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10-2-1903. The first recorded incident was the derailment of the engine off the 2.50 a.m. up goods at Hattah. Hattah had only been opened from 15-1-1903.
April 1904. The first reported incident in a local newspaper was from the Woomelang correspondent of the Birchip "Advertiser". Apparently the Mildura train ran down a horse near Minapre "and scattered pieces of it for more than a mile along the line". This was the third horse killed in the same way "within the last three months".
4-10-1904. Three trucks including one with several thousand bricks, derailed at the up end of Mildura yard during shunting, delaying the departure of the up train by one and a half hours.
19&20-8-1909. Train services on the Mildura line were disrupted when severe storms with heavy thunderstorms and tropical rainfall caused flooding and damage to railway lines. The Castlemaine - Maryborough line was reported as unsafe because of washaways including the bridge at Joyce's Creek. North of Maryborough, the line was under water at Emu, Cope Cope and Sutherland. At Joyce's Creek, passengers between Castlemaine and Maryborough were transferred by trolley, (the alternate route via Ballarat to Maryborough was unavailable as the bridge over McCallum's Creek was washed away), and through services between Maryborough and Mildura could not resume until the washaway at Emu was repaired.
9-8-1913. A train driver had his right cheekbone and eye badly injured when the reversing gear flew back and hit him as he was taking his engine from the coal stage over the pit at Woomelang. He was taken by train to St. Arnaud hospital.
20-10-1915. A fire occurred in guards van 314Z whilst running on a 6.30 p.m. up Pinnaroo Show special.
21-2-1917. A cloud burst at night severely damaged the track about three miles on the down side of Kiamal. Rails and sleepers were left swinging after the embankment was scoured away and one train bound for Mildura was held at Ouyen for five hours.
31-8-1919. The 6 year old son of an Olive Avenue family died after he became crushed between the railway turntable and an abutment at Mildura. The boy and other children were pushing the 52 foot turntable around when he became caught and was crushed, dying soon after. The turntable had to be lifted by jacks to free his body. The turntable was located at the down end of the yards near Walnut Avenue.
29-1-1921. A DD class steam locomotive suffered from burst steam pipes near Hattah. Escaping water put the fire out, disabling the locomotive and 18 trucks. Another engine from Ouyen hauled the locomotive and train to Mildura for repairs.
10-2-1921. Shortly after midnight, the 9.a.m. down goods train from Woomelang collided with the 5 p.m. up goods from Mildura hauled by DD974 which was stationery, at the up end of Ouyen yards. The train from Woomelang struck the engine and derailed the tender of the stationery train at 12 miles per hour. One wagon was telescoped into a 15 ton iron wagon loaded with wheat. Three other wagons were damaged. Both locomotives were damaged but the crews managed to jump from their cabins and were not injured. Two lengths of track required replacement.
23-4-1921. W235, the Mildura shunting engine known as "Little Alex" derailed near the coal stage with four wheels of the engine off the rails. It was rerailed later that day.
6-7-1921. DD 805 running the 5.28 p.m. up special goods from Mildura dropped a plug from the boiler near Hattah and required a relief engine to clear the train from the section.
8-7-1921. A barman from the Victoria Hotel, Ouyen, was found cut in two across the abdomen by a train, in the engine pit on the main line neat Hattah station.
26-6-1922. During the final trip of the fourth day of running of Motor No.1 on the new Mildura Suburban passenger service (6.06 p.m. from Red Cliffs), the alloy-steel driving shaft of the motor broke as it was nearing Mildura. Repair by welding was unsuccessful and a replacement shaft was sent for from Newport Workshops. It was fitted during the weekend the motor resumed running on the following Monday.
23-9-1922. The leading wheels of Motor No.1 and all four wheels of trailer MT 1 were derailed when a cow was hit at 7.15 p.m., 110 yards from Cowra Avenue between Irymple and Mildura. The Motor was running the 7.15 p.m. Saturday service from Red Cliffs to Mildura. There were five passengers on board who were conveyed the rest of their journey by motor car. The crank handle was bent, the cowcatcher splintered, and after rerailing with jacks, the motor and trailer were brought into Mildura by a steam locomotive at 10.56 p.m.. The motor and trailer were able to resume running on Monday morning.
2-11-1923. The 6.15 a.m. Mildura to Merbein rail motor over-ran the turntable at Merbein derailing the two front wheels. Steam-hauled trains were called upon to maintain the service until the motor was rerailed and ready to resume running by 9.45 a.m.
13-11-1923. A repetition of the accident of 2-11-1923 occurred at the same time and place, but normal running resumed this time by 9 a.m.
20-2-1924. Flooding and scouring of the track occurred from 305 miles 38 chains to 306 miles 74 chains on the 1 in 60 gradient facing down trains on the up side of Walpeup. As a result, drainage was improved and additional culverts were inserted under the track.
24-12-1925. Leading shunter A. Boyle was fatally killed near the overhead bridge at Mildura when he was run over by the 6.06 p.m. train to Melbourne.
13-4-1927. 2 RM was derailed on the Merbein turntable.
30-4-1927. The tender of locomotive N 115 crashed into the new turntable pit at Ouyen locomotive depot. The locomotive was reversing tender-first onto the turntable when it crashed through an iron guard rail, smashed sleepers on the turntable beam and the tender ended up in the turntable pit on its side. The drawbar connecting to the engine was bent and the air brake broken. The engine remained on the line. The Driver and Fireman were not injured. A wrecking crane was required to recover the tender. This was the second time the brand new turntable was being used to turn a locomotive.
16-2-1928. Following abnormal summer rains that dumped six inches in 24 hours and were "the most severe since 1910", the Acting Ganger (F. N. Holmes) reported that banks and ballast had been washed away at 354 miles 65 chains on the up side of Benetook. The formation was very soft with water impregnation and several ballast trains were required to discharge ash and limestone. There was also damage at 371 miles (up side of Karawinna) where water above rail level had washed ballast away. The track had to be lifted to gain elevation above natural ground level.
1-3-1929. The front wheels on the locomotive of a goods train from Mildura was derailed when passing over a level crossing near Nunga in the early hours of the morning. No other rolling stock derailed despite more than 20 trucks passing over the crossing before the train stopped. There was no damage to the track. A breakdown van was despatched from Ouyen, but the driver, in the meantime, had reversed the locomotive with the result that the sand assisted the derailed wheels back onto the line. The only damage was a broken bolt. The train proceeded to Bronzewing where it took 50 minutes to transfer from the main line to No.2 road due to sand having to be cleared from the whole of the line. Track gangs took the following two days to clear sand from the section.
Sand encroaching on the permanent way at Gama. Sands drifts were a constant source of trouble along Mallee lines and wind chutes were built along the lines to cope with the drifting sand. Photo: Bruce McLean Collection
1-10-1929. A Board of Inquiry was set up following a collision between two locomotives, DD 767 and DD 611, at Mildura.
28-12-1929. Heavy rainfall (reported to be 110 points falling within half an hour) was responsible for the derailment of a goods train from Mildura at a level crossing at Gypsum at 2.30 a.m.. Stormwater rushing down the track between the line and an embankment found an outlet at the crossing and the stream was deflected onto the roadway, scouring a large hole 12 foot deep and 20 foot across, leaving the rails and sleepers bridging the gap. The train, which left Mildura at 6 p.m. comprised of 16 wagons loaded with wheat, fruit and general merchandise, derailed after the weight of the engine caused the track to sag. When the trucks passed over the depression their buffers became interlocked causing trucks to derail when they were back on level track. The driver walked to Gypsum and notified Ouyen of the problem. The derailed wagons were re-railed and repairs were completed to the track and the hole filled in by 1.40 p.m.. Passengers on the Melbourne and Mildura trains were delayed.
22-8-1930. A railway employee was struck by a passenger carriage used for the conveyance of parliamentarians on a tour of the Mallee at 8.30 p.m. at Ouyen. He died from injuries received. Earlier in the afternoon, the deceased had assisted other repairers in re-railing the Ouyen pilot engine, which had derailed near the up end railway crossing.
15-12-1930. After heavy rain in the locality of Gypsum, 17 trucks and the guards van of an Ouyen to Woomelang goods train were derailed following a washaway of the line. The engine and seven trucks managed to clear the section. Nine trucks slid down an embankment and turned on their sides and eight were off the line. The goods train in charge of Driver Milkins of Woomelang, left Ouyen about 8 p.m. after a train from Woomelang had reached Ouyen about 6 p.m. without incident.
Passengers on the 8.30 p.m. train from Mildura were held at Ouyen and did not leave until about 3 a.m. the following morning. They were transferred to another train on the Woomelang side of the accident scene.
All trains from Mildura were cancelled on 16-12-1930 with the exception of the Meringur train which was set back ten hours in order to make a connection with the main line train, making it the first passenger train on the branch line to run at night.
A wrecking crane from Melbourne was required to recover derailed rolling stock and the line was restored by 10.30 a.m. on 17-12-1930 to enable goods trains to pass over at reduced speed.
26-5-1931. The pivot on the 53 foot turntable at Murrayville broke under the weight of locomotive D1 541 whilst it was being turned at 12.30 p.m., presenting a difficult problem to get the locomotive off. A locomotive was sent from Ouyen and used to force the turntable round to almost the correct position. A temporary track was then built to get the locomotive off the turntable. A reconditioned 70 foot turntable formerly used at North Melbourne was installed in place of the damaged structure and this task was completed on 7-2-1933.
15-3-1933. A movement was noticed in the track on the Madden Avenue overbridge at Mildura during shunting operations. It was found that a bridge pile had decayed under the road surface. Two new piles were installed during October 1933.
A small crane on a rail trolley used for bridge repairs, crashed to the ground
whilst lowering a bridge pile during work on the Madden Avenue, Mildura rail overbridge.
3-12-1933. Water flooded both the Mildura and Pinnaroo lines at their point of divergence at Ouyen at 289 miles. There was no damage but an extra culvert was inserted under the Ouyen - Pinnaroo track.
19-12-1933. A large stone jammed in the mechanism of the point lever for the Irymple Packing Co. siding at Merbein caused the tender of the afternoon goods train (running tender-first) to derail. Another engine with the Mildura breakdown van assisted to rerail the tender.
26-12-1933. During shunting at Red Cliffs, ten loaded goods trucks became detached and ran into a buffer stop, the impact dislodging it and derailing one truck loaded with railway sleepers. The siding may have been the Construction Siding at the up end of the yard.
?-5-1934. Mr. F. Heasman sustained severe injuries to his skull when cranking up the engine at the Nowingi gypsum works.
?-11-1934. A boiler explosion at the Mildura Co-operative Fruit Packing Company resulted in building debris and the boiler unit being strewn across the Mildura Co-operative siding and the main Melbourne to Mildura line.
Press clipping from "Sunraysia Daily" 21-11-1934. Source: Bruce McLean Collection
10-1-1936. Floods cut through an embankment with a breach six feet in width at 333 miles 63 chains on the down side of Boinka. Abnormal rains also occurred at the same place on 6-3-1937 with the result that a 2 foot pipe culvert was inserted under the track.
30-11-1936. Two empty trucks ran out of control from the Mildura goods yard at 11.25 a.m. and crashed into the turntable pit at the locomotive depot. No one was injured but there was damage to the trucks and turntable. The trucks were removed later that day.
A wind-chute near Woomelang. Wind-chutes helped to keep the track clear of sand, but did not remedy the cause. The drift which made this chute necessary was subsequently checked by sowing cereal rye. 1952 . Photo: Victorian Railways - Bruce McLean collection
Easter holiday traffic on the Melbourne to Mildura line was disrupted when the Avoca River flooded and caused washaways on the line between Emu and Carapooee, south of St. Arnaud, and at Swanwater. Neither the Mildura or Melbourne express trains were able to get through. The first division of the Mildura to Melbourne express departed Mildura at 8.15 p.m. and terminated at Donald. The second division left at 8.45 p.m. and terminated at Birchip. Both trains returned to Mildura the following day (Good Friday). Cars conveyed passengers from Birchip to Wycheproof to link with the 8.30 a.m. passenger train to Melbourne on Good Friday. These passengers were forced to detrain again at Charlton where the Avoca River had caused a washaway for 15 chains.
The 7.45 p.m. and 7.50 p.m. passenger trains from Melbourne on Good Friday both terminated at Maryborough.
Over 100 men and three ballast trains worked continuously to restore the permanent way.
The express from Mildura departed on Good Friday as usual but terminated at Donald with few passengers on board. Passengers were unable to be conveyed by road between trains, as all roads were impassable between St. Arnaud and Donald. Traffic resumed on Easter Saturday night with trains permitted to travel at 5 mph over the washaways.
3-8-1939. An A2 locomotive was derailed whilst travelling along the Mildura Co-operative Fruit Co. siding at Irymple. The locomotive was about half way along the siding when its weight appeared to have spread the tracks. The incident occurred about 3 p.m. and rerailing was not completed until the following day. The locomotive was required to run the 7 p.m. up goods that night and another locomotive was used.
14-1-1941. The locomotive on a goods derailed engine and tender at Carwarp as it was pulling into the crossing loop to wait for the Mildura to Melbourne express to pass through. The derailment, at 8.55 p.m., damaged the main line and caused the Melbourne express with 62 passengers aboard to be held at Redcliffs. It was proposed that the passengers may be transported to Ouyen by bus and continue on another train, however the Redcliffs permanent way gang considered they would quickly repair the track. This was achieved after a delay to the passenger train of five hours, departure from Redcliffs being at 1.45 a.m..
28-8-1941. At 1.15 p.m. and engine and tender were derailed near the Mildura powerhouse whilst clearing empty trucks from the siding. Another locomotive was used to assist with re-railing.
2-10-1941. An empty 16 ton I class truck was derailed during shunting at Redcliffs between 8 and 9 p.m.. The Mildura to Melbourne express was delayed almost an hour before leaving Mildura.
5-11-1941. Exceptionally heavy rains were responsible for water banking up and breaking through the embankment at 353 miles 72 chains (up side of Benetook).
1-11-1942. Trucks off a goods train were derailed at Carwarp during shunting late in the afternoon, delaying the departure of the Mildura to Melbourne express until the following day. Passengers on the 8.25 p.m. Melbourne express were required to disembark and return to the station the following day to recommence their journey at10.30 a.m.
4-1-1942. Heavy drift sand over the rails between Lascelles and Woomelang resulted in several carriages of the Mildura to Melbourne express being "derailed". Newspaper reports indicated that there was only a slight delay so the extent of the "derailment" is unclear.
30-1-1944. The locomotive on the 4 p.m. goods from Mildura failed between Yatpool and Carwarp. The locomotive off the 8.15 p.m. Melbourne express was detached from its train at Mildura and was used to push the disabled train to Carwarp. Another engine was used to run the Melbourne express, causing it to depart half an hour late.
19-5-1944. Two gangers trolleys collided between Tiega and Galah on the Murrayville line at 296 miles 50 chains at 8.40 a.m.. KS35 travelling in the down direction driven by Skilled Labourer J. Fuller and KS129 driven by Ganger J. Howard with Repairer L. Jones were involved in the incident. One man was taken to Ouyen hospital.
26-9-1944. During shunting operations in Mildura railway yards, a door on a passenger carriage, which had not been properly closed, swung open whilst passing the up end water crane, partly dislodging it from its base.
30-12-1944. At 3.32a.m. the leading pony wheels of locomotive A2 912 hauling the down Mildura passenger train derailed at the level crossing at the down end of Litchfield due to sand on the line. Driver Greenbank and Guard Patterson with a load of 7 carriages totalling 305 tons were delayed 200 minutes by the incident. The train arrived at Mildura at 12.30 p.m. instead of 8.15 a.m..
3-3-1945. The locomotive on the down Mildura passenger train failed at Morton's Plains about 4.15 a.m.. A relief engine was sent from Donald and the train arrived in Mildura at 11.45 a.m. instead of 8 a.m..
11-11-1945. The Melbourne bound express from Mildura was derailed at 11.40 p.m. at Nunga after encountering a heavy sand drift. There were no injuries, and passengers slept in compartments and corridors until railway gangs removed sand from the line and a relief engine from Ouyen was able to return the train to Ouyen at 2 a.m.. The relief engine then attached to the front of the train and departed at 2.30 a.m.. Further sand drifts delayed the train at Tempy and eventually it arrived at Spencer Street at 3.30 p.m., over 6 hours late.
21-11-1945. 150 or so passengers aboard the Melbourne to Mildura Express hauled by A2 878 were woken at 4.45 a.m. when their train collided head on with a goods train hauled by another A2 locomotive at Lascelles. The passenger train passed the up end home signal at stop in foggy conditions. None of the passengers were injured although a doctor from Hopetoun treated six for slight shock. Both engines were derailed with A2 878 on the passenger train receiving the most damage. It was subsequently scrapped. A relief train comprising a goods engine and three carriages left Mildura at 7.53 a.m. and arrived at Lascelles at 1.10 p.m.. Passengers and mails were transferred to the relief train which left for Mildura at 2.18 p.m. and arrived at 4.20 p.m.. The damaged passenger train was taken to Woomelang. A bypass track was built around the collision scene to allow resumption of rail traffic.
A2 878 on the down Mildura Express collided with another A2 locomotive on stationery No.130 goods from Mildura at Lascelles on 21-11-1945. A2 878, on the left, passed the up end home signal at stop in a fog. The home signal can be seen behind A2 878. Photo: Laurie Zarth Collection
A closer view of engine A2 878 showing the extensive damage sustained in the collision. 21-11-1945. Photo: Bob Whitehead Collection
12-1-1949. The engine and tender of a goods train derailed at Redcliffs during the afternoon. A gang from the Mildura Loco shed re-railed the engine by the afternoon of the following day.
17-3-1950. A heavy downpour of rain washed away a section of an embankment half a mile on the down side of Speed. The up Melbourne passenger train from Mildura travelled over the damaged track at 48 m.p.h. about two hours later. The driver of the engine informed the Stationmaster at Speed that he felt the engine drop and a track gang was sent out to inspect the line. The gang found that a section of the line had a sag of about two feet in the middle and the seven foot high embankment washed away. It was claimed that the speed of the train averted a major accident.
1-9-1950. The overnight passenger train to Mildura was delayed at Bronzewing due to a defective steam locomotive. The A2 Class locomotive failed with a broken Walschaert valve gear. Another locomotive was sent from Ouyen to bring the passenger train to Mildura where it arrived about two hours late. The damaged engine was pushed into a siding at Bronzewing and an engineer was sent from Mildura to effect repairs to enable another locomotive from Ouyen to haul the A2 back to Ouyen.
20-6-1951. A broken rail derailed a locomotive shunting at Redcliffs, derailing two front wheels. The breakdown van from Mildura was sent to assist with re-railing. The incident occurred about 5 p.m..
6-7-1951. An I truck loaded with 22 tons of bulk wheat went over the end of the line and through a fence at Sunraysia Flour Mills siding, Mildura, on 6-7-1951. This was the second time in three months that this type of accident had happened.
18-2-1953. A louvre truck on a goods train from Mildura, burst into flames at the train arrived at Redcliffs about 8.35 p.m. The truck, carrying mixed goods, was completely burned out.
10-8-1953. Eleven wagons on a goods train bound for Mildura were derailed near Litchfield. A loop line was constructed around the damaged section of line and train services were able to resume the following day.
24-8-1954. The daily fast goods train from Melbourne to Mildura derailed near Trinita late in the afternoon, with five trucks at the rear of the train leaving the rails and damaging about a quarter of a mile of track. Track gangs from Mildura and Ouyen cleared the derailed trucks and repaired the track that night.
The derailment caused delays to the departure of passenger trains from Mildura. The 8.30 p.m. passenger train to Melbourne did not depart until 12.30 a.m. and 1,200 school cadets who were travelling in two special trains, were delayed until their trains departed at 1.15 a.m. and 2.00 a.m.. The overnight passenger train from Melbourne and two troop trains for Mildura were also scheduled to pass over the repaired track that night.
20-2-1955. The guard's van on the Sunday night passenger train from Mildura was derailed near Kiamal tearing up a section of track. The van was rerailed and the track repaired to enable the train to clear the section. The Mildura-bound train in the opposite direction was delayed as a result and did not arrive at Mildura until 10.22 a.m., instead of 8.35 a.m..
25-5-1955. Four rail trucks loaded with export dried fruit and an empty truck were derailed about 4 p.m. on the Mildura Co-operative Fruit Co. siding at Merbein. About 70 yards of track was damaged. The derailment was caused by the track spreading out of gauge. Repairs were completed by 27-5-1955.
17-6-1955. Seven loaded grain trucks were derailed at Walpeup. Wet weather was given as the cause of tracks spreading out of gauge. A mobile crane was used to lift the trucks back onto the line.
26-9-1955. A steel cable was used to rescue seven water trucks from floodwaters on the wharf siding at Mildura. A locomotive reversed down the line with several empty trucks and the cable was attached to the stranded trucks and towed to higher ground.
18-5-1956. Seven wagons, two of which were fuel tankers, on the Melbourne to Mildura fast goods, were derailed near Watchupga at about 12.20 p.m.. About 200 yards of track was damaged. A fleet of nine buses were used to ferry passengers over the 27 miles between Birchip and Woomelang, where the trains from Mildura and Melbourne were waiting. Each train returned to its original destination.
The following night's trains terminated at Birchip and Woomelang as the track was not available for traffic until 20-5-1956. Goods trains that left Melbourne were delayed en route until the track was cleared. A goods train from Mildura was held at Lascelles, whilst other trains from Mildura and Ouyen were delayed until the line was opened.
9-1-1957. Twelve wagons on a Mildura-bound goods were derailed at 3.20 p.m. between Bronzewing and Nunga. About 50 yards of track were torn up in a cutting at a point near the junction of the Calder and Henty Highways. Beer, butter and groceries were scattered over a wide area. The derailed wagons, of which nine were badly smashed, were blocking the cutting, making attempt to clear the track for repairs difficult. Tractors hired from Ouyen farmers were used to haul the damaged wagons to a point where they could be lifted by a crane on a flat-top wagon onto other wagons brought to the scene. About 50 men worked through the night under bright arc lights to remove the derailed wagons and to clear the cutting by 5.20 a.m. the following day, enabling the track to be reinstated for traffic later in the day.
The Melbourne-bound passenger train from Mildura departed at 1 a.m., taking passengers as far as Ouyen where a fleet of buses and trucks transferred passengers, mail, luggage and parcels to Speed. They left Speed about 5 a.m. in the train that had arrived at Speed from Melbourne, and arrived in Melbourne at 3 p.m.. A similar transfer of passengers, luggage etc. from that trains was made back to Ouyen to connect with the train that had arrived from Mildura, reaching Mildura at 9.15 a.m..
21-1-1957. The Mildura Express ran into the rear of a goods train shortly after midnight at Talbot station, about nine miles south of Maryborough. Passengers lying in sleeping cars were flung from their bunks to the floor with one passenger injured and many others bruised and shocked by the collision. The goods train standing at Talbot was two hours late, however this was not the cause of the collision. Both trains were hauled by diesel locomotives and both were damaged in the accident, although able to be driven under their own power back to Melbourne for repairs. One passenger coach on the Mildura train was damaged.
22-9-1958. Eleven wagons loaded with barley and wool on a goods train from Pinnaroo to Ouyen were derailed between Boinka and Linga. More than 300 yards of track was damaged and the line was closed for 13 hours before workmen could complete a loop line around the accident site to allow traffic through.
7-10-1958. A ganger based at Nowingi was found dead across the railway line about 5 miles on the down side of Nowingi. A track fishplate is understood to have caused the derailment of the trolley and the subsequent death of the employee. The driver of the up Mildura Sunlight was able to stop his train in time to avoid hitting the derailed trolley and body, about 9.55 a.m..
14-10-1958. The automatic coupling between the B Class locomotive and the first carriage of the "Mildura Sunlight" separated at the Seventh Street, railway crossing shortly after leaving Mildura station. The locomotive set back onto the train to reconnect and continued its journey after a delay of about three minutes. A slight drop in the track was responsible for the incident.
20-11-1958. Storm water from a cloudburst was responsible for a section of the Merbein to Yelta line being washed away. The train scheduled to Yelta that day was unable to run.
Press cutting from "Sunraysia Daily" 25-11-1958. Source: Bruce McLean Collection
6-12-1958. Rising waters from a flooded Murray River covered part of the Mildura wharf siding.
Press cutting from "Sunraysia Daily" 6-12-1958. Source: Bruce McLean Collection
25-12-1958. At 1.00 a.m. Christmas Day the up goods from Mildura hauled by locomotive B79 crashed into a stationary goods train with locomotive B60, in No.2 road at Speed station. The driver of the stationary train and a yardman jumped clear as the trains crashed, wakening the people sleeping in the nearby Speed township.
B60 was hauling about 70 wagons, many of them empty, but including two fuel tankers. B79 was hauling about 75 wagons loaded with wheat and louvred wagons carrying produce.
B60 "Harold W. Clapp" and B79 following their head on collision at Speed station on Christmas Eve, 1958. Photo: Bruce McLean Collection
B79 was expected to stop at the home signal protecting the station on the north side off the Speed - Patchewollock road level crossing. The middle wagons of both trains were hurled in the air onto the station platform or whipped off the tracks by the impact. Heavy loco oil from one of the tank wagons, which finished partly on top of each other, was spilled onto the tracks. Some derailed wagons crashed into wagons standing in No.3 road. A total of 32 vehicles were derailed.
The driver and fireman of B79 were taken to Ouyen Hospital and treated for cuts and shock.
A steam locomotive brought the emergency breakdown van from Ouyen, and the breakdown train from North Melbourne arrived at 8 p.m. that night.
A bulldozer (from Horsham) cut a path into the station platform to allow an auger and motor trucks to reach some of the tons of spilled grain.
News of the collision spread through the Mallee and more than 1,000 people went to Speed during Christmas Day to see the damage.
Ten buses from Birchip, Donald, Ouyen and other towns as far as Swan Hill and Warracknabeal were used to transport passengers on the two morning trains due that day. Others were used in the afternoon for the down "Mildura Sunlight" and again that night with southbound passengers to Woomelang from Mildura and stations in between. Some passengers left one of the morning trains at Birchip and were brought on. Others left the train at Woomelang and Lascelles.
The "Mildura Sunlight" hauled by B68 came through as far as Lascelles to relieve yard pressure at Woomelang where three trains were being held. The "Mildura Sunlight" was followed from Ballarat by the accident train hauled by T341. It consisted of two wagons of new sleepers, No.7 steam crane and truck, 7HH, 6HH, IA6816 (crane van), No. 19 steam crane and truck, No.33 water wagon, 593Z, "Campaspe" and 590Z.
Every available railway worker in the district was engaged in removing the wreckage and restoring the track. By 9 a.m. on 26-12-1958 a temporary line had been cleared for traffic. The first train through was a locomotive hauling empty carriages to Mildura, reaching there at 2 p.m.
The Stationmaster at Lascelles on the night of the collision was Mr. Jim Robinson. Mr. Robinson recorded his memoirs of working life with the Victorian Railways in the period 1941 to 1984, in a book published in 1995, called "Along the Track". Mr. Robinson was called out to go to Speed when news of the collision reached him. In his book he described the accident scene and how the railway workers missed Christmas dinner that day. Many local families provided meals to the weary workers. Mr. Robinson also claimed in his book that when the truth "was sifted out", the Mildura driver had dozed off to sleep and instead of stopping at the signal had passed it and went head on into the train in No. 2 road. This fact was also reported in "Sunraysia Daily" newspaper on 10-2-1959.
Press cutting from "Sunraysia Daily" 26-12-1958. Source: Bruce McLean Collection
21-1-1959. Thirteen wagons of an 18 wagon goods train were derailed three miles on the up side of Hattah at 5 a.m.. More than 100 yards of track was damaged. Heat buckling of the track was believed responsible for the derailment. The "Fruit Flier", travelling ahead of the derailed train, crossed the section without incident. The fast-speed bogies on the train's wagons were believed to have made that possible.
Breakdown crews repaired the damaged section of the line to allow the Mildura Sunlight from Mildura to get through the following morning.
Trucks containing timber, pine case ends and bags of superphosphate were strewn over a wide area from wrecked wagons, an unoccupied guards van in the centre of the train was crushed, two Shell tank wagons loaded with petrol were derailed but did not suffer damage to their tanks.
Gangs from Mildura, Ouyen and along the Murrayville line were called to assist. The Mildura breakdown van was sent to the scene, a bulldozer was used to remove some of the wrecked trucks and the breakdown train from Melbourne was sent to the scene.
The Mildura Sunlight to Melbourne was cancelled and a special train ran in its place from Ouyen that night. The train from Melbourne terminated at Ouyen and three buses were used to transfer passengers to stations between Ouyen and Mildura.
28-4-1959. The Mildura line was blocked for 7½ hours due to the derailment near Ouyen of an IZ wagon on a down goods.
29-8-1959. The 9.15 p.m. down fast goods from Melbourne to Mildura with locomotive B77 and a load of 783 tons, was derailed at 306 miles 40 chains (between Kiamal and Hattah) at 7.15 a.m.. The rear 11 vehicles were derailed including 9CP guards van with Guard Forrester in charge. The guard sustained shock but was uninjured. The front portion of the train arrived at Hattah at 8 a.m. and departed for Mildura at 1.05 a.m. on 30-8-59. The section was cleared for traffic by 5.05 p.m. the following day enabling the Sunday night passenger train from Mildura to get through. The cause of the derailment was not stated in the record of this accident.
The derailed vehicles included four water tanks, a C.O.R. fuel tank, a louvre van and four open trucks. Repair gangs came from Ouyen and Redcliffs and were aided by a bulldozer to get the wagons clear of the line.
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