Summit Tunnel Fire - 40 Years on

[AlistairCowell]

It is 40 years ago today that an intensive fire broke out inside the Summit Rail tunnel following a derailment of tank wagons. The train was the 6M08 01:40 Haverton Hill, Teesside to Glazebrook near Warrington, and the train consisted of a Class 47 locomotive numbered 47125 convoying 13 tank wagons loaded with four-star petrol, totalling 835 tons.

The train derailed at 05:50, when the fourth tank wagon suffered a defective roller bearing in the forward axle, which also caused the derailment of several wagons behind, including one of the tankers to fell on its side, causing the petrol leak into the tunnel and this caused a fire along the track. The crew ran the remaining mile to the south portal, where a phone was located, and raised the alarm.

The fire services arrived shortly afterwards to tackle the fire, and at 08:40, the train crew reentered the tunnel and uncoupled the loco and first three still on the rails and were driven out of the tunnel. An hour later, at 09:40, the pressure in one of the heated tankers was hot enough to burst its pressure relief valves, and the fire developed rapidly. The fire crews were evacuated just before the explosion, and the fires were vented out of several ventilation shafts, which could be seen for miles. A major incident was declared at 10:05.

The fire has resulted in the evacuation of 170 nearby residents and the closure of A6033 road between Walsden to Littleborough. Of the evacuated residents, 38 were taken to Walsden Primary School.

The tunnel was closed for eight months for the clearance of fire damaged vehicles and subsequent repairs, and it was not until 19th August 1985 that rail services would resume.

Halifax Courier released the news article this morning:

Remembering the Summit Tunnel Fire 40 years on

We take a look back at the Summit Tunnel Fire, which happened 40 years ago today (Friday, December 20).

www.halifaxcourier.co.uk

Inside the tunnel, between Todmorden and Littleborough, temperatures reached an astonishing 1,530 degrees Celsius.

The Leeds to Manchester railway line was closed for eight months.

Yet amazingly no one, neither railway workers nor firefighters, was hurt and the 143-year-old tunnel - built to last - survived the intense heat remarkably well.

You can also read the article about Summit Tunnel from RAIL:

Summit Tunnel: from fire to ice

PAUL STEPHEN recalls the day when a derailed freight train caught fire in Summit Tunnel, which has recently chalked up 175 years of continuous use

www.railmagazine.com

The train involved was the 0138 Haverton Hill (Teesside) to Glazebrook (Merseyside) freight train, consisting of 13 tank wagons containing 835 tonnes of petroleum hauled by Class 47 47125. Heading southwards, it entered Summit Tunnel at 0550 on December 20 1984 along the up line at 40mph. Three quarters of a mile inside the tunnel, the fourth and fifth wagons derailed, severing the air brake pipe and triggering an emergency application of the trains’ brakes.

The subsequent accident report compiled by HM Railway Inspectorate found the cause of the derailment to be a catastrophic failure of the fourth wagon’s leading left axlebox roller bearing. The damage caused to the track by the fractured wheelset caused all the following vehicles to derail and fire to break out quickly as leaking petrol was ignited by a hot axlebox.

Blocked by the spreading fire behind them, the train’s three-man crew ran the remaining mile to the tunnel’s south portal where they were able to advise a signaller at Preston Power Signal Box from a signal post telephone that the train was blocking both tracks, carrying petroleum products and that emergency services were required.

 

[yorksrob]

This was a fascinating event. A fire so intense it melted the bricks !

 

[danielnez1]

Here is a clip of Granada Reports coverage of the fire:

 

[AndrewE]

This was a fascinating event. A fire so intense it melted the bricks !

...some of the bricks...
I spent months in there in the aftermath and saw that the common bricks had melted and run down the walls, whereas the lengths with engineering bricks (probably Accrington Reds) had all shaled and the track was buried in shards like razor blades.

The ballast had been limestone, so at the end of the fire it was all turned to quicklime - and after the firefighting and damping down it was an awful sticky bed of slaked lime!

 

[yorksrob]

...some of the bricks...
I spent months in there in the aftermath and saw that the common bricks had melted and run down the walls, whereas the lengths with engineering bricks (probably Accrington Reds) had all shaled and the track was buried in shards like razor blades.

The ballast had been limestone, so at the end of the fire it was all turned to quicklime - and after the firefighting and damping down it was an awful sticky bed of slaked lime!

Thanks for the insight - I bet it was fascinating to walk through !

I wonder how blue engineering bricks would have fared.

 

[aar0]

The tunnel was closed for eight months for the clearance of fire damaged vehicles and subsequent repairs, and it was not until 19th August 1985 that rail services would resume

And yet you always hear on here how BR would sort out any problem for the next day, or week at a push.

 

[yorksrob]

And yet you always hear on here how BR would sort out any problem for the next day, or week at a push.

Where has this been said, out of interest ? If it had, it would have been discussed in detail on the forum.

 

[Temple Meads]

Where has this been said, out of interest ? If it had, it would have been discussed in detail on the forum.

I've read many historic accident reports and it's often surprising by modern standards how quickly normal running is restored after some quite major accidents, but some things would always be more complex to resolve, like this one.

 

[yorksrob]

I've read many historic accident reports and it's often surprising by modern standards how quickly normal running is restored after some quite major accidents, but some things would always be more complex to resolve, like this one.

Hither Green is one worth reading.

 

[Strathclyder]

The images of the flames shooting out the ventilation shafts are incredible and a real testament to the fire's ferocity (hardly surprising given what was fuelling it). Fascinating event indeed.

 

[Temple Meads]

Hither Green is one worth reading.

Indeed, and rather sobering it is too.

For those interested, here is the official report for the Summit fire: https://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/DoT_Summit1984.pdf

 

[Winthorpe]

And yet you always hear on here how BR would sort out any problem for the next day, or week at a push.

I was about to post that eight months is remarkably quick!

I'm sure it would take longer now.

 

[GusB]

The fire services arrived shortly afterwards to tackle the fire, and at 08:40, the train crew reentered the tunnel and uncoupled the loco and first three still on the rails and were driven out of the tunnel. An hour later, at 09:40, the pressure in one of the heated tankers was hot enough to burst its pressure relief valves, and the fire developed rapidly. The fire crews were evacuated just before the explosion, and the fires were vented out of several ventilation shafts, which could be seen for miles. A major incident was declared at 10:05.

I'll take my hat off to the train crew who decided to go back in and uncouple the first few wagons; they didn't know when the rest would go up.

I haven't read the whole thing yet, but the accident report is here if anyone else wants to have a read:

Railway Accident: Report on the Derailment and Fire that occurred on 20th December 1984 at Summit Tunnel :: The Railways Archive

Archive of UK railways documents

www.railwaysarchive.co.uk

 

[43096]

You can also read the article about Summit Tunnel from RAIL:

Summit Tunnel: from fire to ice

PAUL STEPHEN recalls the day when a derailed freight train caught fire in Summit Tunnel, which has recently chalked up 175 years of continuous use

www.railmagazine.com

Got to love the accuracy in that rag... "Under supervision, the traincrew were asked to return to the train at 0840 to uncouple the locomotive and three tank wagons located forward of the derailment and drive them to safety, thereby removing 16,000 tonnes of fuel from the reach of the flames."

16,000 tonnes? Only around a couple of orders of magnitude out...

 

[Whisky Papa]

I recall the morning of the incident (fairly) well. I had just moved to Todmorden in the November, and had started commuting to Stockport by train - the numbers of commuters back then was nothing like it his now, and nor was the train service. I generally caught the train at around 0740 (which I think was the first one, unless there was a much earlier one that I disregarded?) but on the morning of the fire, I was a bit slow to start and went for the next one around 25-30 minutes later.

At Todmorden we were told it would be a bus as far as Rochdale, although I can't recall how promptly this arrived. It was a West Yorkshire PTE double-decker, I suspect one of the then new Olympians with coach seats - these would operate the replacement service for its duration but maybe that first morning it was something older. I can well recall the slightly sick feeling of passing the point on the A6033 near the eastern end of the tunnel and seeing a number of fires engines and police vehicles there (possibly ambulances too) and wondering if something had happened to the earlier train that I would normally have been travelling on.

I got to Stockport around 10 o'clock to an ironic cheer from my schedules office colleagues, who by then could fill me in on what had happened and at least allay my fears about the earlier train. As the severity of the damage became apparent over the following days, I had no choice but to settle in to the extended commuting times for the next few months. Littleborough was soon established as the railhead rather than Rochdale, and in fact, the replacement service did offer an earlier arrival in Victoria, around 0800 I recall as I could just about get the 0818 Macclesfield service from Piccadilly on a good day. I didn't seem to use the line for leisure purposes back then - we still had a family car, and most of my social life had switched to the Calderdale area.

I did the charity tunnel walk prior to the reopening, which was certainly an experience, but quit my job in Stockport not that long after. It would be over twenty years before I became a daily commuter through the tunnel again.

 

[Ploughman]

I can recall seeing in the distance what looked like a volcano erupting from the hillside when I was driving Eastbound on the M62.

 

[Deepgreen]

Got to love the accuracy in that rag... "Under supervision, the traincrew were asked to return to the train at 0840 to uncouple the locomotive and three tank wagons located forward of the derailment and drive them to safety, thereby removing 16,000 tonnes of fuel from the reach of the flames."

16,000 tonnes? Only around a couple of orders of magnitude out...

Yes, it's not well written, not least because it randomly mixes imperial and metric units! I assume they meant 16,000 gallons or litres. I also wonder whether the rear red light mentioned as protecting the train was at all visible against the background of a huge fireball!

 

[Ken H]

A bit off topic but didn't an oil train derail around that time and the fuel in it was ignited by propane point heaters. Which led to wholesome replacement with electric point heaters.
Wasn't 47499 involved in that?
My dad worked for an oil company in Leeds and managed the transport of 'product' by rail, barge, road vehicles and coastal shipping. I imagine this incident will have spoiled his day! I have no idea which way the oil trains would have been diverted. Remember there was quite a lot of trans pennine coal trains back then

Back to the film, the young Richard Madeley there. I remember him on Grenada Reports. I think Judy Finnegan was on Grenada Reports too.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

16,000 tonnes? Only around a couple of orders of magnitude out...

Indeed. The previous page of the article has already mentioned that the freight train consisted of 13 tank wagons containing some 835 tonnes of petroleum.

Believe the 16,000 figure may actually relate to the quantity of fuel (in litres) recovered after the fire from the 13th and rear most tank wagon (slightly surprised it hadn't been combusted) and not what was in the three detached fuel tank wagons at the front of the train, which would, if full, have been a considerably larger quantity.

 

[Ken H]

Indeed. The previous page of the article has already mentioned that the freight train consisted of 13 tank wagons containing some 835 tonnes of petroleum. Presume the 16,000 figure must therefore be gallons?!

Yes, I remember my dad having conversion tables to convert Gallons to Tonnes. The conversion factor varies depending on the specific gravity of the liquid. Still an issue today - my current client has similar tables on a computer file

 

[SuspectUsual]

I also wonder whether the rear red light mentioned as protecting the train was at all visible against the background of a huge fireball!

I think that means the signal at the Walsden end of the tunnel

 

[Deepgreen]

I think that means the signal at the Walsden end of the tunnel

Quite right - I read it too fast initially.