The
Tangiwai disaster on 24 December 1953 was the worst
railRail transport is the conveyance of passengers and goods by means of wheeled vehicles running along railways or railroads. Rail transport is part of the logistics chain, which facilitates international trade and economic growth...
accident in
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
. An 11-carriage overnight express from
WellingtonWellington is the capital of New Zealand, at the southwestern tip of the North Island between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range. The Wellington urban area is the major population centre of the southern North Island and is New Zealand's third most populous urban area with residents. There are ...
to
AucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with a population approaching 1.4 million residents, percent of the country's population. Demographic trends indicate that it will continue to grow faster than the rest...
fell into the
Whangaehu RiverThe Whangaehu River is a large river in central North Island of New Zealand. Its headwaters are the crater lake of Mount Ruapehu on the central plateau, and it flows into the Tasman Sea eight kilometres southeast of Wanganui.- Length :...
at Tangiwai, ten kilometres (six miles) west of
WaiouruWaiouru is a small town in the centre of the North Island of New Zealand. It is on the North Island Volcanic Plateau, 25 kilometres south-east of Mount Ruapehu, and in the Ruapehu District....
. The bridge carrying the
North Island Main Trunk Railway|}The North Island Main Trunk line is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand. The line links the nations's capital Wellington, with the largest city Auckland, via Paraparaumu, Palmerston North, Taihape, National Park, Taumarunui, Te Kuiti, Hamilton, and Pukekohe.The NIMT is in...
over the river had been badly damaged just minutes earlier by a
laharA lahar is a type of mudflow or landslide composed of pyroclastic material and water that flows down from a volcano, typically along a river valley. The term "lahar" originated in the Javanese language of Indonesia.-Description:...
from
Mount RuapehuMount Ruapehu, or just Ruapehu, is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupo Volcanic Zone in New Zealand. It is 23 kilometres northeast of Ohakune and 40 kilometres southwest of the southern shore of Lake Taupo, within Tongariro National Park...
. The
KA classThe NZR K
A class of 1939 was a class of mixed traffic 4-8-4 steam locomotives that operated on New Zealand's railway network. They were built after the success of the K class to meet the increasing traffic demands of the New Zealand Railways Department...
steam locomotiveA steam locomotive is a locomotive powered by steam. The term usually refers to its use on railways, but can also refer to a "road locomotive" such as a traction engine or steamroller....
, all five second-class carriages, and the leading first-class carriage derailed, resulting in the deaths of 151 of the 285 people aboard the train.
The
Tangiwai disaster on 24 December 1953 was the worst
railRail transport is the conveyance of passengers and goods by means of wheeled vehicles running along railways or railroads. Rail transport is part of the logistics chain, which facilitates international trade and economic growth...
accident in
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
. An 11-carriage overnight express from
WellingtonWellington is the capital of New Zealand, at the southwestern tip of the North Island between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range. The Wellington urban area is the major population centre of the southern North Island and is New Zealand's third most populous urban area with residents. There are ...
to
AucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with a population approaching 1.4 million residents, percent of the country's population. Demographic trends indicate that it will continue to grow faster than the rest...
fell into the
Whangaehu RiverThe Whangaehu River is a large river in central North Island of New Zealand. Its headwaters are the crater lake of Mount Ruapehu on the central plateau, and it flows into the Tasman Sea eight kilometres southeast of Wanganui.- Length :...
at Tangiwai, ten kilometres (six miles) west of
WaiouruWaiouru is a small town in the centre of the North Island of New Zealand. It is on the North Island Volcanic Plateau, 25 kilometres south-east of Mount Ruapehu, and in the Ruapehu District....
. The bridge carrying the
North Island Main Trunk Railway|}The North Island Main Trunk line is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand. The line links the nations's capital Wellington, with the largest city Auckland, via Paraparaumu, Palmerston North, Taihape, National Park, Taumarunui, Te Kuiti, Hamilton, and Pukekohe.The NIMT is in...
over the river had been badly damaged just minutes earlier by a
laharA lahar is a type of mudflow or landslide composed of pyroclastic material and water that flows down from a volcano, typically along a river valley. The term "lahar" originated in the Javanese language of Indonesia.-Description:...
from
Mount RuapehuMount Ruapehu, or just Ruapehu, is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupo Volcanic Zone in New Zealand. It is 23 kilometres northeast of Ohakune and 40 kilometres southwest of the southern shore of Lake Taupo, within Tongariro National Park...
. The
KA classThe NZR K
A class of 1939 was a class of mixed traffic 4-8-4 steam locomotives that operated on New Zealand's railway network. They were built after the success of the K class to meet the increasing traffic demands of the New Zealand Railways Department...
steam locomotiveA steam locomotive is a locomotive powered by steam. The term usually refers to its use on railways, but can also refer to a "road locomotive" such as a traction engine or steamroller....
, all five second-class carriages, and the leading first-class carriage derailed, resulting in the deaths of 151 of the 285 people aboard the train. Of the 176 second-class passengers aboard, only 28 survived.151 died in total
The accident
The damage inflicted by the lahar washed away one complete span and left only the rails, supported by the remaining concrete piers. When the train ran onto the bridge the rails were incapable of supporting its weight and buckled in the middle. The locomotive and first carriage were launched into the air by striking a remaining concrete pier and reached the opposite bank of the river. The impact of the accident caused the locomotive's tender to flip over the locomotive and rip the cab away from the engine, thereby killing the crew. Following the first carriage, the second to fifth carriages tumbled into the river and were torn apart, with substantial loss of life. One of the carriages was carried five miles downstream by the lahar. All five of these carriages were second-class carriages; the leading first-class carriage was sixth in the train and it teetered on the edge of the bridge before its
couplingA coupling is a mechanism for connecting rolling stock in a train. The design of the coupler is standard, and is almost as important as the railway gauge, since flexibility and convenience are maximised if all rolling stock can be coupled together.- Nomenclature :The different types of coupling...
to the rest of the train snapped and, with nothing left to restrain it, it rolled into the river. The remaining three first-class carriages, the guard's van, and a
travelling post officeA Travelling Post Office is a type of mail train where the post is sorted en-route. TPO is a UK term. In the USA, the equivalent is Railway Post Office .-Carriage of mail by train:...
van remained on the track.
The death toll of 151 consisted of 148 second-class passengers, one first-class passenger, the
driverA railroad engineer, locomotive engineer, train operator, train driver or engine driver is a person who operates a railroad locomotive and train. The engineer is in charge of and responsible for the locomotive. They are also in charge of mechanical operation of the train, train speed, and all train...
Charles Parker, and the fireman Lance Redman. Twenty of the bodies were never found and are presumed to have been carried 120
kmThe kilometre , symbol km is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one thousand metres and is therefore exactly equal to the distance travelled by light in free space in of a second....
downriver to the ocean.
Among the dead was Nerissa Love, the fiancee of cricketer
Bob BlairRobert William Blair is a former cricketer who played 19 Tests for New Zealand.In December 1953 Blair, playing for New Zealand against South Africa at Johannesburg, received news that his fiancée had been killed in the Tangiwai railway disaster on Christmas Eve...
, who was playing in a Test Match in South Africa at the time. On going out to bat after his loss, he received a standing ovation.
Individual bravery, awards, and recognition
The actions of numerous individuals saved many lives, with Cyril Ellis in particular credited as a hero. Ellis was driving north with his wife and mother-in-law to visit his parents for Christmas when he discovered the road bridge near the railway line was flooded and impassable. He noticed the approaching light of the train, and assuming that the railway bridge would be similarly impassable, he ran to warn the train, brandishing a torch. He stated that he leapt the railway fence, climbed up the embankment, and ran down the middle of the line towards the oncoming train while waving the torch before jumping clear. A commission of inquiry after the accident determined that the locomotive crew were aware of the danger at some point before the accident, as the driver had shut off the steam regulator valve and applied the emergency brakes, and the fireman had sanded the track for 700 metres. However, this took place too close to the bridge to avoid disaster and the commission was unable to ascertain whether Ellis's actions motivated those of the crew.
After the train crashed, Ellis informed the train's guard, William Inglis, of what had happened and the two entered the sixth carriage, then still balanced precariously on the bridge's edge, in an attempt to save passengers. While they were in the carriage, it tumbled off the bridge and Ellis and Inglis, with the assistance of passenger John Holman, smashed a window and helped passengers out of the carriage. Of the carriage's 24 occupants, only one died, a girl who was trapped in her seat and drowned.
For their actions, Ellis and Holman received the
George MedalThe George Medal is the second level civil decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.The GM was instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI. At this time, during the height of The Blitz, there was a strong desire to reward the many acts of civilian courage...
. Inglis and a passing traveller, Arthur Dewar Bell, both received the
British Empire MedalThe British Empire Medal , officially the Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service, is a British medal awarded for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the crown. While recipients are not technically members of the Order of the British Empire this...
for actions that saved 15 lives.
Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known informally as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,...
and
Prince PhilipThe Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. Philip was originally a royal prince of Greece and Denmark, and thus a member of the Danish-German House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, but renounced these titles shortly before his marriage and adopted the...
were visiting New Zealand on their first royal tour when the disaster occurred. The Queen made her Christmas broadcast from Auckland, finishing with a message of sympathy to the people of New Zealand. Prince Philip attended a state funeral for many of the victims.
Commission of Inquiry
Evidence given at the commission of inquiry into the disaster revealed that the midstream piers of the bridge had been undermined by previous sudden floods, from as early as 1925. Concrete blocks weighing several tons had been placed around the footings of these piers and the space between the blocks and the piers backfilled with gravel, but the lahar was strong enough to sweep these away.
The cause of the lahar was the collapse of a natural volcanic ash dam blocking the outlet of
Mount RuapehuMount Ruapehu, or just Ruapehu, is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupo Volcanic Zone in New Zealand. It is 23 kilometres northeast of Ohakune and 40 kilometres southwest of the southern shore of Lake Taupo, within Tongariro National Park...
’s crater lake. Until this disaster, the danger posed by lahars from Mount Ruapehu was appreciated by only a few scientists.
Warning system
Following the disaster, the Railways Department installed a lahar warning system upstream in the river to alert train control to high river flows. Signalling equipment has also since been substantially modernised using track circuits, which warn train control of broken sections of track. This latter system does not guarantee detecting a washout, as unsupported rails may still be unbroken.
Similar accidents
Railway accidents involving bridge
washawayA washaway is a particular kind of landslide that can affect man-made structures such as cuttings, embankments and bridges. They are thus a hazard to railways and road traffic.- Overview :...
s include:
September 27 1923 – near
Glenrock, WyomingGlenrock is a town in Converse County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 2,231 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Glenrock is located at ....
- a bridge over Coal Creek was washed away and a passenger train derailed, killing 30 of the train’s 66 passengers.
1974 -
Crystal BrookCrystal Brook may refer to:*Crystal Brook *Crystal Brook, South Australia, town...
,
South AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories....
- train thrown into river after washaway collapses bridge.
1993 - 114 perished in a passenger train that plunged into a river after floods washed away a bridge at Ngai Ndethya.
29 October 2005 -
Veligonda train disasterThe Veligonda rail disaster occurred on 29 October 2005 near the town of Veligonda, south of Hyderabad in the Indian State of Andhra Pradesh. A flash flood swept away a small rail bridge, and a "Delta Express" train travelling on it derailed at the broken section of the line, killing at least 114...
- 114 killed
General historical information
Reports