Waipahi was a significant railway location as it was here that the Tapanui branch line (closed 1978) left the main line. In more recent times the railway yard has been used to load logs from nearby forests onto trains. It is also a "crossing point" on the Main South Line and it was this that led to the events of 20 October 1999.
The following summary of the known events leading up to the crash is based on undisputed facts presented in the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) report on the incident, a public document which can be viewed online and which was widely reported in the media after its publication, and is provided solely to give context to the historical incident which the cache exists to highlight. Anyone interested in the more controversial areas of the incident should access the TAIC report. The report carries photographs and diagrams for anyone genuinely interested.
Train 919 left Dunedin for Invercargill at 0439. 919 was headed by DFT class locomotive 7254 with DX class loco 5448 running ‘dead’ immediately behind it (meaning the DX was not in operation). The consist was made up of 17 bogie wagons. Total train weight was 453 tonnes and length was 321 metres.
At 0645 a track warrant (TW) was dictated by train control (TC) over radio/telephone to the locomotive engineer (LE) on 919 which was, at this time, standing stationary at Clinton. This TW authorised 919 to proceed to the main line at Waipahi where it would be crossed by Train 938. The TW information was repeated back to TC and deemed correct at 0646 and 919 moved off. At 0649 919’s LE reported to TC that 919 was clear of Clinton. This was the last voice communication from 919.
Train 938 departed Invercargill heading north at 0502. 938 consisted of 11 bogie wagons headed by DC class locomotive 4202. The train weighed 489 tonnes and was 193 metres long.
At Mataura it crossed Train 913 at 0625. 913 had departed Dunedin for Invercargill at 0330. The LEs changed over here i.e. the LE who brought 938 from Invercargill would go back to Invercargill with 913. The LE who had brought 913 from Dunedin would head north on 938.
While 938 was standing at Mataura awaiting the arrival of 913 the LE on 938 sought, and was issued with, a TW for the next part of 938’s journey. This TW, issued at 0618, permitted 938 to proceed to Waipahi once the LE change had occurred, enter the crossing loop there, and cross Train 919. There was no further radio communication between 938 and TC. The LE receiving this TW handed it over to the LE who would be taking 938 north. 938 departed Mataura at 0627.
The Main South Line (MSL) through this area is single track. This means that trains travel in both directions on the same line. ‘Crossing loops’ are provided along the line to allow trains to pass one another. 938 would ‘cross’ 919 at Waipahi. The TWs required 938 to enter the crossing loop there and travel past 919 while 919 stood stationary on the main line.
Track Warrants are a system of permits that authorize a train to occupy a certain section of line at a certain time. They are issued by the centralized train control centre. During the course of a train’s journey it will receive a number of TWs which will authorize it to move between certain named points.
Eyewitnesses placed 919 as arriving at Waipahi at 0655 where it stopped on the main line in the middle of the yard. Standard procedure should have seen 919’s LE leave the cab and use the control box at the south end of the yard to set the points to allow 938 to enter the loop and cross his train. However, the eyewitnesses did not see the LE leave the train. The points were not set to direct 938 to enter the loop.
The eyewitnesses saw 938 arriving into Waipahi on the main line a short time after 0700. It was a clear morning with some light rain falling but good visibility. The eyewitnesses said that both locomotives’ headlights were working. Trees and houses near the track obstructed the forward view of northbound trains entering Waipahi.
At 0702 a vigilance alarm from DC4202 was received at TC. This would have been automatically activated by the application of the DC locomotive’s emergency brakes. Also automatically activated by the brakes would have been ‘sanding’ of the rails. All locomotives carry a supply of sand which is sprayed onto the rails to increase friction between the rails and loco wheels to improve traction or braking. Sand from 938 was found to have started just 150 metres from the point of impact with 919 suggesting that this was the point where the emergency brakes were applied. The eyewitnesses stated that at impact 938 was still travelling at over 50 km/h.
938’s DC loco and leading wagons rose into the air upon impact with the stationary 919. The witnesses reported that the wagons stood on their ends before crashing back to the ground. The front of 919’s DFT loco, including the cab, was crushed. Both the DC and DFT ended up on their sides. The impact pushed the DFT and DX back 30 metres causing the leading wagons on 919 to jack-knife and derail.
The LE of 919 was killed in the impact and 938’s LE suffered serious head injuries. The event recorder (similar to an aircraft’s ‘black box’) was recovered from the DC’s cab and provided information for the investigation. The DFT’s recorder was damaged and rendered useless, which gives some indication of the severity of the crash. The DX’s recorder was not functioning as the locomotive was running dead.
DC4202 was written off and cut up for scrap at the site of the crash. DX5448 was repaired and returned to service. DFT7254 was placed in storage for a lengthy period but eventually rebuilt to DFB spec and re-entered service re-numbered (as is the usual practice with locomotives that have been involved in an incident involving a crew fatality) as DFB7348. At time of cache publication both DX5448 (now to DXB spec) and DFB7348 are still in service with KiwiRail. Coincidentally, just hours after placing this cache the cache owner spotted 5448 heading a southbound freight train at Clarendon, south of Dunedin. UPDATE 9/4/15 : even more coincidentally, the FTF on the cache (stegan) took a photo of a train passing the cache site as he found the cache. The photo is in a log he posted to the cache page on 8/4/15. Although he didn't realise it at the time the locomotive leading the train is DXB5448, one of the three locos involved in the crash! Spooky.
Cache is a small snaplock. BYOP. Cache is well away from the railway line and separated from it by a bank and fence. However, depending on how you approach/depart the cache you may need to drive across an uncontrolled level crossing so TAKE CARE.