Areas around Bogantungan and Alpha experienced heavy rainfalls late February resulting in flooding.

At Medway Creek just west of Bogantungan, the river was lined with old gum trees and flowed under a rail bridge. Overnight on the 25 February, a 12 tonne tree was swept into the creek, damaging the 64 m stone and timber rail bridge.

The following day the bridge collapsed as the Rockhampton-bound ‘Midlander’ passed over it. The first of the two locomotives cleared the bridge but ended up derailed lying on its side. The C17, generator car and two sleeping carriages were derailed and fell into the creek 7.6 m below.

A total of seven people were killed and forty-three people were injured.  

This bridge had also been washed away by floods in 1956.