The rail transport in the island state of Tasmania, Australia has had many train accidents since its historic opening in 1871. The following is a list of train related accidents that have occurred on Tasmania's rail network.
Fatal accidents
Campbell Town, 1874 On 17 October 1874, a stonemason aged about 35 years was fatally injured when he was struck by the step of a ballast engine fracturing his skull. The man was asleep on the railway line approximately from Campbell Town and presumably raised his head as the truck passed him. The man who was originally from Alloa in Scotland died from his injuries in the Campbell Town hospital seven days later.
Campania, 1875 On 20 January 1875 at 11:00am, a 25 year old workman received severe injuries to his legs when a train engine with nine trucks and a tender laden with rails and sleepers lost control and ran off the rails on the Main Line about from Campania. It was the man's first day of employment on the railways. The other men on the trucks jumped clear of the train except for the injured man who was in the tender filled with rails and another man in the rear truck who was uninjured. Four other men were injured as a result of the accident. The engine brakes failed as the train was travelling down an incline. The man died from blood poisoning as a result of his injuries 67 days later.
Campania, 1875 On 23 March 1875, a railway employee aged about 44 years was killed while acting as a guard on a train travelling on the Main Line from the Jordan River to Campania. The train was loaded with ballast when the engine lost control whilst descending on an inclined curve due to grease being on the rails. A coupling bar broke spilling ballast into the tracks causing the wagons to run off the line. The man was thrown from the second last wagon and killed.
Campania, 1875 On 13 April 1875, an inspector of the permanent way was killed when he was thrown from a wagon that toppled over a bank and was crushed. The train of six wagons laden with sleepers had left Bridgewater for Campania. The brakes were applied prior to descending an incline near Campania but the brakes failed to act due to the dampness of the rails and the train derailed when rushing around a sharp curve. The train guard was also thrown out but received only minor injuries. This was the third fatality to occur in the same location in three months. Both the inspector and train guard were on the train involved in the first of those fatal accidents on the 20 January 1875.
Rosetta, 1877 On 31 March 1877 at 8:15am, a woman aged about 60 years was killed when she was struck by the cow-catcher of the express train as it approached Rosetta Cottage crossing near O’Brien's Bridge. The woman was carried along the rails and thrown off the track. The express was travelling on the Main Line from Hobart when the accident occurred.
Rhyndaston, 1877 On 9 April 1877, a man was killed when he fell from a trolley that he was operating on the Main Line at Flat Top.
Montrose, 1877 On 10 November 1877, a woman aged about 65 years was killed when she was struck by a train on the Main Line sometime in the evening. The woman was last seen alive when she got out of the Hobart train at O’Brien's Bridge station at 5:20pm very much under the influence of drink. Her body was discovered at 8:30am the following day from the station.
Hobart, 1878 On 13 February 1878 at approximately 5:00pm, a 14-year-old boy was fatally injured when he was run over after falling onto the rail tracks between two wagons that were being pulled by a train on the Main Line. The boy was returning to Hobart from the first day of the Elwick races seated in an open wagon. The accident occurred on the approach to the Hobart railway station near the slaughter yards. The boy claimed to have been pushed off the wagon by a man although it was highly likely that he was bumped by another passenger when the train suddenly jerked coming into the station. The boy was transferred to the General Hospital but died from his injuries very soon after arrival.
Brighton, 1878 On 7 August 1878 at approximately 6:00pm, a gauger from Brighton Plains employed on the Main Line Railway was seriously injured while in charge of a trolley on the Main Line approximately from Jordan Bridge. The man and two other railway employees were returning home on the trolley down an incline when a wooden sleeper that was being carried fell and caught in the front wheel of the trolley. The two front wheels and axle separated from the body of the truck, the man was thrown onto the rails, and the flange of a trolley wheel passed over his abdomen. The man died from peritonitis at approximately 5:00pm the following day.
Evandale, 1878 On 19 September 1878, a coachbuilder from Launceston was fatally injured while attempting to jump on the express train to Hobart at the Evandale station while it was starting in motion. The man was thrown off his feet by the motion of the train and fell between the carriages. The wheels of two carriages and a van passed over him severing his legs. The man died from his injuries 20 minutes later.
Launceston, 1878 On 19 December 1878 at approximately 8:10am, a 28 year old engine cleaner was killed while cleaning the mail train from Hobart Town at the Launceston station on the Main Line. The man was in the pit of the turntable under the engine coupling it with the tender. The man then attempted to exit the pit by crawling out between the hind wheel of the engine and the front wheel of the tender when the engine suddenly moved backwards crushing him on the iron rail.
Exton, 1885 On 6 April 1885 at approximately 7:16pm, an overseer aged about 48 years and his horse were killed by the Launceston to Deloraine down train midway between Exton and Deloraine. It was surmised that the man fell asleep on the horse while drunk and that by some unknown means the horse entered the railway gates, and while walking uncontrolled along the Launceston & Western Railway line was overtaken by the train and run over.
Deloraine, 1886 On 17 March 1886 at approximately 8:49am, a 73-year-old man from Arms-of-Creek was killed when he was run over by a train travelling along the Western Railway from the Mersey. The man was heading towards the river bank when he crossed the railway line about from the Roman Catholic church in Deloraine.
Brighton, 1886 On 29 June 1886 at 10:27pm, a special excursion train on the Main Line returning with visitors that attended the opening ceremony of the Fingal Railway ran off the rails while turning the six chain curves between Campania and Brighton. Train driver John Bradshaw and fireman Joseph Rogers were killed when they were thrown from the engine and the tender landed upon them. Among the injured passengers were the Tasmanian Premier, Dr. James W. Agnew, the Attorney-General John S. Dodds, and the Treasurer William H. Burgess.
Avoca, 1886 On 13 July 1886 at approximately 3:35pm, the company manager of the Fingal Line was killed when a ballast engine with a long string of trucks ran off the rails at the points on the Fingal side of the Avoca train station. It was supposed that the man slipped while jumping off the engine and the wheel of the truck passed over his head killing him instantly. Another man and his wife who were in an overturned truck were also injured. There were approximately 40 people on the train at the time but no one else was injured.
Bridgewater, 1886 On 22 July 1886, an express train on the Main Line from Launceston to Hobart overturned whilst crossing the viaduct at Bridgewater after the unsecured swing bridge opened. The accident resulted in the drowning deaths of fireman William Shaw and second class passenger Daniel Turner.
Perth, 1887 On 23 June 1887 at approximately 7:00am, the body of a middle aged man was found in a table drain alongside the railway line at Jordan's Cutting on the Evandale side of Perth. It was surmised that the man was struck in the head by the cow-catcher of the 4:30pm up train, dragged a short distance, and then thrown into the drain.
Launceston, 1888 On 19 January 1888 at approximately 4:50pm, a 12-year-old boy was killed when he was run over by a ballast train leaving the Launceston & Western Line railway station on the Scottsdale line near Evans's soap works in Launceston. The boy was in the company of two other boys when he attempted to run across the line when the trucks struck him.
Perth, 1888 On 30 January 1888 at approximately 1:30pm, a porter aged about 19 years was killed while unhooking some wagons at the Perth railway station. The young man had got under the buffer before the train from Launceston had come to a complete standstill and he was either knocked down or fell on to the rails and was run over.
Antill Ponds, 1888 On 4 September 1888, a young ganger from Glenorchy was killed on the Main Line south of Antill Ponds. The man had walked up the line towards Tin Dish to examine the fishplates and bolts which connect the rails when a train came around a curve and he was struck on the head by the cow-catcher. It was surmised that the man must have been stooping down screwing up a nut when the collision occurred. The wind was blowing very hard at the time and this may account for his not hearing the noise of the train.
Upper Piper, 1889 On 27 February 1889, a 16-year-old boy employed as a guard on the train from Launceston to the entrance of the tunnel was killed on the Scottsdale railway line when he fell off a truck load of gravel from the moving train in the yard of the Upper Piper station. The trucks of the train had passed over his leg and he was severely injured. He was transported to the Launceston terminus by train and then by stretcher to the hospital where he died from his injuries. It was supposed that the boy had fallen between the trucks while attempting to lift the brakes.
Formby, 1889 On 13 April 1889, a man was killed when he was knocked down and injured by a railway truck near the Formby railway station.
Macquarie Plains, 1889 On 2 November 1889, a railway labourer from Glenora employed on the Derwent Valley line was discovered badly injured after being run over by a light engine and tender travelling from Glenora to Macquarie Plains. The man was walking home along the line in a state of intoxication when one of his boot heels jammed between the main rail and the wooden check rail near the No. 3 Bridge. The man's foot was severed above the ankle. He was conveyed by a trolley to the New Norfolk Cottage Hospital for treatment before dying from his injuries en route to the Hobart Hospital the following morning.
South Bridgewater, 1890 On 30 July 1890, the guard on the down midland train was seriously injured in a shunting accident at South Bridgewater. Two trucks were being shunted from the down midland when the guard put his hand on one of the trucks. His foot became caught in the stop and the block turned him around. It was supposed that man was attempting to jump on the moving train at the time. The guard died from his injuries shortly after midnight the following day.
Risdon, 1891 On 10 March 1891 at approximately 10:30am, a man aged about 38 years was killed by the ordinary train from Hobart at the Risdon railway station. The man was attempting to board the train from the platform while it was in motion and fell on to the rails between the carriages with the wheels passing over his body.
Hobart, 1891 On 27 April 1891 at approximately 3:00pm, a ballast pit employee received internal injuries in a shunting accident at Hobart railway station. The man had positioned himself between two of the trucks to couple them when the engine returned sending the trucks together jamming the man between the buffers. The man died from his injuries in hospital two days later.
Strahan, 1891