Geurie crossing loop collision

The Geurie crossing loop collision occurred on the night of 23 August, 1963. Geurie is located between Orange, New South Wales and Dubbo.

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Damaged locomotives

Events leading up to the Accident

The Sydney-bound Bourke Mail train, with 110 passengers, was steaming towards Geurie station. The locomotive was C38 Pacific steam engine, 3817. Standing in the loop, beside a grain silo, was a goods train, hauled by a 265-tonne Beyer-Garratt AD60 class locomotive 6003. It was refuged so as to cross the Mail train.

Goods train foul of Main line

The length from the front of the Garratt locomotive to the driver's position contributed to a misjudgment of standing clear of the mainline. 3817 collided with the Garrett locomotive at an estimated speed of 32 km/h.

The fouling point, as was common practice at the time, was marked by a white lamp on a white post located quite close to the actual fouling point. The points at the entrance to the loop were operated with hand levers, with no interlocking to the signals. There were no track circuits over the points which might have detected the foul locomotive and thus held the home signal at red and thus stopped the mail train short of the obstruction.

Collision

The impact of the two locomotives colliding forced the Garratt into the side of the silo and reared up its boiler section on to its leading water unit. 3817 was derailed and pushed over on to its side. Three carriages of the Mail train were also derailed.

The collision damaged about 60m of track on the main line and loop and the line was not reopened for another 3 days.

Casualties

A total of 19 passengers aboard the Mail train were injured.

Locomotives condemned

Due to the considerable damage to both locomotives and the decline of steam traction then under way, both 6003 and 3817 did not return to traffic.

See also

• Zanthus train collision
• Lists of rail accidents