Lessons learnt from the Hixon and Ladbroke Grove Disasters – Fraser Pithie
Mon 15th January @ 14:00 - 16:00
In the early evening of Saturday 6th January 1968 a 42-ton road transporter carrying a huge 120-ton transformer was approaching Hixon crossing, which was situated on a quiet country road and had been converted to a continental-style half-barrier crossing some nine months previously. The twin tractors were crewed by 5 men escort being provided by two police constables in a patrol car. The special traffic movement had been authorised by the MoT, but the seven men on the spot were almost entirely ignorant of the procedures for taking such a load over the new style crossing. When the lights bega to flash and the barriers dropped one of them fell onto the transformer itself. With the effortless ease of her class E3009 at her maximum speed she hit the transformer at about 75mph. Because of the complex issues arising from the crash the Hixon disaster was the first railway accident subject to a full public enquiry since 1879/
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Today our good friend, Fraser Pithie, turns his attention to railway accidents as he describes the Hixon and Ladbroke Grove disasters and the lessons learnt from these events. One not to be missed.
