Derailment No.2 at Ealing Common Depot

I take it that Thursday night's one on the deck was No. 1?

That makes at least 4 that I know of this year.

Yes, only depot shunters use that spur. It requires the shunter to "plunge" so that the depot shunt signal can be cleared to the spur, else you get the route out on to the main.

I would hope that even if brakes failed on the grade, the train would be tripped on the shunt trainstop and stop prior to meeting the sand drag.

If the train has run away due to the parking brake/handbrake having failed/been released, there may not be any air to apply the tripcock brake!
Also, being a move within "depot limits" the tripcock needn't be cut in (unless the local depot rules require it)

I was slightly suprised when one was stabled there on Thursday night! (The LU train op didnt stop in the correct position and it took about 15 minutes for the shunter to move it slightly more uphill!) ;D ;D ;D

Luckily, I had four trips to Ealing Broadway yesterday, so I was able to see the ERU working on it and the aftermath once it had been moved down to the shunt neck at the east end of the depot in the early afternoon. The train must have hit the sand drag with quite a bit of force - yesterday afternoon you could clearly see how far it had travelled through the sand.

The only obvious damage to the train was the coupler, which seemed to have been knocked way out of alignment both horizontally and vertically.

Acton Town sidings this time!

The train went *DONK*

;D ;D

You possibly mean this picture? dstock7080.fotopic.net/p38159662.html

That's Richmond lower concourse mate! Even scarier!