This video a was team effort: I was greatly assisted by Alexander Jamieson, who modeled and produced a number of scenes for the video in Open Rails, the open-source version of Microsoft Train Simulator. Alexander was also heavily involved in discussing the event with me as I was writing the script. Check out his channel here: www.youtube.com/@melbournesparks3828 My brother Cian provided equipment and expertise for recording my voiceover, and he also makes a cameo appearance as the voice of Metrol. Check out his music here: hyperfollow.com/cianbennetmusic All photographs and video (except the ones credited otherwise on screen) were taken by myself, and the North Melbourne/Spencer Street area diagram is my own drawing. If you enjoyed this video, please consider supporting the channel on Patreon - you can get early access to videos, your name in the credits, and exclusive behind the scenes content: www.patreon.com/Taitset *Also: The answer to a very frequently asked question:* People keep asking: 'why couldn't they stop it by getting the driver of 5262 (the train in front) to match speed and allow it to couple/collide, then bring the whole thing to a stop?' So, this is a very reasonable question: This is absolutely possible in theory, and it's exactly what they did with the very famous Crazy 8s runaway in the United States, which is what the film Unstoppable was based on. However in the case of this runaway, it just wasn't really possible. Firstly, the whole thing happened so fast there wasn't time to make complicated plans. 5262 was carrying about 40 passengers, so using it for badass manoeuvres wasn't really advisable. Nobody knew what speed the runaway was travelling at, so the driver would have had to judge it entirely visually - he would have had to do that by just looking in the mirror, remembering that the runaway was catching up with no headlights in the dark. We know that in reality the driver did spot the runaway approaching in the mirror, but that would have been a brief glimpse as it came around the curve, and visibility certainly couldn't be relied on at other spots. The line speed between Newmarket and North Melbourne is 65km/h, and we know the runaway was doing about 80, so it also would have involved driving significantly over-speed while attempting to make the catch. It also wasn't possible to get 5262 behind the runaway, because the last place you could do that was Essendon, and 5262 had already left there when Metrol knew about the situation. So, while it's kind of a fun thing to speculate on, it just wasn't going to happen in this case. One final note: I was right to predict N463 would move onto a new career with a freight operator: it did so in March 2024, being leased to Southern Shorthaul Railroad, and running it's first grain train with them on the night of 16/3/24. You can watch some footage of that run here: ua-cam.com/video/Y1tCY-X-TB0/v-deo.htmlsi=VnHI_8ljf79abWXz
@@christoskastoras1799 Not at this stage, it would need a bit of work done to make it suitable for public release. I'll post it here if it ever happens though!
I'm more concerned about how you don't notice it when you travel those lines, I only know the bit about the sydenham line because I've been the one asking questions on more than one occasion! People, please ask questions, drivers don't bite, the job requires they be good with the public! I've talked with a few who loved to speak with people!
I was the train Examiner for the overland passenger train service to Adelaide that night. I saw the runaway coming in at high-speed and colliding into the locomotive. I’ll never forget what I heard and seen that day.
I was on the Adelaide platform waving goodbye to my relative who was sitting in the train when the collision happened. I remember my mother trying to communicate to our relative what had just happened, and then all the ambulances arriving
Found this video as a random recommendation. In 2003 I was working at Spencer Street in the yards as a leading shunter, and had to clean all this up. I still have the photos. We had to drag the Comeng out of Platform 2 back to the Bank Siding and store it out of sight in No. 27 road...no easy feat when it was so dramatically "out of gauge"; as your photos showed. A couple of dwarf signals needed to actually be removed to allow clearance, and the bloody thing derailed 4 times over the course of the snail crawl back to the Bank; as the train's bogies all had limited range of movement because of the damage. Their original idea was to drag it all the way to the Newport Workshops, which should give you an idea of the panicked thought processes at work at the time. That would have been more than a little impossible. 😂 A couple of points: My mate "Steve" (not his real name) was in No.1 Box, and in the early stages of the Inquisition, was the prime scapegoat. We used to joke about it afterwards: "How dare you get in the way of my bullet!" Also, had 5264 ended up entering Platform 4...it would have impacted the 21:35 Geelong departure at approximately 85 km/h. A single sprinter, as you showed in the graphic. The outcome would have been...memorable. Excellent video. Thanks for the PTSD. 😉
"Oh really? And where am I going to put it?" and the "Righto" are so funny to me. I reckon I've had conversations like that with people, where you just have to accept it's all going downhill (no pun intended) from here. Such an excellent video! The Trolley Problem coming to life was completely unexpected but quite funny, especially seeing the little look of concern on the signaler.
Classic Aussie respone, I thought the same thing. You could just hear the "oh get F&%$ed" in his voice and the "I don't get paid enough for this". I definitely laughed more than I should for something so serious.
You've hit the big time Martin. None other than the legendary Tom Scott has recommended this video in pole position in his weekly newsletter! He has millions of followers. I'm so happy for you that it's going to be even more widely viewed. "So many video essays use other people's photos well outside the boundaries of fair use/fair dealing: it's a delight to see someone who's telling the story using original footage." Congrats to you & the team. Richly deserved.
I'll be honest, when this was randomly prompted for me I clicked, saw it was 24 minutes and thought "that's a bloody long time to talk about a train"... Well, I was wrong. That was amazing- funny, gripping and all managed without any blame, well done to you! I'm off to go and watch more of your videos now... 👍
I honestly don't know how you do it.. you make by far THE BEST Melbourne transport videos! Ever since I found your channel, I've learnt so much about Melbournes train and tram network. Incredible video! I very much enjoyed it! 😄
Martin great video i was the leading shunter at Spencer st that night , i had just finished doing the shunt with the motorail some 30 minutes prior the train examiner had just finished brakes and the both of us were chatting to the crew when we heard a loud bang towards Dudley st and saw a large shower of sparks and saw the out of control spark heading our way i got on the radio and asked No.1 box what in the hell is that coming and he replied a runaway spark from Broady i asked where's it heading he said Platform 2 i said the Marsh is there and not far from departure the Yard master immediately contacted the driver to clear the cab i started running down platform 2 an got near the rear of the spark as it collided with the 2135 B marsh train where the glass just exploded i was told to check the spark just to make sure no one was on board
My attention span is about ten minutes, so I wasn't sure how this would go. About half way through, the phone rang, it was sent to voicemail, I didn't even look at the phone to see who it was, and I couldn't take my eyes off the big screen. This feels like one of the best told stories on UA-cam. On the edge of my seat, the out of control train hurtling down the gradient, with insufficient tools, no one aware of how quickly the pending doom is all happening. Thanks Martin et al, a terrific production, you should be very proud of yourselves.
N463 was completely derailed, the only warning I had as the driver of 8141 was when I saw the sparks coming off the wheel as the spark was running completely dark as the power had been turned off shutting off all power to the set. The Head end power to the cars was shut down by the impact but the main engine kept running and it took me a while to work out how to shut it down as most of the circuit breakers had tripped in the cab and these controlled the shut down mechanism. $63 also has many scars within the drivers cab that are not readily visible to the traveling public. As an extra the engine within 463 shifted on its mounts cracking the water pump manifold which failed soon after the engine reentered service. This happened at Wallan on an Albury pass and yours truly was the Driver again. I hate 463 and the Albury line! Although this video was very confronting I feel you have done a great job of your coverage and presentation.
One of the key changes from the investigation is that the Comengs were modified so that moving the reverser to OFF (which is the only way a driver can remove their key) automatically puts the park brakes on along the whole train. So it's now impossible to forget to apply the park brakes when cutting out in a Comeng, which is the best possible way to prevent this situation from recurring!
This video brings back so many memories! I was living in Kensington and was walking around the corner of Macaulay Road and Bellair St when this train flew through the station at what looked like 100 km/h. I never saw that the headlights weren’t on, but I saw the doors open and immediately knew that it wasn’t being controlled. From memory I’m pretty sure that the boom gates were closed. Wow, can’t believe that happened 20 years ago. Time has flown.
the part where you say that the whole experience only took 11 minutes which was longer than the video was really crazy to hear and puts it into perspective how little time they had. amazing video 👏
What a fantastic story you weaved. Well conceived and executed. This should be shown on public television. Most Melburnians would be astounded and enthralled. Extremely well done.
First time hearing the full story even though I heard about it when it happened in 2003. The narrator did a fantastic job, I was definitely on the edge of my seat and glued to the phone even though it's 5am AUS Eastern Time 😅
All this story it is on goggle Driver left doors open light on , No passenger on the train lucky, Left brake on he went to the toilet When he come back train left with out him Stopped right on destination after collide with another country train All good no one injury just 4 from the other train that was wait at the Spencer station to stop the running way train
Was on the way to Dimboola that night. My mate called shift support when we went through Pyrenees loop and they told him what happened. Neither of us could believe it. Apparently the driver on the Overland saw it and wondered why there was a spark coming in.
Considering how serious this runaway and crash was, and how badly it could have ended, I remember being surprised at the time how quickly it all seemed to be brushed under the carpet, even after the accident report was released. Incredibly great job here Martin and Team.
No surprises, the probability for loss of life seems very high given the failures, misunderstandings and complete lack of management by those in charge. They got incredibly lucky that things happened the way they did and so no wonder when looking through how much they royally stuffed up that they would want to brush it away and move on. heres hoping they at least have improved their process alot since then.
The dialogue between Signal Box 1 and Metrol cracks me up. Perfectly displays the nonchalant and care free attitude of Australians even against the worst of adversaries. Glad no one lost their lives after this incident.
I was standing at the Adelaide platform when this collision happened. I was 7 years old at the time. Randomly I went down a spiral of research after I was on the train today and a young girl made a comment about trains never crashing, and I thought what ever happened to the two trains I saw colliding at Spencer St station all those years ago. Great video!
This was a thrilling video. I remember this from February 2003 when I was actually living at Moonee Ponds. The train would have rolled through 150m from where I was living. I had not realised this could have been so much worse, the write up in The Age the next day almost made light of it.
exactly, the media made light of the incident at the time, despite the fact it reached a top speed of 120km/h between Pascoe Vale and Strathmore stations.
Agreed. I remember this incident being reported on the news the next day but only now do I realise how serious it was. Astonishing that drivers and passengers weren't evacuated from all country platforms at Spencer st. This was video was a bit like an air crash investigation episode. It's only by pure luck that nobody was killed.
Mate without question the best video you've made to date. You've got a real knack for storytelling. I loved "Gravity is an enthusiastic train driver" 😂
I used to have to travel nightly or on weekends on the broady line to moonee ponds for work. (I worked at the time after hours and weekends). I remembered reading about this on the newspapers and seeing this on the news the following day, then worked out that the train i usually take after work nightly to head back into the city (departing Moonee Ponds about 9:20pm) and change trains for home turned out to be the 5262 train described here in front of the runaway, and I was on board that on the evening of this crash. I somehow recall at the time we were diverted up the Kensington bridge heading to North Melbourne towards the through surburban platfoirms, and I remember we bounced off the seats from going through the Kensington points that fast. I didn't remember seeing the runaway flying down the tracks below on the main broady line as it was pitch black outside save for maybe some flood lights at the Kensington flour mill. I didn't think i noticed anything untoward upon reaching Spencer st either not that i was looking for anything there at the time. Oh how much of a nasty surprise once i saw the pictures of N463 and 394M the following day!
YES! Its finally here! This is probably one of the best videos youve made, i remember reading the wikipedia article a bit after hearing about the accident, and it might have been one of the most thrilling wikipedia articles i have ever read. It is so sad that 394M was scrapped though, it would have been great to have in a museum.
Excellent video. Thankyou. As a current TC I find it somewhat frustrating that 20 years later Metrol still has "dark territory" where there is no indication of a train's position available to those in control of a line. One of the ATSB's recommendations was that dark territory be eliminated from the train control area. Even though some progress is occurring in this matter, train controllers are expected to control lines with intensive services within dark territory. Dark territory areas exist beyond Camberwell, Darling, Yarraville, Cheltenham, Oakleigh and ironically Essendon. On the first day of Metros operation of their new franchise I was on night shift when the new execs arrived so they could see the first movement of a Metro service which was the first up Frankston a little after 0400. I was asked which screen they would be able to observe the departure on, they seemed a little confused when I stated none, they then asked where the first visible place would be, I stated that if I reconfigured the screens I had, Moorabbin was possible. Needless to say the look of what the hell have we got involved with here came to mind. Frustration sets in when I can observe planes landing at Heathrow, ship transiting the Suez Canal, where my friends are sitting at the AFL Grand Final at the MCG but only theoretically know where are train should be if I have kept my paper train control graph up to date. Without getting too bogged down in politics very little has changed over the time of privatisation. This problem is in the too hard basket as Metro is only an operator using infrastructure provided by the government. Therefore the old blame game still exists. I hope this little rant may be of interest to some and shows a side of train control some may be unaware of.
Excellent video @Taitset. Blimey! What's more disturbing though is @bigbloke7691's talk about "dark territory". Still! Really? I can just imagine in the next incident investigation someone having to say "well my piece of paper says the train should have been here.".
I started working for M>Train in 2003. This unit was being repaired at Newport in the loco shop by EDI, and when it was ready to re-enter service I got the job to do the brake test for it. Made a change from Siemens! I was also involved, a year or 2 later, in specifying, testing and fitting up the automatic spring park brakes (which was done at the same time as the automatic headlights and a few other mods). Later on I worked with the Metrol controller on the night and had a few interesting conversations with him about it.
Finally, no more people tormenting me for that crappy video I made all those years ago... TREMENDOUS work here Martin! Another great documentary as always.
“Direct connection to Bacchus Marsh” 😜 Well done to you and your helpers on an excellent and quite a high production video! You told the story well and without afflicting direct finger pointing! Not often a UA-cam video has me at the edge of my seat with the near mating of trains at North Melbourne!
It's also a classic case of how disasters usually happen, a chain of events of varying degrees of severity leading to a catastrophic outcome. Also how sometimes it's just dumb luck, like train construction, that prevents things from being worse. Thank goodness it wasn't and that the rules around parking brakes were changed. One of the most thrilling and fascinating videos I've ever seen, thanks Taitset and everyone else involved
I was 8 at the time this happened so I was on the edge of my seat for this story! Absolutely wild, i hope you come out with more stories like this. It was like a train campfire tale except it very much happened.
Wow! That was an incredible watch, and one of the most thrilling videos I've ever seen. I've never really read or heard about any runaway train stories before so it was fascinating to learn how the situation came together and how it was resolved.
Words fail me. I actually watched this last night whilst travelling on a train (Mernda - up line). An absolute masterpiece. Will definitely give it another viewing. This is your best yet. Congratulations.
This is an incredibly fascinating story, and can I just say - an absolutely gripping video. I've really enjoyed your videos Taitset. You have a superbly confident yet laid back vocal delivery that makes your videos so engaging. I hope that your work is as soulfully and energetically rewarding as it is for the viewer. Kudos to you and your super work!
loved the voiceover, spot on impressions done there. ashame that comeng didn't get a stage 2 upgrade at the least so it could stick around that bit longer it's quite remarkable how casual they were about this whole thing, your videos are very well put as always!
Wow, this makes me think of the 'swiss cheese model' used in accident/hazard prevention... but it's more line one giant aligned hole. There were virtually no measures to minimise or stop the train under these particular circumstances. We're very fortunate that no one was seriously injured. Thank you for the video!
I couldn't remember this being news (I mean I was only 11 at the time but still) so my assumption right up until you described the impact was that somehow they found a way to stop the train safely. Thrilling to watch, excellent storytelling. You've raised the bar yet again
I live alongside the tracks in between strathmore and pascoe vale station on the same side as the city bound line from broadmeadows to the city, the tracks are literally a stones throw away from me. I was outside in the backyard that night and I had heard a train approaching at a tremendous speed however i had noticed that i couldnt see the usual headlights that would usually light up my backyard as the trains go past. I can confirm that this train thundered past at atleast 2 - 3 times the usual 50kmph speed they usually do without a single light on. I also read an article in the paper that the train had planned to roll the train around the city loop back up to broadmeadows but obviously this didnt happen. Scary stuff. Good video. thanks
Crikey, you brought back a lot of memories for me. At this time; I was a Senior Forensic Investigator with the PTC, and remember going out to Spencer Street; to photograph the Comeng and the N Class Loco, that was struck by the Comeng. Your report was fairly accurate. That was 20 years ago. How fast time flies. I also remember carrying out the investigation into the Swan Hill N Class train collision, with a semi Trailer, the collision of a V/Line VLocity and a truck carrying a large granite boulder. The accident occurred at Trawalla, 2006.\ On 28 April 2006 a V/Line VLocity train running an Ararat to Ballarat service, struck the trailer of a truck transporting a 14-tonne block of granite, at a passively-protected level crossing. The accident led to the death of two people (Train Driver & a passenger) and injuries to 28 passengers. I also attend to the Steam Locomotive K183 which collided with a truck at Benalla. K183 was carrying a wedding party when it was involved in a fatal level crossing collision on the 13th of October 2002 in Benalla. I took heaps of photos of that beautiful old Loco.
Great video, I remember this incident being all over the news at the time. It's sheer luck that nobody was killed or seriously injured that night when you think of all the various possibilities such as passengers being on the train or collisions at level crossings etc. I was also shocked that 394M was actually repaired and returned to service. With such severe damage I thought it would be scrapped for sure. It goes to show just how well the Comengs were built. If this was a Hitachi involved it would have folded up like an accordion.
That was SO good. Such a compelling watch and listen. I only moved to Melbourne in July 2003 and amazingly had never heard about this incident until now. You have a definite gift for storytelling.
Used to use this line every day - mind boggling a train can roll all the way into the city, and faster than a regular service, and a very lucky outcome!
A great video of actual events. I'm a retired "Steamer" Pt Kembla blast furnaces, 5 ladels in front and 5 in the back 100 tons of slag. Had a slide backwards down the cutting as it was very greasy one particular day. I was showing a new driver how to "Clear the Piston" and he put it in full reverse, we stopped short of the points redirecting us into the workshop where 30-40 blokes would have had a warm bath of molten slag. Watching your video I could almost feel what the driver would have felt, almost. It could have been much worse.
When you open the Brake Valve Isolating Cock and Switch to access the Passenger Information Display (PIDS) this actions starts charging the Brake Pipe and you don’t need a fully charged brake pipe for the brakes to release, it’s designed for this to happen. Traction Motor windings are heavy and filled with grease, so it can take time to get momentum going. It was possible for a driver to forget to apply the Train lined Park Brake at the time because there was not an “Automatic” feature. Very fortunate (plus some luck) that no one was injured. Very informative Vlog. Cheers.
Awesome topic for a video, I read the report of this incident recently for the first time and it's amazing how things could've been so much worse, and also goes to show the flaws in the then operating system across the network.
Honestly that was the best video you made so far. The reenactment scenes along with the detail just made this video ten times better. Keep it up Taitset, can't wait for the next video ✌
Great video! This runaway reminds me of a similar accident in Jakarta, where a local EMU which was supposed to be parked in depot rolled all the way from Bogor station to Manggarai station, fortunately it caused no casualties, as the train stopped itself at the incline to Cikini station, and it was so early in morning there weren't any local train running yet. But it sparked the urban legend of "Manggarai Ghost Train", wherein several people claimed to have seen a very old local train with none or even ghost passengers come and go at a blink of their eyes in several stations.
@@Taitset it is indeed! Curiously, no one seems to really know what's the cause of the runaway. People have generally concluded that it was a parking brake failure, but there's never been an official report as to why it happened. Oh and the myth has been mostly debunked by the fact that the Commuter Line now runs until very late night, around 1-2AM. The urband legend existed at the time where local train operations regularly stopped at 11PM.
Brilliant video. So fortunate that nobody was killed. This could have had much more serious consequences. On a lighter note, I liked your observation that "gravity is an enthusiastic train driver."
Great video mate! I couldn't take my eyes off it. The thought of a 120km/h train tearing through Essendon area would be terrifying and the take-aways are very interesting! Very well presented. It was so engaging and even the wholesome touch at the end where both locomotives were repaired and continued service was a very good addition.
Wow. Ive been using the Broady/Craigieburn line for approx 4x decades and had no idea about this incident. Excellent detailing of the incident and attention to detail. Tx for sharing!
Such a great job with the video. Thanks a lot. Side note: all Comeng and Hitachi got an “automatic park brake” modification after this incident. It basically applies the park brake automatically when the driver cuts out the cab.
I worked on that mod. The biggest mistake we made was only ordering enough for the Comeng and some spares - Hitachis were busily being scrapped and planned to be all gone soon. Which meant we were about 6 short when the decision was made to fit the Hitachis up, and a minimum order quantity of 50.
An excellent production with an outstanding script and really good visuals, well done, Martin. Seeing you and Alexander working together again made me smile, getting the MSTS band back together! Thanks for your work.
This is an absolutely engrossing and exciting video, where clearly a huge amount of research and time was put into creating such superb content!! My god you deserve about a million times more recognition, thank you for your priceless education and entertainment Taitset!!!
This is the first of your videos I've seen and I will that was excellently written, narrated and illustrated. This was at least as good as a Plainly Difficult train crash video and John is very good indeed. You deserve a much larger audience, well done.
This was one of the best videos I've watched lately - you've brilliantly brought to life a drab ATSB report into storytelling that had me hooked until the finale! Your script and timing was so good that I experienced this thrill - in complete silence!! (My 2 year old daughter is asleep, so I watched this whole thing merely by the subtitles!). Fantastic work by you and your team (I loved the Open Rails scenes too, they were an excellent addition). Cheers =)
Now I kinda wanna hear you talk about the Siemens trains' brake problems. This video is certainly one railway accident story I can enjoy listening to, and probably the only one right now that isn't from Well There's Your Problem.
I’m a Victorian but interstate at the time. Only have a vague recollection. You’ve told the story brilliantly. Quite gripping to watch and so well explained. Congratulations.
This was an excellently produced reconstruction of the events, really top notch. I was particularly impressed by the time reminder and timeline of the event, really throwing the emphasis on just how quickly this happened, and how short of a time there was for decision making for the best outcome. Perhaps that lack of time (for complex plans) worked in this situation's favour, as slamming into the stationary country locomotive would have been the least amount of damage and potential injuries. Slamming into the buffers at the platform end (without locomotive) would have resulted in much more train or train parts flying into the concourse at Spencer Street, potentially injuring or killing more people. Hopefully those that were hospitalised did quickly recover from their injuries. Thank goodness the locomotive crew managed to exit before impact. The only real 'fault' I could identify from the incident, was the lack of alarm/urgency by the communications, even though there was so little time to plan contingencies, it did not seem that those involved really conveyed that they had such a seriously-fast uncontrolled train on the line. Perhaps because such situations are rare, along the lines of 'once in a lifetime' events. Although I was a youngster at the time, I did see the result of the Southern Aurora crash in 1969. That was so bad.
Oddly enough I think I read that ATSB report a couple of months ago. I'd seen a reference to the Broadmeadows Runaway on a website that didn't go into any detail, so I went digging for the info. In any case, I have to say I really enjoyed watching this. Great presentation. Cheers!
Well done! This video has earned you my subscription. I remember hearing about this runaway when it happened, but the news being the news doesn't give full coverage or follow-up. I worked on building Broadmeadows TAFE as it was then in 1984 as a First Year Apprentice Carpenter for Jennings Constructions and I can recall hearing the container freight trains hammering hard to climb the Glenroy bank to get through Broadmeadows and beyond, so it is little wonder that the runaway train set rapidly picked up speed there. All in all, we were very bloody lucky that we got out of this runaway as cheaply as we did with only a handful of minor injuries and hospitalisations. It could have been so much worse. The same event during Peak Hour or Football Traffic could have been a real disaster. I am surprised that they didn't try using the preceding train to slow and stop the runaway. As it was it almost caught it, so events might have made it happen anyway? Mark from Melbourne Australia
Can't believe I didn't know about this. I was 13 at the time and yet I have no memory of ever seeing anything about this. Loved the video, absolutely great work.
As someone who has read most of the report, I found this video very informative and you summed up the accident very well, adding more information than I previously knew about. Thanks for the great video Martin! I can't wait to see what else you upload in the future. The train also happened to turn 30 years old 16 days ago, only if it were still in service today (although it was the last Stage 1 set to be retired, 1 day after 331-1050-400M and was later transferred together)
I was 6, so obviously don't remember this (other side of town, and I was a *bit* distracted by the first week of school I imagine) but I remember first reading the wikipedia page a few years ago and thinking how it's a miracle no one died. thanks for covering this!
Holy crap man this is incredible. Thank you for all your research and production to tell this story. I’ll never complain about cancellations ever again, these drivers & signallers got to have one of the more stressful jobs going around!
So interesting! Great video. Your graphics showing crossovers/junctions/platforms are super informative and add a lot of context, they remind me of the graphics geoff marshall makes for his videos showing where old lines used to run etc
What a top story and so well detailed in explanation. There is so much to learn and improve from this video. Great for teaching Root Cause Analyis too Thanks very much.
This video a was team effort: I was greatly assisted by Alexander Jamieson, who modeled and produced a number of scenes for the video in Open Rails, the open-source version of Microsoft Train Simulator. Alexander was also heavily involved in discussing the event with me as I was writing the script. Check out his channel here: www.youtube.com/@melbournesparks3828
My brother Cian provided equipment and expertise for recording my voiceover, and he also makes a cameo appearance as the voice of Metrol. Check out his music here: hyperfollow.com/cianbennetmusic
All photographs and video (except the ones credited otherwise on screen) were taken by myself, and the North Melbourne/Spencer Street area diagram is my own drawing.
If you enjoyed this video, please consider supporting the channel on Patreon - you can get early access to videos, your name in the credits, and exclusive behind the scenes content: www.patreon.com/Taitset
*Also: The answer to a very frequently asked question:*
People keep asking: 'why couldn't they stop it by getting the driver of 5262 (the train in front) to match speed and allow it to couple/collide, then bring the whole thing to a stop?'
So, this is a very reasonable question: This is absolutely possible in theory, and it's exactly what they did with the very famous Crazy 8s runaway in the United States, which is what the film Unstoppable was based on. However in the case of this runaway, it just wasn't really possible. Firstly, the whole thing happened so fast there wasn't time to make complicated plans. 5262 was carrying about 40 passengers, so using it for badass manoeuvres wasn't really advisable. Nobody knew what speed the runaway was travelling at, so the driver would have had to judge it entirely visually - he would have had to do that by just looking in the mirror, remembering that the runaway was catching up with no headlights in the dark. We know that in reality the driver did spot the runaway approaching in the mirror, but that would have been a brief glimpse as it came around the curve, and visibility certainly couldn't be relied on at other spots. The line speed between Newmarket and North Melbourne is 65km/h, and we know the runaway was doing about 80, so it also would have involved driving significantly over-speed while attempting to make the catch. It also wasn't possible to get 5262 behind the runaway, because the last place you could do that was Essendon, and 5262 had already left there when Metrol knew about the situation. So, while it's kind of a fun thing to speculate on, it just wasn't going to happen in this case.
One final note: I was right to predict N463 would move onto a new career with a freight operator: it did so in March 2024, being leased to Southern Shorthaul Railroad, and running it's first grain train with them on the night of 16/3/24. You can watch some footage of that run here: ua-cam.com/video/Y1tCY-X-TB0/v-deo.htmlsi=VnHI_8ljf79abWXz
Is the M-Train available anywhere for download for open rails?
@@christoskastoras1799 Not at this stage, it would need a bit of work done to make it suitable for public release. I'll post it here if it ever happens though!
@@Taitset Much appreciated, It’s great to see some Melbourne Openrails making an appearance in 2023!
Why couldn’t 5264 crash into the stabled locomotive on Platform 5?
@@alexssydneytrainsfacts5819 It certainly could have, the route wasn't chosen on purpose at that stage.
"Gravity is an enthuiastic train driver" is an amazing thing to say.
Many people have learned how true that is the hard way.
I'm more concerned about how you don't notice it when you travel those lines, I only know the bit about the sydenham line because I've been the one asking questions on more than one occasion!
People, please ask questions, drivers don't bite, the job requires they be good with the public! I've talked with a few who loved to speak with people!
"But it doesn't know about red signals" 🧑🍳💋👌
Sydney bragging about having the first “Driverless Metros” 🙄.
Haha yeah we were way ahead of them!
@@Taitset first ever automatic metro system powered not by electricity, but gravity
@@hazel_slayzel Very good quick service - downhill only.
Amazing!
@@hazel_slayzel Just push it back up no issues.
Far out, that phone call is the most 'tell me your Aussie without telling me your Aussie' moment ever, bloody hilarious.
Yeah that was hilarious 😂😂
I didn’t fully grasp the hilarity of your comment until I heard the conversation. Absolutely 100% Australian! 😂😂😂. 😂😂
you're
greatest hand ball in history 😂
It's a reenactment by the narrator.
I was the train Examiner for the overland passenger train service to Adelaide that night.
I saw the runaway coming in at high-speed and colliding into the locomotive.
I’ll never forget what I heard and seen that day.
I was on the Adelaide platform waving goodbye to my relative who was sitting in the train when the collision happened. I remember my mother trying to communicate to our relative what had just happened, and then all the ambulances arriving
Found this video as a random recommendation.
In 2003 I was working at Spencer Street in the yards as a leading shunter, and had to clean all this up. I still have the photos.
We had to drag the Comeng out of Platform 2 back to the Bank Siding and store it out of sight in No. 27 road...no easy feat when it was so dramatically "out of gauge"; as your photos showed. A couple of dwarf signals needed to actually be removed to allow clearance, and the bloody thing derailed 4 times over the course of the snail crawl back to the Bank; as the train's bogies all had limited range of movement because of the damage.
Their original idea was to drag it all the way to the Newport Workshops, which should give you an idea of the panicked thought processes at work at the time.
That would have been more than a little impossible. 😂
A couple of points:
My mate "Steve" (not his real name) was in No.1 Box, and in the early stages of the Inquisition, was the prime scapegoat. We used to joke about it afterwards:
"How dare you get in the way of my bullet!"
Also, had 5264 ended up entering Platform 4...it would have impacted the 21:35 Geelong departure at approximately 85 km/h. A single sprinter, as you showed in the graphic.
The outcome would have been...memorable.
Excellent video.
Thanks for the PTSD. 😉
The Sprinter would have been crushed like a tin can
share them to Flickr?
Excellent video. Thank you. 👍
wow so many people related to the incident in the comments
"Oh really? And where am I going to put it?" and the "Righto" are so funny to me. I reckon I've had conversations like that with people, where you just have to accept it's all going downhill (no pun intended) from here.
Such an excellent video! The Trolley Problem coming to life was completely unexpected but quite funny, especially seeing the little look of concern on the signaler.
Classic Aussie respone, I thought the same thing.
You could just hear the "oh get F&%$ed" in his voice and the "I don't get paid enough for this".
I definitely laughed more than I should for something so serious.
HAHA Put it where the sun doesn't shine.
You've hit the big time Martin. None other than the legendary Tom Scott has recommended this video in pole position in his weekly newsletter! He has millions of followers. I'm so happy for you that it's going to be even more widely viewed. "So many video essays use other people's photos well outside the boundaries of fair use/fair dealing: it's a delight to see someone who's telling the story using original footage." Congrats to you & the team. Richly deserved.
I just woke up to this news this morning, very exciting!
I'll be honest, when this was randomly prompted for me I clicked, saw it was 24 minutes and thought "that's a bloody long time to talk about a train"... Well, I was wrong. That was amazing- funny, gripping and all managed without any blame, well done to you! I'm off to go and watch more of your videos now... 👍
Thankyou, glad you enjoyed it!
same
I honestly don't know how you do it.. you make by far THE BEST Melbourne transport videos! Ever since I found your channel, I've learnt so much about Melbournes train and tram network.
Incredible video! I very much enjoyed it! 😄
Thankyou 😀
There's honestly a wealth of transit videos at the moment, but yeah, very good.
Martin great video i was the leading shunter at Spencer st that night , i had just finished doing the shunt with the motorail some 30 minutes prior the train examiner had just finished brakes and the both of us were chatting to the crew when we heard a loud bang towards Dudley st and saw a large shower of sparks and saw the out of control spark heading our way i got on the radio and asked No.1 box what in the hell is that coming and he replied a runaway spark from Broady i asked where's it heading he said Platform 2 i said the Marsh is there and not far from departure the Yard master immediately contacted the driver to clear the cab i started running down platform 2 an got near the rear of the spark as it collided with the 2135 B marsh train where the glass just exploded i was told to check the spark just to make sure no one was on board
Wow, thanks for the extra info! Must have been pretty terrifying in the moment.
My attention span is about ten minutes, so I wasn't sure how this would go. About half way through, the phone rang, it was sent to voicemail, I didn't even look at the phone to see who it was, and I couldn't take my eyes off the big screen. This feels like one of the best told stories on UA-cam. On the edge of my seat, the out of control train hurtling down the gradient, with insufficient tools, no one aware of how quickly the pending doom is all happening. Thanks Martin et al, a terrific production, you should be very proud of yourselves.
Thanks you so much, glad you enjoyed it!
N463 was completely derailed, the only warning I had as the driver of 8141 was when I saw the sparks coming off the wheel as the spark was running completely dark as the power had been turned off shutting off all power to the set. The Head end power to the cars was shut down by the impact but the main engine kept running and it took me a while to work out how to shut it down as most of the circuit breakers had tripped in the cab and these controlled the shut down mechanism. $63 also has many scars within the drivers cab that are not readily visible to the traveling public. As an extra the engine within 463 shifted on its mounts cracking the water pump manifold which failed soon after the engine reentered service. This happened at Wallan on an Albury pass and yours truly was the Driver again. I hate 463 and the Albury line! Although this video was very confronting I feel you have done a great job of your coverage and presentation.
Wait, you were involved in this incident? Which bit was 8141?
@@RiffRaffMama. The 2135 Bachus Marsh
Thanks for the extra info, very interesting! Glad you made it through unscathed!
One of the key changes from the investigation is that the Comengs were modified so that moving the reverser to OFF (which is the only way a driver can remove their key) automatically puts the park brakes on along the whole train. So it's now impossible to forget to apply the park brakes when cutting out in a Comeng, which is the best possible way to prevent this situation from recurring!
@@HnegbztjbxwqV Well, true. Impossible under normal conditions then.
This video brings back so many memories! I was living in Kensington and was walking around the corner of Macaulay Road and Bellair St when this train flew through the station at what looked like 100 km/h. I never saw that the headlights weren’t on, but I saw the doors open and immediately knew that it wasn’t being controlled. From memory I’m pretty sure that the boom gates were closed.
Wow, can’t believe that happened 20 years ago. Time has flown.
Amazing!
The Trolley Problem illustrations for number 1 box was a stoke of genius, funniest part of the video (so far!)
the part where you say that the whole experience only took 11 minutes which was longer than the video was really crazy to hear and puts it into perspective how little time they had. amazing video 👏
What a fantastic story you weaved. Well conceived and executed.
This should be shown on public television. Most Melburnians would be astounded and enthralled. Extremely well done.
Agreed!
First time hearing the full story even though I heard about it when it happened in 2003. The narrator did a fantastic job, I was definitely on the edge of my seat and glued to the phone even though it's 5am AUS Eastern Time 😅
All this story it is on goggle
Driver left doors open light on ,
No passenger on the train lucky,
Left brake on he went to the toilet
When he come back train left with out him
Stopped right on destination after collide with another country train
All good no one injury just 4 from the other train that was wait at the Spencer station to stop the running way train
Was on the way to Dimboola that night. My mate called shift support when we went through Pyrenees loop and they told him what happened. Neither of us could believe it.
Apparently the driver on the Overland saw it and wondered why there was a spark coming in.
Considering how serious this runaway and crash was, and how badly it could have ended, I remember being surprised at the time how quickly it all seemed to be brushed under the carpet, even after the accident report was released. Incredibly great job here Martin and Team.
No surprises, the probability for loss of life seems very high given the failures, misunderstandings and complete lack of management by those in charge. They got incredibly lucky that things happened the way they did and so no wonder when looking through how much they royally stuffed up that they would want to brush it away and move on. heres hoping they at least have improved their process alot since then.
I actually have no recollection of this event at all despite living in Melbourne and being in my 30s at the time.
@@tw25rw_ yes - my point entirely! Was in and out of the news cycle suspiciously fast
The dialogue between Signal Box 1 and Metrol cracks me up. Perfectly displays the nonchalant and care free attitude of Australians even against the worst of adversaries. Glad no one lost their lives after this incident.
Times have changed, it's not really like that in Melbourne now
@@chrispekel5709 pretty sure it is from what I can see.
I was standing at the Adelaide platform when this collision happened. I was 7 years old at the time. Randomly I went down a spiral of research after I was on the train today and a young girl made a comment about trains never crashing, and I thought what ever happened to the two trains I saw colliding at Spencer St station all those years ago. Great video!
Thankyou! Must have been a pretty wild thing to see at that age!
This was a thrilling video. I remember this from February 2003 when I was actually living at Moonee Ponds. The train would have rolled through 150m from where I was living. I had not realised this could have been so much worse, the write up in The Age the next day almost made light of it.
exactly, the media made light of the incident at the time, despite the fact it reached a top speed of 120km/h between Pascoe Vale and Strathmore stations.
Agreed. I remember this incident being reported on the news the next day but only now do I realise how serious it was. Astonishing that drivers and passengers weren't evacuated from all country platforms at Spencer st. This was video was a bit like an air crash investigation episode. It's only by pure luck that nobody was killed.
Mate without question the best video you've made to date. You've got a real knack for storytelling. I loved "Gravity is an enthusiastic train driver" 😂
Haha thankyou, glad you enjoyed it!
I particularly enjoyed “accelerated with enthusiasm”
I used to have to travel nightly or on weekends on the broady line to moonee ponds for work. (I worked at the time after hours and weekends). I remembered reading about this on the newspapers and seeing this on the news the following day, then worked out that the train i usually take after work nightly to head back into the city (departing Moonee Ponds about 9:20pm) and change trains for home turned out to be the 5262 train described here in front of the runaway, and I was on board that on the evening of this crash. I somehow recall at the time we were diverted up the Kensington bridge heading to North Melbourne towards the through surburban platfoirms, and I remember we bounced off the seats from going through the Kensington points that fast. I didn't remember seeing the runaway flying down the tracks below on the main broady line as it was pitch black outside save for maybe some flood lights at the Kensington flour mill.
I didn't think i noticed anything untoward upon reaching Spencer st either not that i was looking for anything there at the time. Oh how much of a nasty surprise once i saw the pictures of N463 and 394M the following day!
YES! Its finally here! This is probably one of the best videos youve made, i remember reading the wikipedia article a bit after hearing about the accident, and it might have been one of the most thrilling wikipedia articles i have ever read. It is so sad that 394M was scrapped though, it would have been great to have in a museum.
Yes I thought the same thing, would have made a great exhibit!
Couldn't have that one in a museum, what if it escaped again?!
I would have put 301M in the Newport Rail Museum
@@aidanthomas2510 Yes that would have been another good option.
Excellent video. Thankyou. As a current TC I find it somewhat frustrating that 20 years later Metrol still has "dark territory" where there is no indication of a train's position available to those in control of a line. One of the ATSB's recommendations was that dark territory be eliminated from the train control area. Even though some progress is occurring in this matter, train controllers are expected to control lines with intensive services within dark territory. Dark territory areas exist beyond Camberwell, Darling, Yarraville, Cheltenham, Oakleigh and ironically Essendon.
On the first day of Metros operation of their new franchise I was on night shift when the new execs arrived so they could see the first movement of a Metro service which was the first up Frankston a little after 0400. I was asked which screen they would be able to observe the departure on, they seemed a little confused when I stated none, they then asked where the first visible place would be, I stated that if I reconfigured the screens I had, Moorabbin was possible. Needless to say the look of what the hell have we got involved with here came to mind.
Frustration sets in when I can observe planes landing at Heathrow, ship transiting the Suez Canal, where my friends are sitting at the AFL Grand Final at the MCG but only theoretically know where are train should be if I have kept my paper train control graph up to date.
Without getting too bogged down in politics very little has changed over the time of privatisation. This problem is in the too hard basket as Metro is only an operator using infrastructure provided by the government. Therefore the old blame game still exists.
I hope this little rant may be of interest to some and shows a side of train control some may be unaware of.
Thanks for those insights, very interesting!
Excellent video @Taitset. Blimey!
What's more disturbing though is @bigbloke7691's talk about "dark territory". Still! Really? I can just imagine in the next incident investigation someone having to say "well my piece of paper says the train should have been here.".
Your telling us a $20 GPS sender is not on EVERY train ?
WTF
I started working for M>Train in 2003. This unit was being repaired at Newport in the loco shop by EDI, and when it was ready to re-enter service I got the job to do the brake test for it. Made a change from Siemens!
I was also involved, a year or 2 later, in specifying, testing and fitting up the automatic spring park brakes (which was done at the same time as the automatic headlights and a few other mods).
Later on I worked with the Metrol controller on the night and had a few interesting conversations with him about it.
Finally, no more people tormenting me for that crappy video I made all those years ago...
TREMENDOUS work here Martin! Another great documentary as always.
Haha thankyou
"gravity is an enthusiastic train driver" is a beautiful turn of phrase.
“Direct connection to Bacchus Marsh” 😜
Well done to you and your helpers on an excellent and quite a high production video! You told the story well and without afflicting direct finger pointing!
Not often a UA-cam video has me at the edge of my seat with the near mating of trains at North Melbourne!
It was an especially thrilling near-mating! Glad someone noticed the billboard - the Bacchus Marsh bit was Alexander's idea.
It's also a classic case of how disasters usually happen, a chain of events of varying degrees of severity leading to a catastrophic outcome. Also how sometimes it's just dumb luck, like train construction, that prevents things from being worse. Thank goodness it wasn't and that the rules around parking brakes were changed.
One of the most thrilling and fascinating videos I've ever seen, thanks Taitset and everyone else involved
where was that text?
I didn't know about this incident untill now. A great video!
My wife doesn't recall it, and I wasn't living here to hear about it.
@@danielbroadbridge886 3:08 on the billboard on top of the station building
I was 8 at the time this happened so I was on the edge of my seat for this story! Absolutely wild, i hope you come out with more stories like this. It was like a train campfire tale except it very much happened.
Wow! That was an incredible watch, and one of the most thrilling videos I've ever seen. I've never really read or heard about any runaway train stories before so it was fascinating to learn how the situation came together and how it was resolved.
Words fail me. I actually watched this last night whilst travelling on a train (Mernda - up line). An absolute masterpiece. Will definitely give it another viewing. This is your best yet. Congratulations.
Thankyou, glad you enjoyed it!
This is an incredibly fascinating story, and can I just say - an absolutely gripping video. I've really enjoyed your videos Taitset. You have a superbly confident yet laid back vocal delivery that makes your videos so engaging. I hope that your work is as soulfully and energetically rewarding as it is for the viewer. Kudos to you and your super work!
Thankyou so much, I do enjoy making these. 😀
loved the voiceover, spot on impressions done there. ashame that comeng didn't get a stage 2 upgrade at the least so it could stick around that bit longer
it's quite remarkable how casual they were about this whole thing, your videos are very well put as always!
Wow, this makes me think of the 'swiss cheese model' used in accident/hazard prevention... but it's more line one giant aligned hole. There were virtually no measures to minimise or stop the train under these particular circumstances. We're very fortunate that no one was seriously injured. Thank you for the video!
I couldn't remember this being news (I mean I was only 11 at the time but still) so my assumption right up until you described the impact was that somehow they found a way to stop the train safely. Thrilling to watch, excellent storytelling. You've raised the bar yet again
I live alongside the tracks in between strathmore and pascoe vale station on the same side as the city bound line from broadmeadows to the city, the tracks are literally a stones throw away from me. I was outside in the backyard that night and I had heard a train approaching at a tremendous speed however i had noticed that i couldnt see the usual headlights that would usually light up my backyard as the trains go past.
I can confirm that this train thundered past at atleast 2 - 3 times the usual 50kmph speed they usually do without a single light on. I also read an article in the paper that the train had planned to roll the train around the city loop back up to broadmeadows but obviously this didnt happen. Scary stuff. Good video. thanks
Crikey, you brought back a lot of memories for me. At this time; I was a Senior Forensic Investigator with the PTC, and remember going out to Spencer Street; to photograph the Comeng and the
N Class Loco, that was struck by the Comeng. Your report was fairly accurate. That was 20 years ago. How fast time flies. I also remember carrying out the investigation into the Swan Hill N Class train collision, with a semi Trailer, the collision of a V/Line VLocity and a truck carrying a large granite boulder. The accident occurred at Trawalla, 2006.\
On 28 April 2006 a V/Line VLocity train running an Ararat to Ballarat service, struck the trailer of a truck transporting a 14-tonne block of granite, at a passively-protected level crossing. The accident led to the death of two people (Train Driver & a passenger) and injuries to 28 passengers.
I also attend to the Steam Locomotive K183 which collided with a truck at Benalla. K183 was carrying a wedding party when it was involved in a fatal level crossing collision on the 13th of October 2002 in Benalla. I took heaps of photos of that beautiful old Loco.
I couldn't understand why I'd never heard of this... thank you for mentioning the waterfall derailment, that explains it. Absolutely fantastic video!
Great video, I remember this incident being all over the news at the time.
It's sheer luck that nobody was killed or seriously injured that night when you think of all the various possibilities such as passengers being on the train or collisions at level crossings etc.
I was also shocked that 394M was actually repaired and returned to service. With such severe damage I thought it would be scrapped for sure.
It goes to show just how well the Comengs were built. If this was a Hitachi involved it would have folded up like an accordion.
Like 10 June 1975 at Frankston. B69 hauling an up Long Island goods collided with 27M, an Hitachi. The Hitachi bent like a hockey stick.
@@railtrolley Yes, and Syndal 1989 comes to mind too!
"While Gravity as an inthusiastic Train driver it dioesnt know about red signals" now that line is just Great
Excellent video. The phone call reenactment was gold.
That was SO good. Such a compelling watch and listen. I only moved to Melbourne in July 2003 and amazingly had never heard about this incident until now. You have a definite gift for storytelling.
Used to use this line every day - mind boggling a train can roll all the way into the city, and faster than a regular service, and a very lucky outcome!
Brilliant, im going to share this one around! The comms amongst the signalman/controllers was absolutely hysterical!
This video gave me chills and had me getting all teary at points, absolutely insane and high quality video. Really knocked it out of the park!
Ummm you should probably seek some professional help regarding your emotions 😂
11:30 I am hoping that gravity pun was an intended, cause it was hilarious. Such a good video! I'll have to check out the rest of them.
Haha, it wasn't intended when I wrote it, but then when I was editing I realised!
A great video of actual events. I'm a retired "Steamer" Pt Kembla blast furnaces, 5 ladels in front and 5 in the back 100 tons of slag. Had a slide backwards down the cutting as it was very greasy one particular day. I was showing a new driver how to "Clear the Piston" and he put it in full reverse, we stopped short of the points redirecting us into the workshop where 30-40 blokes would have had a warm bath of molten slag. Watching your video I could almost feel what the driver would have felt, almost. It could have been much worse.
When you open the Brake Valve Isolating Cock and Switch to access the Passenger Information Display (PIDS) this actions starts charging the Brake Pipe and you don’t need a fully charged brake pipe for the brakes to release, it’s designed for this to happen. Traction Motor windings are heavy and filled with grease, so it can take time to get momentum going. It was possible for a driver to forget to apply the Train lined Park Brake at the time because there was not an “Automatic” feature. Very fortunate (plus some luck) that no one was injured. Very informative Vlog. Cheers.
Ya gotta love that beautiful Aussie conversation with the controller in the North Melbourne signal box. Loved this video.
Awesome topic for a video, I read the report of this incident recently for the first time and it's amazing how things could've been so much worse, and also goes to show the flaws in the then operating system across the network.
Can’t believe that was 20 years back. I remember watching this on the news. 😲
A terrific summary of the incident, your videos are definitely must see viewing for any rail fans out there.
Fantastic vid as always
Glad you enjoyed it 😊
Honestly that was the best video you made so far. The reenactment scenes along with the detail just made this video ten times better. Keep it up Taitset, can't wait for the next video ✌
Great video! This runaway reminds me of a similar accident in Jakarta, where a local EMU which was supposed to be parked in depot rolled all the way from Bogor station to Manggarai station, fortunately it caused no casualties, as the train stopped itself at the incline to Cikini station, and it was so early in morning there weren't any local train running yet. But it sparked the urban legend of "Manggarai Ghost Train", wherein several people claimed to have seen a very old local train with none or even ghost passengers come and go at a blink of their eyes in several stations.
Wow, that's very interesting!
@@Taitset it is indeed! Curiously, no one seems to really know what's the cause of the runaway. People have generally concluded that it was a parking brake failure, but there's never been an official report as to why it happened.
Oh and the myth has been mostly debunked by the fact that the Commuter Line now runs until very late night, around 1-2AM. The urband legend existed at the time where local train operations regularly stopped at 11PM.
Brilliant video. So fortunate that nobody was killed. This could have had much more serious consequences. On a lighter note, I liked your observation that "gravity is an enthusiastic train driver."
Great video mate! I couldn't take my eyes off it. The thought of a 120km/h train tearing through Essendon area would be terrifying and the take-aways are very interesting! Very well presented. It was so engaging and even the wholesome touch at the end where both locomotives were repaired and continued service was a very good addition.
Wow. Ive been using the Broady/Craigieburn line for approx 4x decades and had no idea about this incident. Excellent detailing of the incident and attention to detail. Tx for sharing!
i already know this but not all of it, real informational content
Such a great job with the video. Thanks a lot. Side note: all Comeng and Hitachi got an “automatic park brake” modification after this incident. It basically applies the park brake automatically when the driver cuts out the cab.
I worked on that mod. The biggest mistake we made was only ordering enough for the Comeng and some spares - Hitachis were busily being scrapped and planned to be all gone soon. Which meant we were about 6 short when the decision was made to fit the Hitachis up, and a minimum order quantity of 50.
No surprise. Poor planning and waste is part and parcel with Melbourne trains. @@attilathehundownunder5719
An excellent production with an outstanding script and really good visuals, well done, Martin. Seeing you and Alexander working together again made me smile, getting the MSTS band back together! Thanks for your work.
Thanks a lot Matt, glad you enjoyed it!
That trolley problem slide had me laughing my ass off for a solid minute, 10/10
This is an absolutely engrossing and exciting video, where clearly a huge amount of research and time was put into creating such superb content!! My god you deserve about a million times more recognition, thank you for your priceless education and entertainment Taitset!!!
Thankyou, very glad you enjoyed it!
@@TaitsetI think I’ve watched it 3 times already😂
This is one of those videos I wish I could go back and watch it for the first time again and again!
I don't know why this was recommended to me or why I clicked on it, but I'm glad I did.
This is the first of your videos I've seen and I will that was excellently written, narrated and illustrated. This was at least as good as a Plainly Difficult train crash video and John is very good indeed. You deserve a much larger audience, well done.
Sharing this everywhere. Can't believe I hadn't heard of it. Great stuff!
This was one of the best videos I've watched lately - you've brilliantly brought to life a drab ATSB report into storytelling that had me hooked until the finale!
Your script and timing was so good that I experienced this thrill - in complete silence!! (My 2 year old daughter is asleep, so I watched this whole thing merely by the subtitles!).
Fantastic work by you and your team (I loved the Open Rails scenes too, they were an excellent addition).
Cheers =)
Thankyou, glad you enjoyed it!
Now I kinda wanna hear you talk about the Siemens trains' brake problems. This video is certainly one railway accident story I can enjoy listening to, and probably the only one right now that isn't from Well There's Your Problem.
Yeah it would be cool if WTYP could cover this!
Great Stuff . Very informative & Concise. I don’t remember this incident but will now.
I’m a Victorian but interstate at the time. Only have a vague recollection. You’ve told the story brilliantly. Quite gripping to watch and so well explained. Congratulations.
Very informative. I love the junction diagrams, as well as Alexander's animations.
I just had to comment my appreciation for the concise and entertainingly informative content. Top tier.
I sent this video to my brother because he likes air crash investigators. He absolutely loved this video.
Like Mentor Pilot, right? Same here...
Great video. I opened up UA-cam this evening thinking "I wish I hadn't already watched all of Taitset's videos"... and the Universe cooperated.
Outstanding job. Thanks for sharing.
What a story. Thanks for a wonderful piece of Melbourne railway history.
Fantastic reporting, these NEEEEEDS to be made into a short film
Thank you so much for making this video! I'm always curious about train crashes and derailments, so I really enjoyed this.
This was an excellently produced reconstruction of the events, really top notch. I was particularly impressed by the time reminder and timeline of the event, really throwing the emphasis on just how quickly this happened, and how short of a time there was for decision making for the best outcome. Perhaps that lack of time (for complex plans) worked in this situation's favour, as slamming into the stationary country locomotive would have been the least amount of damage and potential injuries. Slamming into the buffers at the platform end (without locomotive) would have resulted in much more train or train parts flying into the concourse at Spencer Street, potentially injuring or killing more people. Hopefully those that were hospitalised did quickly recover from their injuries. Thank goodness the locomotive crew managed to exit before impact.
The only real 'fault' I could identify from the incident, was the lack of alarm/urgency by the communications, even though there was so little time to plan contingencies, it did not seem that those involved really conveyed that they had such a seriously-fast uncontrolled train on the line. Perhaps because such situations are rare, along the lines of 'once in a lifetime' events.
Although I was a youngster at the time, I did see the result of the Southern Aurora crash in 1969. That was so bad.
Oddly enough I think I read that ATSB report a couple of months ago. I'd seen a reference to the Broadmeadows Runaway on a website that didn't go into any detail, so I went digging for the info. In any case, I have to say I really enjoyed watching this. Great presentation. Cheers!
very good, also liked the quick shoot of A62
This was amazing. Very well told. What a great story.
Can’t believe I’d never heard of this one. Thanks for the upload, mate. Great vid!
Well done! This video has earned you my subscription. I remember hearing about this runaway when it happened, but the news being the news doesn't give full coverage or follow-up. I worked on building Broadmeadows TAFE as it was then in 1984 as a First Year Apprentice Carpenter for Jennings Constructions and I can recall hearing the container freight trains hammering hard to climb the Glenroy bank to get through Broadmeadows and beyond, so it is little wonder that the runaway train set rapidly picked up speed there. All in all, we were very bloody lucky that we got out of this runaway as cheaply as we did with only a handful of minor injuries and hospitalisations. It could have been so much worse. The same event during Peak Hour or Football Traffic could have been a real disaster. I am surprised that they didn't try using the preceding train to slow and stop the runaway. As it was it almost caught it, so events might have made it happen anyway?
Mark from Melbourne Australia
What an awesome and informative video. Never heard of this case before
This was wild!!! So many failures but luckily no one was seriously injured. Great Video!
Can't believe I didn't know about this. I was 13 at the time and yet I have no memory of ever seeing anything about this. Loved the video, absolutely great work.
I was half adult and I do not remember this either 😳
Your video narration was casual and captivating. I was rivetted. Fantastic video!
Amazing video as always, you're my source for most of the train knowledge I acquire :D
This is the best video you've made yet
Amazing video! Best 24 minutes I've spent all week
As someone who has read most of the report, I found this video very informative and you summed up the accident very well, adding more information than I previously knew about.
Thanks for the great video Martin! I can't wait to see what else you upload in the future.
The train also happened to turn 30 years old 16 days ago, only if it were still in service today (although it was the last Stage 1 set to be retired, 1 day after 331-1050-400M and was later transferred together)
I think you mean 40 years old
I was 6, so obviously don't remember this (other side of town, and I was a *bit* distracted by the first week of school I imagine) but I remember first reading the wikipedia page a few years ago and thinking how it's a miracle no one died. thanks for covering this!
Holy crap man this is incredible. Thank you for all your research and production to tell this story.
I’ll never complain about cancellations ever again, these drivers & signallers got to have one of the more stressful jobs going around!
So interesting! Great video.
Your graphics showing crossovers/junctions/platforms are super informative and add a lot of context, they remind me of the graphics geoff marshall makes for his videos showing where old lines used to run etc
What a top story and so well detailed in explanation. There is so much to learn and improve from this video. Great for teaching Root Cause Analyis too Thanks very much.
Your comment at the end about the Waterfall disaster would explain why we didn't hear about this incident in Adelaide. Another interesting video!