1958 fire damage
On July 28, 1958, a fire broke out aboard a Central line underground train carriage between Shepherd's Bush and Holland Park station in west London, claiming the life of one person and injuring many others.
Electrical arcing produced a torch-like flame, which blistered and melted the paint.
"A great volume of dense smoke and acrid fumes was produced which filled the train and the tunnel," according to the official inquiry.
"The train stopped 23 yards short of Holland Park station," the inquiry said. "The driver promptly operated the tunnel telephone wires which cut off the traction current and stopped the arcing."
"Nearly all the passengers suffered from the effects of the smoke and fumes, and 48 of them and three railway servants were sent to hospital for treatment," the inquiry said.
A BBC report said the train carriages were about 20 years old.
A similar incident occurred Aug. 12, 1960 on a train between Redbridge and Gants Hill, without fatalities.
