Charing Cross roof collapse
On 5 December 1905, the iron-and-glass overall arched roof of London Charing Cross railway station collapsed during a long-term maintenance project, killing six people.
Background[edit]
The roof was designed by Sir John Hawkshaw and comprised a single-span trussed arch with wrought iron tie rods. The roof was 164 feet (50 m) wide and 510 feet (160 m) long and was designed as a contained arch, with bowstring principals.[1]
Collapse[edit]
At around 3:30 pm on 5 December 1905, one of the tie-rods of a main principal sheared, making a loud noise.[1] Some passengers evacuated the station, although many remained.
At about 3:42 pm, two complete roof bays (about 77 feet (23 m)) fell onto the platforms and rails,[1] and the western wall collapsed outwards on to the adjacent Royal Avenue Theatre (now the Playhouse Theatre), which was being reconstructed.[2] The glass 'wind-screen' at the river end was also brought down.
There were four trains in the station at the time on platforms 3 to 6 and the girders and debris from the roof fell across them. Many passengers had already boarded the trains, otherwise the total killed could have been greater.[1]
The apparent collapse of the roof was due to the structural failure of a flawed piece of ironwork.[3] The roof had also been heavily loaded with scaffolding and materials just before the final collapse.
Casualties and fatalities[edit]
Six people were killed, two of whom were working on the roof at the time. One fatality was an employee of W H Smith and the three remaining fatalities were workmen reconstructing the Royal Avenue Theatre which was crushed by the western side wall.[1][4]
Eight other workmen were seriously injured and taken to hospital and nineteen others suffered minor injuries.[1]
Aftermath[edit]
The station was closed for over three months and during this period the Charing Cross Bridge was also examined and some girders added to reinforce it.[5] The Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway company – now part of the London Underground's Northern line – was able to take advantage of this closure when constructing its Charing Cross Underground station, making a large excavation in the main-line station's forecourt that would not have been allowed otherwise. The previous intention was to have excavated upwards from platform level.[6][7]
The Charing Cross roof was replaced by a utilitarian post and girder structure supporting a ridge and furrow roof.[3] The curve of the original roof design can still be seen on the interior brickwork. The station was re-opened on 19 March 1906.
Because one undetected flaw caused such a large failure, questions were raised about the design and the safety factor against failure. A similar roof at Cannon Street station was taken down in 1958.[citation needed]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f Pringle, J. W. (25 March 1906). South Eastern and Chatham Railway (PDF). Railway Department, Board of Trade. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ^ Earl, J.; Sell, M. (2000). A Guide to British Theatres 1750–1950. Theatres Trust. ISBN 0-7136-5688-3.
- ^ a b Jackson, A. A. (1969). London's Termini. David and Charles. ISBN 0-330-02747-6.
- ^ "London Station Roof Drops" (PDF). The New York Times. 6 December 1905. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ^ "Railway Structures: Charing Cross Bridge". Southern Railway Email Group. 28 April 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ^ Badsey-Ellis, Antony (2016). Building London's Underground: From Cut-and Cover to Crossrail. Capital Transport. pp. 126–127. ISBN 978-1-8541-4397-6.
- ^ Horne, Mike (2009) [1990]. The Northern Line: An Illustrated History (3rd ed.). Capital Transport. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-85414-326-6.
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‡ indicates railway accidents and incidents resulting in at least 20 fatalities § indicates the deadliest railway accident in British history 1815–1899   2000–present | |