John AxonGC was an English train driver from Stockport who died while trying to stop a runaway freight train on a 1 in 58 gradient at Chapel-en-le-Frith in Derbyshire after a brake failure. The train consisted of an ex-LMS Stanier Class 8F 2-8-0 No. 48188 hauling 33 wagons and a brake van.
Accident
On the outward trip from Stockport to Buxton that day, Driver Axon had noticed a leak from the supply to the locomotive steam brake and had requested and received fitter's attention at the Buxton depot. On the return trip from Buxton to Stockport, the repair did not hold and the supply pipe broke away from the steam brake disabling the locomotive steam brake and whistle. This filled the locomotive cab with scalding steam and prevented Driver John Axon and Fireman Ron Scanlon from reaching the controls. Before radios, engines used whistles to communicate with each other which was obviously not possible if the cab was filled with scalding steam and, even more to the point, if the steam whistle is not functional. Thus the crew of the banking engine at the rear of Driver Axon's train remained unaware of the problems at the front and unfortunately kept pushing Driver Axon's train towards Dove Holes summit. Driver Axon told his Fireman Scanlon to jump off and attempt to apply wagon brakes but, due to the speed the train was travelling, he only managed to apply a few before the train reached the summit and began accelerating down the 1 in 58 gradient towards Chapel-en-le-Frith. As the crew of the banking engine reached the summit to let the train continue under its own power, they were alarmed to see Axon's train accelerating away from them, and the guard frantically applying the brakes to his van. and its ribbon bar At the time of the locomotive failure, Driver Axon could have jumped clear of the then slow-moving train. However, aware of the danger that his train posed to life further down the line, he stayed with his accelerating train despite the scalding steam on the footplate, trying to close the regulator in the hope that this would mitigate the effects of a collision. In the end, he only managed to partly close it, and screw down the engine's tender brakes, but sadly this had negligible effect. Warned by the Dove Holes signalman, the staff at Chapel-en-le-Frith were able to evacuate a two-car DMU, but had no time to warn the crew of a Rowsley-to-Stockport freight. The runaway smashed into the rear of it killing both the train's guard and Axon.
His grandson, also named John Axon, was a television actor best known for his role as Nigel Harper in The Royal; he also played roles in other series such as Life on Mars, City Central and Peak Practice.
