Ciurea rail disaster

The Ciurea rail disaster occurred on 13 January 1917, at Ciurea station, Romania, a station with passing loop on the railway line from Iaşi to Bârlad. Between 600^[1] and 1,000^[2] passengers were killed in a derailment and subsequent fire.^[3]

Approaching Ciurea from Bârlad the line descends a steep bank some 10 miles in length between Bârnova and Ciurea, the gradient being a slope of 1 in 40^[3] increasing to 1 in 15 (6.7%) in places.^[1] At 1 PM a train of 26 carriages headed by two locomotives^[3], loaded with wounded Russian soldiers^[3] and refugees fleeing from the advance of von Mackensen's troops, left Bârnova.^[2] Passengers were crowded on the carriage roofs and between the carriages above the buffers.^[4] When the train was moving a soldier closed the Westinghouse train pipe cock, rendering the train brakes inoperative.^[4] The connecting brake pipes between the carriages were damaged by passengers stepping on them.^[3] As the train began to descend the bank the drivers found the Westinghouse brake inoperative, and were unable to apply the brakes on the carriages. The braking power of the two engines was insufficient to slow the train^[3], which accelerated quickly.^[4] Despite throwing the locomotives into reverse, and operating the sanding equipment to increase the grip of the locomotives' wheels on the track the train crews were unable to slow the train.^[3] The straight line at the foot of the bank at Ciurea station was occupied by a second train,^[4] and the runaway train was switched to the right^[2] into the loop at high speed.^[4] The train derailed, only 2 of the 26 carriages remaining on the line,^[2] and caught fire burning down to a pile of twisted ironwork.^[4]

Citations

1. ^ ^{a b} Marx, Lawson Billinton p. 81
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Botez, Epopeea Feroviară Românească
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Wolmar, Engines Of War p.219
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Marx, Lawson Billinton p. 83

References

• Botez, Constantin (1977). Epopeea Feroviară Românească. Bucureşti, Rumania: Editura Sport-Turism. 
• Marx, Klaus (2007). Lawson Billinton; A Career Cut Short. Usk, UK: Oakwood Press. ISBN 978 0 85361 661 0. 
• Wolmar, Christian (2010). Engines Of War; How Wars Were Won & Lost On The Railways. London, UK: Atlantic Books. ISBN 978 1 84887 172 4.