On the night of 5 July 1978, passengers boarded the overnight sleeper service from Penzance to London Paddington, expecting to wake the following morning as their train approached the capital.

But in the early hours of 6 July, as the train approached Taunton in Somerset, a fire developed aboard one of its sleeping carriages.

By the time railway staff became aware of the danger, smoke and toxic gases had already spread through the sleeping accommodation, exposing passengers who were asleep in their individual compartments.

The train was brought to a stand short of Taunton station, where passengers, railway staff, local residents and emergency responders confronted a rapidly developing emergency.

Twelve people would ultimately lose their lives.

In this episode of Signals to Danger, we examine the events aboard the sleeper, the remarkable accounts of those who escaped, and the investigation undertaken by Major A. B. G. King of Her Majesty’s Railway Inspectorate.

We explore how bags of bed linen stored against an electric heater caused the fire, how the carriage’s ventilation arrangements contributed to the danger, and why the systems intended to protect sleeping passengers proved inadequate.

The investigation would reveal shortcomings in established working practices, fire detection, staff training and emergency arrangements.

But perhaps its most important lesson concerned something much broader: the risks which can emerge when equipment changes, but the practices surrounding it do not.

Research and sources

This episode draws principally upon Major A. B. G. King’s official investigation, Report on the Fire that occurred in a Sleeping-Car Train on 6th July 1978 at Taunton in the Western Region, British Railways, together with historical railway material and contemporary accounts.

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Signals to Danger is a UK railway history and safety podcast exploring rail accidents, incidents and the investigations that followed them. From historic railway disasters to modern rail safety and current events, each episode looks beyond what happened to understand why it happened, what was learned and how those lessons continue to shape the railway today.

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