Charing Cross roof collapse
{{short description|1905 railway station disaster in London}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2017}}
File:Charing-cross-station-iln-p164-13-feb-1864.jpg nearing completion in 1864, showing the western sidewall and arched ironwork at the river end that collapsed in 1905]]
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
The roof was designed by Sir John Hawkshaw and comprised a single-span trussed arch with wrought iron tie rods. The roof was {{convert|164|ft|m}} wide and {{convert|510|ft|m}} long and was designed as a contained arch, with bowstring principals.{{cite book |last=Pringle |first=J. W. |url=http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/BoT_CharingCross1905.pdf |title=South Eastern and Chatham Railway |date=25 March 1906 |publisher=Railway Department, Board of Trade |access-date=7 June 2020}}
Collapse
At around {{nowrap|3:30 pm}} on 5 December 1905, one of the tie-rods of a main principal sheared, making a loud noise. Some passengers evacuated the station, although many remained.
At about {{nowrap|3:42 pm}}, two complete roof bays (about {{convert|77|ft|m}}) fell onto the platforms and rails, and the western wall collapsed outwards on to the adjacent Royal Avenue Theatre (now the Playhouse Theatre), which was being reconstructed.{{cite book |last1=Earl |first1=J. |last2=Sell |first2=M. |title=A Guide to British Theatres 1750–1950 |publisher=Theatres Trust |year=2000 |isbn=0-7136-5688-3}} 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.
The apparent collapse of the roof was due to the structural failure of a flawed piece of ironwork.{{cite book |last=Jackson |first=A. A. |title=London's Termini |publisher=David and Charles |year=1969 |isbn=0-330-02747-6}} The roof had also been heavily loaded with scaffolding and materials just before the final collapse.
Casualties and fatalities
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.{{cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1905/12/06/101424405.pdf |title=London Station Roof Drops |work=The New York Times |date=6 December 1905 |access-date=7 June 2020}}
Eight other workmen were seriously injured and taken to hospital and nineteen others suffered minor injuries.
Aftermath
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.{{cite web |url=http://www.semgonline.com/structures/struct_33.html |title=Railway Structures: Charing Cross Bridge |publisher=Southern Railway Email Group |date=28 April 2012 |access-date=7 June 2020}} 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.{{cite book |last=Badsey-Ellis |first=Antony |title=Building London's Underground: From Cut-and Cover to Crossrail |year=2016 |publisher=Capital Transport |isbn=978-1-8541-4397-6 |pages=126–127}}{{cite book |last=Horne |first=Mike |title=The Northern Line: An Illustrated History |publisher=Capital Transport |year=2009 |orig-year=1990 |edition=3rd |isbn=978-1-85414-326-6 |page=22}}
The Charing Cross roof was replaced by a utilitarian post and girder structure supporting a ridge and furrow roof. 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.{{cn|date=January 2020}}
References
{{Railway accidents in the United Kingdom, 1900–1999|state=collapsed}}
{{1900s railway accidents}}
{{London rail accidents}}
{{coord |51|30|26|N|0|7|25|W|type:event_region:GB-WSM|display=title}}
Category:Railway accidents and incidents in London
Category:Railway accidents in 1905
Category:1905 disasters in the United Kingdom
Category:1900s in the City of Westminster
Category:Building and structure collapses in the United Kingdom