Self-review after a major incident

Good learning for our whole sector. Thanks to the cooperation between HTC Committee, Mainline Steam, and Rail Engineer Randall Prestidge this covering letter (and link to a self-review discussion document) is about to be sent out to ALL heritage rail and tramway operators. The only good thing to come out of things going wrong is that we can learn lessons and get better at what we do.

Ngā manaakitanga

Mike

________________________________________________________

9 October 2021

All FRONZ Members with a Rail Operating Licence Via email.

Tēnā koutou katoa,

Post incident self-review tool. Axle failure on locomotive Ab 663

The joint FRONZ/KiwiRail Heritage Technical Committee is charged with the promotion of high standards of practice and strengthening the ‘collective technical wisdom’ of the heritage rail sector in New Zealand. You can learn more about us at our website www.htc.kiwi

During a mainline excursion a bearing failure on steam locomotive Ab 663 caused an axle to break when the locomotive was shunting at its terminal depot. If the sequence of events was slightly different we could have been dealing with a major multiple casualty event. Thankfully we are able to learn from this incident without any injury or loss of life having happened.

An outcome of the investigation into this incident is the circulation of this discussion document for you to use as part of your own self review. You do not need to respond or share your answers to the questions raised. It is offered to you in the interest of promotion safety and continuous improvement. You can access the document here https://tinyurl.com/selfreviewAb663

This document is not just for steam locomotive operators to use. Plain bearings are present on many passengers cars, wagons, electric, diesel, and diesel electric locomotives. All operators also have people engaged in safety critical work, so this document has relevance for all FRONZ rail operators.

Ngā mihi

Mike Anderson HTC Chair