Tangiwai rail disaster - Roadside Stories

Tangiwai means 'weeping waters', and the name seemed sadly apt on Christmas Eve 1953, when a lahar (volcanic mud flow) partly destroyed the railway bridge over the Whangaehu River. The Wellington--Auckland passenger express plunged into the river, killing 151 people, in New Zealand's worst rail disaster.

Tangiwai railway disaster,
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/culture/the-tangiwai-railway-disaster

Ruapehu and the Tangiwai disaster,
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/historic-volcanic-activity/5

An eyewitness account of the Tangiwai disaster,
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/historic-volcanic-activity/5/6/1

Lahar warning system,
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/railway-accidents/3/5

Railway accidents,
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/railway-accidents

Waimarino,
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/whanganui-places/7

Archival audio sourced from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives, http://www.soundarchives.co.nz/. Sound files may not be reused without permission from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives (Reference number DCDR 71A).

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[mikeshearer1250]

It hit the bridge at 10:15 pm and the disaster happened at 10:21 pm