The runaway train

“March 9th 1987 began as a normal day for railwayman Wesley MacDonald as he made up a train of 50 cars of ore at a mine in northern Canada. But that all changed when the brakes failed to hold the load and Wesley suddenly found himself aboard a runaway train. This programme tells the story of what happened next, featuring actual audio footage of the radio communication between him and the rail traffic controller as he wrestles with the decision on whether to jump or take his chances onboard.”

BBC recently did broadcast this intriguing story from twenty years ago in Canada. The inspiring thing for us is that there is a full recording of the incincent and it has been released by Ash on a one-sided lp (sold out however). The dialogue between Wesley, and Alfie, grows tense. The train hurtles on threatening unsuspecting communities. At 95mph, with a doctor and ambulance standing by, Wesley faces disaster. Suddenly the line goes dead.

After the incicent the driver says he did not pass any signal. The signal box was being run by inexperienced supervisors. Both the supervisor’s log and tapes of communications with the train driver were removed from the signal box overnight. Senior rail staff accused Railtrack of a cover up…

The recording: