An Incident That Transformed My Life: The Train I Was On Derailed – and then There Was a Young Girl Crying.
That instant I knew I was about to die occurred in my 20s, at a time when everything was beginning. My best friend, Helen, and I were on our way to Blackburn to reunite with a friend from college who had recently moved there for work. Delighted to be together, and enjoying the thought of the upcoming weekend of fun, we chatted nonstop as we traveled by train from York.
We put our suitcases – packed with necessities such as wine bottles and my brand-new black clogs – on the overhead rack and got seated in a comfortable double seat. Approximately 50 minutes after starting our journey, I was faintly cognizant of a bang. Then came another, now unmistakable. A woman screamed as our carriage was thrown up into the air in what felt like a delayed sequence. In an instant, Helen and I were upright in the middle of the aisle, clinging to one another. With my head lowered, vision blocked, I anticipated the carriage to roll over and burst into flames, like in the movies. I recall pondering our relatives and companions receiving the notification. That's when the sound of the little girl crying.
“Everything is okay,” I murmured, speaking with a rasp. “It’s all over,” I stated, more to myself than her.
She was about seven or eight years old, and looked like she had no guardian. Her weeping jolted me from my stupor; now I could do something meaningful. I moved to where she was standing and gave her a reassuring hug. “Don’t look round,” Helen called out, the warning came after the fact. I saw a man with his face covered in blood. A huge metal object had smashed through the window behind us. Afterward, we learned a runaway digger had rolled down the hill and collided with the train, making the train leave the tracks.
Our compartment was trapped with its nose pointing upward. Next was the sound of sirens and another traveler instructed me to give the girl to him so he could help her out the window, while young passengers were extracted to waiting firefighters. A few minutes later, Helen and I were likewise scrambling out of the train window and climbing down a ladder onto the railway line.
Standing on firm land again – beside a freight warehouse in Pudsey – uncontrollable shivers took over. I looked for the little girl and saw her being scooped up by her mum, we later learned had been in the toilet when the crash occurred. A firefighter kindly retrieved my clogs. One of the passengers collapsed on Helen’s case, causing it to burst open – though luckily our wine remained intact. Following a 30-minute delay, we proceeded in a complimentary taxi to Blackburn, with a teenage boy and the lady who had caused the luggage to burst. Our university friend greeted us, visibly shaken. She knew there had been a derailment and a guard had taken her into his office and made her a cup of tea while she anticipated updates.
Displaying the fearlessness of young adulthood, we pushed the derailment from our minds and proceeded with the social outing, which included a unforgettable performance by Blackburn drag queen Clitheroe Kate. No one died in the incident, despite the fact that several people were taken to hospital. Helen and I got away with bruises and general soreness from the impact of being thrown forward in the carriage. The locomotive was decelerating to enter Leeds station, which had been the crucial element in averting grave physical damage. The fact that nobody was badly hurt helped not to dwell on the “what ifs” but that young girl who made a permanent impression. Taking care of her and soothing her helped take my mind off myself and showed me the worth of directing attention externally in a crisis. In the decades since, I have frequently pondered if she remembered anything about it, and what a major event it had been for her.
Helen and I have stayed close for more than three decades and That location's name now symbolizes for our ability to cope whatever comes, provided we have each other. Her presence that fateful day gave me the impression I was protected from the full horror of the event. The derailment further transformed the way I approach various difficult situations, giving me perspective – and reinforcing the idea that, no matter how dire circumstances appear, it remains a gift to age.