Montparnasse derailment

E41189

The Montparnasse derailment was a famous 1895 train accident in Paris in which a locomotive overran the buffers at Gare Montparnasse and dramatically crashed through the station wall onto the street below.


Statements (45)
Predicate Object
instanceOf historical event
railway accident
train derailment
aftermath locomotive removed using cranes and winches
station façade repaired
cause excessive speed on approach to terminus
failure to apply the Westinghouse air brake in time
insufficient use of handbrakes by train crew
train overran the buffer stop
cityDistrict Montparnasse
country France
crewMemberHeldResponsible guard
train driver
date 1895-10-22
depictedIn contemporary postcards
newspaper illustrations
distanceFallen about 10–12 metres
fatalities 1
hasCommonsCategory Montparnasse derailment
hasWikipediaArticle Montparnasse derailment
imageUsedAsInspirationFor various artworks and posters
injuries around 6
legalConsequence crew members fined
location Gare Montparnasse
Paris
locomotiveNumber No. 721
locomotiveType steam locomotive
mediaType widely reproduced photograph
notableFor iconic photographs of locomotive protruding from façade
locomotive crashing through station wall onto street
operator Chemins de fer de l'Ouest
partOf history of rail transport in France
railwayLine Granville–Paris line
railwaySafetyImpact highlighted importance of braking procedures at terminal stations
routeDestination Paris
routeOrigin Granville
speedAtImpact approximately 10–15 km/h
streetBelow Place de Rennes (now Place du 18-Juin-1940)
structureDamaged station concourse
station façade
street below the station
terminusStation Gare Montparnasse
trainType passenger train
victim woman killed by falling masonry in the street
year 1895


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