The crash occurred approximately south of
Brooklyn, New South Wales, near the Boronia No. 3
tunnel. The railway line at this point, known as the
Cowan Bank, is 2.5% (1 in 40)
grade and, as the special hauled by
steam locomotive 3801 passed southwards through the No. 3 tunnel, the wheels of the locomotive started to
slip. The driver of 3801 applied
sand to the rails to improve
traction, but the train came to a complete stop approximately 50 metres clear of the tunnel. Passengers on the steam train reported seeing a signal fluctuating
aspects between green and yellow. The following
CityRail V set inter-urban train, which had been halted at the northern entrance to Boronia No. 4 tunnel for 10 minutes by a red stop
signal, received a green indication and proceeded, colliding with the steam train shortly after. The impact killed the driver of the inter-urban train, Gordon Hill, and a passenger who was riding in its cab, as well as four passengers in the rear carriage of 3801's train. The passengers killed were the recently retired
Vice Chancellor of the
University of Sydney,
John Manning Ward, his wife and daughter, and the wife of the University's
Registrar. 99 passengers were injured, 11 of those seriously. The force of the crash completely destroyed the last carriage of the steam train, and was enough to break the locomotive
coupling and push the engine 12 metres forward. A subsequent
coronial inquiry, headed by NSW State Coroner Derrick Hand, found in December 1990 that the sand that had been applied to the track by 3801 to aid traction had
insulated the train from the rails, meaning that the
track circuits failed to detect the presence of the first train, allowing the following inter-urban train to be given a false green (clear) aspect (known as a
wrong-side failure). Mr Hand also considered it likely that a passenger on 3801 had applied a
handbrake on the third carriage, and that this, combined with the heavy load, the steep grade and the curvature of the line, had prevented the steam train from restarting. No fault was found with the signalling system, although the coroner recommended that it be upgraded as soon as possible. == Contributing factors ==