Wine cork prevents fuel leak on train

August 27, 2005

A cork was temporarily used to fix a fuel leak on a British passenger train. The leak was created when the train struck a concrete block that vandals left on the tracks.

Train service on the Paddington to Exeter line was stopped around Bath. This abrupt stop created a hole in the sightglass which helps monitor fuel levels. Worried the incident could cause a fuel leak, staff decided to use the cork of a wine bottle found in the buffet car, to block the hole. An incident that people worried would cause a delay of hours, was cleared up in around 20 minutes.