Accident on the Puffing Billy Railway

https://www.9news.com.au/national/2018/03/06/12/55/puffing-billy-train-and-mini-bus-collide

Looks like an idiot tried to beat the train over a level crossing...

 

Congrats to Channel 9 News for a more balanced report then you would get from most of our news media.

 

If it had happened in Britain the media would be doing their best to blame the railway.

 

I'm a wee bit surprised this prang managed to derail a 2'-6" gauge carriage (the motorist must have been going at a fair lick) and pleasantly surprised to see reasonable reporting, in marked contrast with the coverage of the recent crossing incident at Barns Green in Sussex.

 

Reporting may have been reasonable but the Health and Safety implications are not , at least not to my way of thinking. A feature of the fun of Puffing Billy for a century or more now has been kids sitting, quite safely, with their legs dangling over the sides of the open carriages. It may look strange to us but it is a narrow gauge line with generous clearances and has been deemed safe for many years. Now it is to be banned just in case another road vehicle fails to stop at a level crossing and crashes into the train as it might injure the dangling limbs. What a shame!

Peter

 

At the moment, it seems the ban is only while the investigation takes place https://www.broadsheet.com.au/melbo...ing-legs-puffing-billy-banned-following-crash

Even so, it is appalling that innocent fun for 100 years can be stopped because of one idiot. I hope he is pleased with what he has done.

 

To be fair, I get the impression that this was a genuine accident rather than recklessness on the part of the driver of the road vehicle. The last I heard he does not seem to have been trying to cross in front of the train, but lost control of his vehicle and was unable to stop before running into the side of it.

Peter

 

I always find 'lost control of the vehicle' a bit suspicious unless there is some sort of obvious factor such as ice or an oil spill

 

More likely swerved to avoid a wombat in this case!

 

Perhaps one of the passengers distracted him by asking how the English cricket team (who?) got on recently?

 

Hi,

As a relative local, can I make some comments on this ? Those on the train indicated the mini-bus was travelling at high speed down the hill towards the level crossing prior to the accident. I know the road in question well, it is quite narrow, and not suited to high speed.

The bus also had close to a full load of passengers on it at the time. This would normally not be the case for a tourist bus on that road travelling in that direction. The normal practise of tour operators who wish to include " A Trip on Puffing Billy," as part of the days itineory, is for the passengers to be dropped off at Belgrave where the line commences, the bus then travels empty or relatively empty to Menzies Creek, the first stop on the line, where the passengers are collected and get back on their buses. For ease of pickup, the entry to Menzies Creek station is via School Road, which is where this crossing is, approximately five hundred metres back from the station. For this reason, the first train of the day is often double headed to Menzies Creek, and at that location the train is split, one half going onwards towards Emerald and Lakeside with the remaining passengers, the other half of the train returning empty to Belgrave to form the second train of the day. (This first train of the day can have up to 18 bogie carriages in its consist.)

In this case, given the bus was almost full of passengers, I would assume they were running extremely late, had well and truly missed the train at Belgrave, and the driver was hurrying to get to Menzies Creek in time to get the passengers on the train there, and then get collect them at Emerald, the next station. The driver "claimed " the brakes had failed, as a result of which the vehicle was immediately impounded by Police for a proper mechanical inspection of the steering and brakes etc. to ascertain if this claim has any validity. The past accident record of the bus company, ( if any,) will also be investigated as part of this.

It will be more than disappointing if this accident results in the practise of riding the carriages with legs dangling out is stopped, let me assure you it is not just children that do it !! Members of our State Parliament have voiced their concerns if the practise has to be banned, so I am hopeful that common sense will see this as a " one off " incident in a line that has run for over a hundred years without a similar incident, and it should be allowed to resume.

Cheers
Ian J

 

People ought to be grateful that the incident, when it came, was not infinitely more serious. Next time and sooner or later there is likely to be be a "next time", whether by misjudgment of a motorist or mechanical issues, luck might not be less in evidence.

All the indignation reminds me rather of the resistance to the introduction of automatic train braking in nineteenth century Britain which only ceased when a lot of people died at Armagh. Similarly, there was a great deal of huffing and puffing against car seat belts and motor cycle crash helmets. Bit of thought please.

PH

 

Indignation? I don't think so. You really can be a troll in a teacup sometimes! Just people saying it would be disappointing and a shame. I'm sure the relevant authorities would have been well aware of the railway's practices and if safety concerns were an issue then they would have been addressed well before this.

The fun police called Paul - they've accepted your application.

 

One of the best responses I've seen in ages. Only an Aussie could come up with a phrase like "a troll in a teacup"! I like it.

Sorry Paul

Peter james

 

So according to you to make it more safe for Jo Public on preserved railways from been attacked while been in a non corridor coach, as happened on the national network and at least one person was murdered all non corridor coach stock should be withdrawn from use then.

 

Evidently you have not read some of the "stuff" on Facebook for which"indignation" is too mild a word. Similarly you won't have seen comments from the other point of view by active experienced preservationists expressing their surprise that this practice has been allowed to continue for as long as it has.

PH

 

Paul,

You are talking total poppycock with some of your so called related facts on " safety. " Fact, we had continuous brakes on all main line goods trains many decades before the UK stopped running unfitted freights. Fact, we had continuous brakes on the narrow gauge lines here when they were first constructed over 120 years ago. Fact, we have had the toughest antismoking laws in the world for decades. Fact, the sale of E cigarettes and vapor equipment was never legalised in Australia, our Government was smart enough to realise all the claims of it being totally safe was a load of ********. (And believe me, I'm no fan of our Government, but occasionally, they do something sensible. )

That line has existed for well over 100 years without an accident of this type occurring. The Fun Police, Elf N' Safety, and Ambulance chasing lawyers notwithstanding, there is no reason to change a policy just because a few people who are paranoid about any activity more risky than getting out of bed believe something is dangerous. There are more than enough quality medical and psychological studies to prove that removing all risk from peoples lives is counter productive in terms of mental health.

To the best of my knowledge, only once has a child slipped off the side of the carriage, no significant injury was sustained, and the conclusion in that instance if I remember the investigation report correctly was that the parent was deemed to have been negligent by failing to keep watch on their brood. A child is substantially more likely to sustain a broken leg in the school playground than they are from riding on Puffing Billy with their legs hanging out the carriage. Are you suggesting all schools should therefore abandon play time and recess as it is " potentially " dangerous.

Ian J

 

Monumental thread drift. Compartments have alarm signals for just such situations.

PH

Or poke fun as a means of avoiding dealing with the issue.

PH

 

No doubt a thorough official investigation will deal with the issue far better than you or I. My posts on the matter carry just as much weight as yours.