Welshampton rail crash
Encyclopedia
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 and Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway stock was returning from Mid-Wales to Lancashire when it derailed just East of 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. 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.
Welshampton
Welshampton is a small village located on the A495 road in Shropshire, England, near to the town of Ellesmere. It is adjacent to the villages of Lyneal and Colemere which comprise part of the so-called 'North Shropshire Lake District', all of which is within walking distance of Welshampton...
in the Welsh borders was the scene of a serious derailment on 11 June 1897. A long excursion train of mixed Cambrian and Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway stock was returning from Mid-Wales to Lancashire when it derailed just East of Welshampton station. Earlier in the day a Cambrian guard had complained of the rough-riding of a small 4-wheeled L&Y brake van
Brake van
Brake van and guard's van are terms used mainly in the UK, Australia and India for a railway vehicle equipped with a hand brake which can be applied by the guard...
, which on the return journey was at the front of the train. 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.
Sources
- Photograph from the National Railway Museum archives