Staplehurst rail crash
Encyclopedia
The Staplehurst rail crash was a railway accident at Staplehurst
, Kent
, England, which occurred on 9 June 1865 and in which ten passengers were killed and 40 injured. It is remembered particularly for its effects on the author Charles Dickens
, who was travelling as a passenger in a front, first class carriage of a "boat train
" (with passengers from France), with his companions Ellen Ternan
and her mother.
girder bridge
over the River Beult
. The timing of the train, the Folkestone Boat Express, varied with the tides which governed the arrival of ships at the port. The foreman mistakenly believed the train would arrive later than it did, and the final two rails had not yet been replaced. The foreman posted a lookout, but this lookout was not far enough away to give adequate warning to the fast-approaching train. Detonators
should have been placed on the rails as an additional safeguard, but they also were missing. The investigator, Colonel Rich, reckoned later that the train was travelling at about 30 mph when it entered the bridge. The engine itself arrived at the far side of the viaduct by riding on the timber baulks supporting the rails, but the cast iron
girders below cracked, and most of the carriages rolled into the River Beult
under the viaduct, which was not protected by guard rails or any type of balustrade to prevent such a calamity; the poor design of the viaduct contributed significantly to the disaster.
, Dickens wrote:
This experience affected Dickens psychologically
for the remainder of his life. He became a public hero for his efforts in helping the dying and injured passengers. He wrote a short story soon after the accident, a ghost story named "The Signal-Man
", in which one of the principal incidents is a rail crash in a tunnel. Though Dickens possibly based his fictional crash upon the events of the terrible and well-known Clayton Tunnel
accident of 1861 (23 dead, 176 injured), rather than the Staplehurst crash, it is reasonable to suppose that his personal involvement with the Staplehurst incident also contributed to the harrowing tale. But he also included a fatal fall from a train and the signalman's own demise, as foretold by a spectre who appears to the signalman before every accident. Dickens was affected by his experience, and was thereafter nervous when travelling by train; he tried to avoid train travel, using alternative means when available. It is also possible that the psychological effects and anxiety
of the crash helped to shorten his life; he died five years to the day after the accident.
The accident is used as part of the plot in R. F. Delderfield
's Swann saga novel, God is an Englishman. It also forms the starting point of Drood
, a novel by Dan Simmons
published in February 2009.
Staplehurst
Staplehurst can mean:* Staplehurst in England* RAF Staplehurst, a World War II airfield in England* Staplehurst railway station* Staplehurst rail crash, a railway accident in 1865* Staplehurst, Nebraska, a small village in the United States...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England, which occurred on 9 June 1865 and in which ten passengers were killed and 40 injured. It is remembered particularly for its effects on the author Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
, who was travelling as a passenger in a front, first class carriage of a "boat train
Boat train
A boat train is a passenger train which connects with a passenger ship, such as a ferry or ocean liner. Through ticketing is normally available. -Notable named boat trains:*The Flèche d'Or Paris Gare du Nord to Calais...
" (with passengers from France), with his companions Ellen Ternan
Ellen Ternan
Ellen Lawless Ternan , also known as Nelly Ternan or Nelly Robinson, was an English actress who is mainly known as the woman for whom Charles Dickens separated from his wife Catherine.-Life:...
and her mother.
Background
The track was in the process of being renovated at Staplehurst, at a place where the rails were on a low cast ironCast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
girder bridge
Girder bridge
A girder bridge, in general, is a bridge built of girders placed on bridge abutments and foundation piers. In turn, a bridge deck is built on top of the girders in order to carry traffic. There are several different subtypes of girder bridges:...
over the River Beult
River Beult
The River Beult is a tributary of the River Medway. It has several sources west of Ashford, including one at Woodchurch. It then flows through Headcorn. At Hunton, above Yalding it is joined by the major stream of the River Teise. Town bridge lies 10¼ miles from Allington, it is the longest...
. The timing of the train, the Folkestone Boat Express, varied with the tides which governed the arrival of ships at the port. The foreman mistakenly believed the train would arrive later than it did, and the final two rails had not yet been replaced. The foreman posted a lookout, but this lookout was not far enough away to give adequate warning to the fast-approaching train. Detonators
Detonator (railway)
A railway detonator is a device used to make a loud sound as a warning signal to train drivers. The detonator is the size of a large coin with two lead straps, one on each side. The detonator is placed on the top of the rail and the straps are used to secure it...
should have been placed on the rails as an additional safeguard, but they also were missing. The investigator, Colonel Rich, reckoned later that the train was travelling at about 30 mph when it entered the bridge. The engine itself arrived at the far side of the viaduct by riding on the timber baulks supporting the rails, but the cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
girders below cracked, and most of the carriages rolled into the River Beult
River Beult
The River Beult is a tributary of the River Medway. It has several sources west of Ashford, including one at Woodchurch. It then flows through Headcorn. At Hunton, above Yalding it is joined by the major stream of the River Teise. Town bridge lies 10¼ miles from Allington, it is the longest...
under the viaduct, which was not protected by guard rails or any type of balustrade to prevent such a calamity; the poor design of the viaduct contributed significantly to the disaster.
Charles Dickens
Dickens, and the manuscript of a novel in progress, were in one of the few carriages which did not fall (it is the one leaning at an angle, in front of the guard's van at right in the picture). In the postscript to Our Mutual FriendOur Mutual Friend
Our Mutual Friend is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining psychological insight with social analysis. It centres on, in the words of critic J. Hillis Miller, "money, money, money, and what money can make of life" but is also about human...
, Dickens wrote:
This experience affected Dickens psychologically
Psychological trauma
Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event...
for the remainder of his life. He became a public hero for his efforts in helping the dying and injured passengers. He wrote a short story soon after the accident, a ghost story named "The Signal-Man
The Signal-Man
The Signal-Man is a short story by Charles Dickens, first published as part of the "Mugby Junction" collection in the 1866 Christmas edition of All the Year Round....
", in which one of the principal incidents is a rail crash in a tunnel. Though Dickens possibly based his fictional crash upon the events of the terrible and well-known Clayton Tunnel
Clayton Tunnel rail crash
The Clayton Tunnel rail crash, which took place on Sunday 25 August 1861, five miles from Brighton on the south coast of England, was the worst accident of the British railway system to that time...
accident of 1861 (23 dead, 176 injured), rather than the Staplehurst crash, it is reasonable to suppose that his personal involvement with the Staplehurst incident also contributed to the harrowing tale. But he also included a fatal fall from a train and the signalman's own demise, as foretold by a spectre who appears to the signalman before every accident. Dickens was affected by his experience, and was thereafter nervous when travelling by train; he tried to avoid train travel, using alternative means when available. It is also possible that the psychological effects and anxiety
Anxiety
Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...
of the crash helped to shorten his life; he died five years to the day after the accident.
The accident is used as part of the plot in R. F. Delderfield
R. F. Delderfield
Ronald Frederick Delderfield was a popular English novelist and dramatist, many of whose works have been adapted for television and are still widely read.-Childhood in London and Surrey:...
's Swann saga novel, God is an Englishman. It also forms the starting point of Drood
Drood (novel)
Drood is a 2009 novel written by Dan Simmons. It is a fictionalized account of the last five years of Charles Dickens' life told from the view point of Dickens' friend and fellow author Wilkie Collins. The title comes from Dickens' unfinished novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood...
, a novel by Dan Simmons
Dan Simmons
Dan Simmons is an American author most widely known for his Hugo Award-winning science fiction series, known as the Hyperion Cantos, and for his Locus-winning Ilium/Olympos cycle....
published in February 2009.
External links
- Board of Trade (Railway Department), Report by officer Captain Rich, R.E. - PDF file (1865)
- Charles Dickens survives a train crash (text of a letter sent by Dickens after the Staplehurst rail crash of 1865)
- Danger Ahead! Staplehurst 1865
- Brief account of crash with Dickens involvement
- Dickens and the railways
- The crash described