Article: When 44 died in a train

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When 44 died in a train


Aftermath: A steam-driven rail crane lifts the wrecked carriages from the tracks after two trains collided, killing 44 people in 1908.

When 44 died in a train
Article from: Herald Sun

Alice Coster

April 19, 2008 12:00am

TOMORROW is the centenary of Victoria's worst train disaster.

On April 20, 1908, a collision between two trains at Sunshine station killed 44 men, women and children.

In the mayhem, 500 more were injured, more than 100 seriously.

The disaster happened just before 11pm when a heavily packed Ballarat train stopped at Sunshine station to let off passengers returning home from their Easter holidays.

As passengers disembarked, a Bendigo train, running late, sped toward the station.

A station master raised his kerosene lantern to warn the oncoming driver but it raced on and crashed into the passenger train, killing many in their packed wooden carriages.

The coroner said it was a "matter of concern, not only to this particular state, but to the whole world, especially to the whole railway world . . . the whole world has been looking on."

Rail historian Tom Rigg's grandfather was a repairman who helped in the grisly aftermath of the collision.

He remembers his grandfather telling him stories of the aftermath of the tragedy.

"It was terrible. People were decapitated with flying glass," Mr Rigg said.

"There were no axes to cut people free who were trapped in the carriages.

"So many people suffered."

Former Sunshine stationmaster Mr Rigg has written a book on the crash - Sunshine Railway Disaster: A Railwayman's Perspective.

"Sunshine was then a little country station with not many people there," Mr Rigg said.

"They had no electricity, no doctors, no water, they used kerosene lamps, they had a very difficult time."

He said the Sunshine tragedy should be a reminder to learn from mistakes of the past.

Connex CEO Bruce Hughes said a similar disaster was no longer possible.

"There have been so many advances in rail safety systems and processes in the last century," he said.

The Sunshine and District Historical Society will hold a memorial service at Sunshine station tomorrow commemorating those who died.

Mr Hughes will unveil a bronze plaque listing those who were killed.

Relatives will hang 44 red roses on the plaque.

"By commemorating the tragic events that occurred 100 years ago, we pay tribute to the memory of those lost, but also remind ourselves how much progress we've made," Mr Hughes said.