Ramsgate
Accidents
Over the Edge: 27th January 1993
By John Horton
The incident of the 4
CEP hanging off the viaduct was a scary one!
The unit was No. 1521, part of an 8-car formation carrying out a shunt move. The
Driver was in control from the Minster end and the Shunter was in the rear cab,
Margate end. The Shunter alighted from the train during the propelling move and
waited by the points as the train proceeded to set back. Unfortunately, the dead
end had been shortened three weeks previously, reducing the track available by
41-foot. The Shunter, completely oblivious to this, continued to wave the Driver
back. The inevitable ‘’BANG’’ occurred as the rear cab of No. 1521 demolished
the stop blocks and under the train’s weight, ploughed through the sand drag,
through the retaining wall, and ended up with 12-foot of the train hanging in
mid air!
Debris landed in a local builder’s yard and luckily no one was hurt. All local
residents from the houses below were evacuated until the next day and re-railing
was carried out through the night. The track was re-laid and shortened yet again
– it didn’t stop them from simply hitting the stop blocks, but it did stop them
going through the wall again!
27th January 1993
Well and truly over the edge: the end of the motor coach of 4 CEP No. 1521 is seen suspended in mid air, high above the houses at the Margate end of the layout. © John Horton
27th January 1993
The bright white lights are those of the rescue team, re-railing taking place throughout the night. A further shortening of this siding ensured that never again would a train take to the air! © John Horton
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