Welshampton rail crash: Difference between revisions

Welshampton rail crash
Welshampton rail crash
Details
Date	11 June 1897
Location	Welshampton
Coordinates	52°54′56″N 2°49′55″W / 52.9155°N 2.8320°W
Country	England
Line	Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway
Cause	Excessive speed/track condition
Statistics
Trains	1
Deaths	12
	List of UK rail accidents by year

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The Welshampton rail crash was a fatal railway accident in the Welsh borders village of Welshampton on 11 June 1897. It resulted in the deaths of 12 people.

An excursion to Barmouth had been organised by the United Sunday Schools of Royton. A group of 320 passengers were on board a train of mixed Cambrian Railways (CR) and Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) stock of 15 carriages, pulled by two locomotives. Earlier in the day a CR guard had complained of the rough-riding of a small 4-wheeled L&YR brake van, which on the return journey was at the front of the train.

The train left Barmouth at 18:00. At about 22:20 one of the engines and 13 of the coaches left the rails of the CR's Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway, 154 yards (141 m) east of Welshampton station. Nine passengers were killed in what was the first fatal accident on the line since it was built, two other passengers and a railway employee died later from injuries.

Although the initial investigation centered on the first carriage to leave the rails, an L&YR third-class brake coach, the enquiry concluded though that the speed of the train was too high considering the state of the track which had many sleepers in need of replacement, also too light a rail for high speed running. The CR disputed the findings and maintained that the L&Y vehicle was to blame

References

Rolt, L.T.C.; Kichenside, Geoffrey (1982) [1955]. Red for Danger (4th ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. pp. 165–166. ISBN 0-7153-8362-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

External links

Photograph from the National Railway Museum archives

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 | trains     = 1
 | pax        =
-| deaths     = 11
+| deaths     = 12
 | injuries   =
 | footnotes  = [[List of rail accidents in the United Kingdom|List of UK rail accidents by year]]
 }}
+The '''Welshampton rail crash''' was a fatal railway accident in the [[Welsh borders]] village of [[Welshampton]] on 11 June 1897. It resulted in the deaths of 12 people.
-The small village station of [[Welshampton]] in the [[Welsh borders]] was the scene of a serious derailment on 11 June 1897. A long excursion train of mixed [[Cambrian Railway|Cambrian]] and [[Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway]] stock was returning from Mid-Wales to Lancashire when it derailed just East of [[Welshampton railway station|Welshampton station]]. Earlier in the day a Cambrian guard had complained of the rough-riding of a small 4-wheeled L&Y [[brake van]], which on the return journey was at the front of the train.
+An excursion to {{rws|Barmouth}} had been organised by the United Sunday Schools of [[Royton]]. A group of 320 passengers were on board a train of mixed [[Cambrian Railways|Cambrian Railways (CR)]] and [[Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway|Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway (L&YR)]] stock of 15 carriages, pulled by two locomotives. Earlier in the day a CR guard had complained of the rough-riding of a small 4-wheeled L&YR [[brake van]], which on the return journey was at the front of the train.
-The excursion to Barmouth had been organised by the United Sunday Schools of [[Royton]] with 320 passengers on board who were in 15 carriages pulled by two locomotives. The train was on the return journey from Barmouth where it left at 18:00, at about 22:20 one of the engines and 13 of the coaches left the rails 154 yards east of Welshampton station. Nine passengers were killed in what was the first fatal accident on the line since it was built, two other passengers and a railway employee died later from injuries. Although the initial investigation centered on the first carriage to leave the rails, a Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway third-class brake coach the enquiry concluded though that the speed of the train was too high considering the state of the track which had many sleepers in need of replacement also too light a rail for high speed running.  The Cambrian railway disputed the findings and maintained that the L&Y vehicle was to blame
+The train left {{rws|Barmouth}} at 18:00. At about 22:20 one of the engines and 13 of the coaches left the rails of the CR's [[Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway]], {{convert|154|yd}} east of Welshampton station. Nine passengers were killed in what was the first fatal accident on the line since it was built, two other passengers and a railway employee died later from injuries.
-==Sources==
+Although the initial investigation centered on the first carriage to leave the rails, an L&YR third-class brake coach, the enquiry concluded though that the speed of the train was too high considering the state of the track which had many sleepers in need of replacement, also too light a rail for high speed running. The CR disputed the findings and maintained that the L&Y vehicle was to blame
+==References==
 *{{cite book |last1=Rolt |first1=L.T.C. |authorlink1=L. T. C. Rolt |last2=Kichenside |first2=Geoffrey |title=Red for Danger |edition=4th |year=1982 |origyear=1955 |publisher=[[David & Charles]] |location=Newton Abbot |isbn=0-7153-8362-0 |pages=165–166 |ref=harv }}
+{{reflist}}
+==External links==
 *[http://www.ingenious.org.uk/See/?print=1&target=SeeMedium&ObjectID=%7BCF6D7A3E-D7B3-CDE5-95BD-0169DB57DA1F%7D&viewby=images  Photograph] from the National Railway Museum archives
 [[Category:Railway accidents in England]]