Taunton train fire

Taunton sleeping car fire

A British Railways Mark 1 sleeping car, similar to the one involved in the accident
Date	6 July 1978
Time	02:40
Location	Taunton, Somerset
Country	England
Rail line	Great Western Main Line
Cause	Obstructed electric heater
Statistics
Trains	1
Passengers	~8 coaches
Deaths	12
Injuries	15
List of UK rail accidents by year

The Taunton sleeping car fire occurred in a sleeping car train at Taunton, Somerset, England, in the early hours of 6 July 1978. It killed 12 people, injured 15 people and had far-reaching effects for British Rail. The fire was caused by an electric heater which had been obstructed by sacks of dirty bed linen causing it to overheat. Most deaths were due to smoke inhalation.

The fire started in a British Railways Mark 1 sleeping car (no. W2437) which was built in 1960, at which time trains in the UK were mostly hauled by steam locomotives, which provided steam for heating passenger accommodation. Diesel locomotives of the period were fitted with boilers so that they could be used with existing coaches. However, with steam locomotives gone by the 1970s, and with boilers proving unreliable and expensive to maintain, the decision was made to change to electric train heating (ETH). W2437 was converted in 1976, with an electric heater being installed in the vestibule.

The Class 47 hauled 22:30 sleeping car express from Penzance to Paddington on 5 July 1978 was scheduled to pick up two sleeping cars at Plymouth; this arrangement was so that passengers joining the train there could go to bed without having to wait for the main service to arrive at around midnight.

The main store for bed linen on the Plymouth service was at Old Oak Common depot near London Paddington. Used bedding from Plymouth was previously transported in the guards van of the Plymouth portion, but in 1977 that vehicle was removed from the formation. Instead, the dirty linen was stacked in plastic bags in the vestibule of W2437, against the heater.

The train arrived at Plymouth from Penzance at 23:50. It was coupled up to the Plymouth sleeping cars (which included W2437) and the ETH was turned on at 00:15. The train departed on time at 00:30 and made scheduled stops at Newton Abbot and Exeter. Nobody who saw the train noticed anything amiss, but the bags of linen were now heating up. As they smouldered they began to give off toxic gases, including carbon monoxide. Unfortunately the ventilation system drew fresh air from the vestibule, and the gases were sucked into the system and into each berth.