On October 22, 1895, the façade of the Gare Montparnasse was damaged by a spectacular accident, which fortunately caused more damage than anything else. The Paris – Granville train failed to brake and crashed through the front of the station, ending its run partly on the Place de Rennes!
126 years ago, on October 22 1895, an impressive accident disfigured the façade of the former Gare Montparnasse, then known as the Gare de l’Ouest. A train disembarked at full speed, didn’t brake, smashed through the bumpers at the end of the platform, before finishing its race through the station’s walls. You’ve probably already seen the implausible black-and-white images of a locomotive hanging over Place de Rennes, now Place du 18 juin 1940. Fortunately, this scene straight out of a film caused more material damage than casualties: only a newsagent at the streetcar station below died in the disaster. The locomotive remained in this position for 4 days, before being removed.
Enough time to attract onlookers, and to leave many testimonies of the event!
Even with the technical means available in 1895, how could such an accident happen? The train in question was on the Paris – Granville line, carrying 131 passengers in 10 cars, plus three baggage cars and a mail car. Although the train left Granville on time at 8.45 a.m., it was already 7 minutes behind schedule at Versailles. The locomotive engineer and driver will be trying to catch up, which will surely contribute to the disaster. On arrival at Gare Montparnasse, the locomotive launched at 60 km/h (imagine the carnage if they had TGVs back then), and failed to stop. After smashing through the wooden bumper, the train plunges into the station, off the tracks. The locomotive destroys the concourse floor, and continues its mad dash to the station walls, plunging into the void only to be braked by its fall into the street.
The locomotive engineer and driver were held responsible for the accident, despite extenuating circumstances such as a disagreement over the correct operation of the locomotive’s brakes, and a distraction linked to administrative formalities due to the train’s late arrival in Paris. They received two-month suspended prison sentences and fines of 50 francs and 25 francs respectively. The old Montparnasse station no longer exists, as the Tour Montparnasse and the shopping mall at its foot now stand in its place. Like the former Paris Bastille station, Parisian railway stations are historical treasures!