Railways and Tramways of Australia

The Sunshine Railway Disaster in 1908 was the worst railway accident in Victorian history, and the worst in Australia until the Granville disaster of 1977. It occurred when a train from Bendigo crashed into the rear of a stationary train from Ballarat at Sunshine station, killing 44 people and injuring at least 400.

 

Sunshine

Sunshine is a western suburb of Melbourne. Its station is located 12.3 km from Melbourne’s Southern Cross station, which was known as Spencer Street when the Sunshine Railway Disaster took place in 1908.

 

The railway through Sunshine opened in 1859 with completion of the line from Melbourne to Sunbury; in 1862 this line was extended to Bendigo. On 2 April 1884 a new railway was opened to Melton, branching off the Bendigo line at the location now known as Sunshine, although there was no station there at the time. A station was opened at the junction on 7 September 1885 and was given the name Braybrook Junction. The direct line from Melbourne to Ballarat via Melton and Bacchus Marsh was completed in 1889. On 15 July 1907 Braybrook Junction station was renamed Sunshine, after the Sunshine Harvester Works, which had been moved from Ballarat to a site adjacent to the station.

 

The accident

Monday 20 April 1908 was Easter Monday and many travellers were returning to Melbourne at the end of the long weekend. A train departed from Ballarat at 6.30 pm. It was hauled by AA Class 4-4-0 locomotive 534 and A Class 4-4-0 locomotive 202, and consisted of two vans and 11 passenger carriages. Another train departed from Bendigo at 6.55 pm, five minutes behind the timetable. This train was hauled by AA Class locomotives 564 and 544, and consisted of a post van, horse box, six passenger carriages, a guard’s van and a louvre van. The AA Class engines had all been built by the Phoenix Foundry in Ballarat, while A202 had been built in England by Beyer, Peacock & Company. Around 1000 passengers were on the two trains.

 

Both trains were crowded and the train from Ballarat train had additional carriages added to cater for the high number of passengers. As they made their way towards Melbourne, both trains were running behind schedule. The Ballarat train arrived at Sunshine first, at 10.47 pm. Since the train was too long for the platform the train made two stops. Passengers in the forward carriages alighted, and the driver then began to ease the train forward to enable passengers in the rear carriages to alight. Before the train stopped again, the train from Bendigo crashed into its rear with horrific results. There were various estimates of the speed of the Bendigo train at the time of the impact, with the official estimate being 42 or 43 miles per hour (67.6 or 69.2 km/h).

 

Four passenger carriages and the guard’s van at the rear of the Ballarat train were destroyed by the impact, the carriages being smashed to matchwood. Debris was strewn across the platforms and tracks at the station. A fire began in one of the smashed carriages, making it difficult to assist and rescue injured passengers. The Bendigo train had only damage to the leading engine, which was derailed with the buffers torn off. The guard of the Ballarat train, John Fraser, had stepped off the train and was on the platform when the crash occurred, which certainly saved his life.

 

The aftermath

Passengers from both trains, railway employees and local residents went to the assistance of injured passengers. Rescue efforts were hampered by the lack of light, with only a small number of lamps available. Bodies were placed on the platform and covered with cushions to hide their disfigurement. The nearby Sunshine Harvester works was used as a first aid station. Three relief trains carrying doctors, nurses and first aid workers were sent from Melbourne, the first arriving at 12.05 am; it then departed at 12.20 am, taking the remaining six carriages of the Ballarat train to Melbourne, along with numerous injured passengers. The train travelled slowly because it was carrying injured passengers and also because the wheels may have sustained some damage in the crash. It eventually arrived at Spencer Street at 1.26 am. The following train departed from Sunshine at 2.10 am, and arrived at Spencer Street at 3.17 am, carrying more injured passengers, along with bodies of those who had been killed. Finally, the third train departed from Sunshine at 3.55 am and arrived at Spencer Street at 4.23 am, conveying more bodies. The bodies of those who had died were placed in the waiting room at Spencer Street station, where they could be viewed by relatives.

 

Clearing of the line at Sunshine continued through the night. Work was assisted by the arrival of Z Class 0-6-0 crane locomotive No. 3 Polly. This engine is now an exhibit at Scienceworks, a science museum in Spotswood, where it bears its original number Z526. The Bendigo train, including both engines, was subsequently taken to Melbourne’s Spencer Street yard. It was placed under guard by police and Victorian Railways. Experts assisting the coronial inquiry examined the train.

 

Train running on the night of the accident

Sunshine was an interlocked location with a signal box containing 24 working levers. It was on the double track main line, with block instruments linking it with West Footscray on the Melbourne side and Sydenham on the Bendigo side. Also located at Sunshine was the single track junction for the Ballarat line, and electric staff safeworking was in force between Sunshine and Deer Park.

 

The Ballarat train was running 44 minutes late upon arrival at Sunshine. Crossings on the single line and double stops because of the extended length of the train had led to increasing delays.

 

The locomotive crew members on the first engine of the Bendigo train were Driver Leonard Milburn and Fireman William Tomlinson. On the second engine, which was attached to the train at Kyneton, were Driver Gilbert Dolman and Fireman Barclay Deveney. The Guard was William Darcy.

 

The Bendigo train was late from the commencement of its run, and lost further time as it continued its journey, arriving at Kyneton 15 minutes behind schedule at 9.12 pm. AA Class engine 564 had hauled the train on its own from Bendigo, but a second AA Class engine, No. 544 was added behind it at Kyneton. Also at Kyneton, the Station Master, Joseph Goode, gave instructions to the guard that the train was to run express to North Melbourne. However, there was confusion about the stopping pattern and the train stopped at Woodend, where Guard Darcy informed Driver Dolman on the second engine that a stop at Macedon was required to set down passengers. This information seems not to have been passed on to Driver Millburn on the leading engine because the train overshot the station at Macedon and had to set back. The train also stopped at Sunbury to allow Dolman to inspect a piston, causing further delay. Departure from Sunbury was at 10.30 pm.

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