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South Africa, Hex River Disaster, 1914

In this photo, we see some members of the British forces boarding a train from a station near Cape Town, the capital of South Africa. They were heading to the front line at the start of World War I in 1914.

Unfortunately, a major train accident occurred on this train, known as the Hex River Disaster, as the regiment was on its way to Cape Town to sail to the Western Front.

The story—unconfirmed—says that the train driver, who had a good reputation, once boasted about his speed in navigating the Hex River gorge, and this recklessness was the cause of the accident.

Another story says that the brakes failed and the train sped away. At two o'clock in the morning, the troop train started..." a long, steep descent from the pass. Minutes later, the train was traveling at breakneck speed, even skidding like a whip through the tight curves.

Lennox Van Onselen wrote in his book, "Steelhead": "The locomotive was the first to derail. It fell off a cliff and rolled about 30 feet down the slope in clouds of smoke and steam. Some of the cars then became tangled; others behind them jumped the tracks. Eight soldiers were killed and 89 wounded."

The cause of the accident is still unknown. It may have been the work of enemy forces, but the cause is still unknown.