On 15 November 1899, a detachment of Dubliners and the Durban Light Infantry were garrisoning an armoured train operating from Estcourt with the objective of monitoring Boer movements. The Boers ambushed them on their return and a section of the train was de-railed in the chaos. Among the passengers was Winston Churchill, then a war correspondent accompanying the detachment, who helped load the train engine with wounded before it made an escape attempt, pushing through the de-railed section that blocked its path and making it through safely. The remaining troops put up a stout defence until they were eventually compelled to surrender, including Churchill who had returned to the remaining defenders. Churchill later made a successful escape attempt from his prison in Pretoria. He wrote glowingly of the gallantry displayed by the Dublin Fusiliers and the other troops that were present during the ambush. The Dublins lost three men during the ambush.