Norton Fitzwarren rail crash (1890)
Encyclopedia
The Norton Fitzwarren rail crash occurred on 11 November 1890, at Norton Fitzwarren station on the Great Western Railway
, approximately two miles south-west of Taunton
in Somerset
. A special boat train
carrying passengers from Plymouth
to Paddington
collided with a goods train that was being shunted on the main line. Ten passengers were killed, and eleven people (including the driver and fireman of the special train) were seriously injured.
Another significant accident
occurred at Norton Fitzwarren in 1940.
pilot engine, arrived at Norton Fitzwarren to take on and put off stock. Another down goods train, which was not scheduled to stop at the station, was due at 1:17 am, and at 1:05 am the guard of the first goods train was told by the signalman to shunt his train clear of the down line, on to the up main, while the pilot engine was separately moved on to a branch line.
After the fast goods train had passed, the signalman moved the pilot engine back to the down main line - while this movement was taking place, at 1:23 am, the up boat train was offered to the signalman by the preceding signal box. Forgetting that the slow goods train was still on the up main line, the signalman accepted the boat train, and cleared his signals for it. At 1:24 am, with full steam on at a speed estimated at 50 mph, the boat train passed the signal box and ran into the goods train. The driver and fireman of the goods train managed to jump clear before the accident, but were unable to give any signal in the short time they had. The guard of the boat train did not recall any braking before the impact.
The Board of Trade enquiry ruled that a contributory factor was the premature change of the goods train's headlamp from red to green; it was possible that the driver of the boat train would have noticed a red lamp ahead of him in time to apply his brakes. Another contributory factor was the failure of the guard of the goods train to notify the signalman of the presence of his train on the main line, as required by the rules of
company.
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
, approximately two miles south-west of Taunton
Taunton
Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....
in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
. A special boat train
Boat train
A boat train is a passenger train which connects with a passenger ship, such as a ferry or ocean liner. Through ticketing is normally available. -Notable named boat trains:*The Flèche d'Or Paris Gare du Nord to Calais...
carrying passengers from Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
to Paddington
Paddington station
Paddington railway station, also known as London Paddington, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex.The site is a historic one, having served as the London terminus of the Great Western Railway and its successors since 1838. Much of the current mainline station dates...
collided with a goods train that was being shunted on the main line. Ten passengers were killed, and eleven people (including the driver and fireman of the special train) were seriously injured.
Another significant accident
Norton Fitzwarren rail crash (1940)
The Norton Fitzwarren rail crash occurred on 4 November 1940 between Taunton and Norton Fitzwarren in the English county of Somerset, when the driver of a train misunderstood the signalling and track layout, causing him to drive the train through a set of points and off the rails. 27 people were...
occurred at Norton Fitzwarren in 1940.
Sequence of events
The incident began at 12:36 am, when a down goods train from Bristol to Exeter, hauled by both a standard-gauge engine and a broad gaugeBroad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
pilot engine, arrived at Norton Fitzwarren to take on and put off stock. Another down goods train, which was not scheduled to stop at the station, was due at 1:17 am, and at 1:05 am the guard of the first goods train was told by the signalman to shunt his train clear of the down line, on to the up main, while the pilot engine was separately moved on to a branch line.
After the fast goods train had passed, the signalman moved the pilot engine back to the down main line - while this movement was taking place, at 1:23 am, the up boat train was offered to the signalman by the preceding signal box. Forgetting that the slow goods train was still on the up main line, the signalman accepted the boat train, and cleared his signals for it. At 1:24 am, with full steam on at a speed estimated at 50 mph, the boat train passed the signal box and ran into the goods train. The driver and fireman of the goods train managed to jump clear before the accident, but were unable to give any signal in the short time they had. The guard of the boat train did not recall any braking before the impact.
Causes
The immediate cause of the accident was that the signalman had forgotten that the goods train was still on the main line after being shunted, and allowed the boat train into his section with the line obstructed.The Board of Trade enquiry ruled that a contributory factor was the premature change of the goods train's headlamp from red to green; it was possible that the driver of the boat train would have noticed a red lamp ahead of him in time to apply his brakes. Another contributory factor was the failure of the guard of the goods train to notify the signalman of the presence of his train on the main line, as required by the rules of
company.
Similar accidents
- Thirsk rail crash (1892)
- Hawes Junction rail crashHawes Junction rail crashThe Hawes Junction rail crash occurred on 24 December 1910, on the Midland Railway's Settle and Carlisle mainline at the junction with the Wensleydale Railway in Westmorland , England. It was caused when a busy signalman forgot about a pair of light engines waiting at his down starting signal to...
(1910) - Quintinshill rail crashQuintinshill rail crashThe Quintinshill rail disaster occurred on 22 May 1915 in Scotland near Gretna Green at Quintinshill, an intermediate signal box with sidings on each side on the Caledonian Railway Main Line . The crash involved five trains and killed 226 people...
(1915)
- Winwick rail crashWinwick rail crashThe Winwick rail crash took place at Winwick Junction, near Warrington on the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, on 28 September 1934.-Background:...
(1934)