A fact from Bere Ferrers rail accident appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 4 June 2010 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:
Did you know... that ten New Zealand soldiers lost their lives in 1917 in the Bere Ferrers rail accident due to being unaccustomed to the British railway system?
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"The inquest revealed that the men, unaccustomed to British railways, believed that as they had entered the train from that side, they should also leave from the same side." (and by the way, you need to sign your posts on talk pages with four tildes ~~~~ to achieve a signature) Schwede6609:43, 4 June 2010 (UTC)Reply
I read this text "The inquest revealed that the men, unaccustomed to British railways, believed that as they had entered the train from that side, they should also leave from the same side" but still do not really understand it. Is this something special about British Rail, and what is the thing that is special? Here in Melbourne, Australia most suburban stations are two platform, but some are a single island platform: you get out on the side with the platform. The picture shows what appears to be a double platform arrangement so wouldn't it be natural to get out on the side with the platform and not get out on the side with another trackway. Is there something different about British rail - or is it that New Zealand doesn't have a lot of railways? Format (talk) 06:40, 14 November 2010 (UTC)Reply
A few google searches reveals several reports that give much the same information. I have altered the wording of this article keeping within what the various articles say. Previously this article as worded suggested there was rule peculiar to British Railways about what side you alight from a train carriage - without elaborating on what rule the soldiers should have followed. However I do not think there is anything unusual about the British Railway system and no special rule about it. From my understanding it seems the soldiers simply had little knowledge of train systems per se, they had little understanding of the speed of British trains, and no idea of the geographic area - meaning they assumed when the train stopped that was their destination, even though it wasn't. Format (talk) 07:03, 14 November 2010 (UTC)Reply
