinking of?

 

[norbitonflyer]

I remember it well. It was quite alarming to think how dangerous the London smog was in those days. By the way, does anyone else recall the other bad accident on the Southern in the 1950s. As I recall an old wooden bodied electric train was involved in a collision and caught fire with a number of fatalities. I must try and look it up.

https://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/MoT_Barnes1955.pdf

2x2NOL. Train from Waterloo to Windsor and Weybridge ran into the back of a freight train at Barnes due to a signalman having irregularly released the interlocking. Arcing from the third rail set fire to the wooden bodies of the carriages.

That might be a crash in the Chiswick area you're thinking of?

Probably that one.

 

[contrex]

Happily "pea soup" smogs have also been confined to history. The Lewisham crash occurred during one of the last of these.

There was an accident at Herne Hill on 6 Nov 1947 when the driver of an Up loco hauled train misread a hand signal from a fog signalman and passed a signal at danger and collided with an EMU crossing to go up to Tulse Hill. The leading car of that was pushed to demolish the viaduct parapet and ended up overhanging the street; one passenger was killed.

 

[Turtle]

https://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/MoT_Barnes1955.pdf

2x2NOL. Train from Waterloo to Windsor and Weybridge ran into the back of a freight train at Barnes due to a signalman having irregularly released the interlocking. Arcing from the third rail set fire to the wooden bodies of the carriages.


Probably that one.

I see now it was the Barnes crash, coincidentally recalled in considerable detail in Live Rail 314.

 

[Trackman]

I've posted about this before, there is a memorial in Lewisham shopping centre, I cannot remember if it's for Lewisham or Hither Green.

 

[Tony R]

One of my dad's work colleagues was injured in this accident. He was on the Hayes service that was stopped at the signals and was hit from behind. Somehow, he was thrown through a window and was trapped by his feet, and was dangling downwards until he was rescued.

Another of my dad's work colleagues was involved in the Harrow accident a few years previously. He was on the local service that was hit from behind by the up express. He was uninjured, and made his way into work.

Hi, I was interested to read your comments on the St John’s rail accident in 1957. I’ve started researching this subject for a book on the human consequences of the disaster. I would be very interested in corresponding with you about your late father’s experiences in that accident. If you would like to follow this up, please go to my website, https://www.tonyredding.co.uk/, and send me an email.