Welwyn Garden City rail crashes

Railway accidents in Hertfordshire, England

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For the 1866 rail crash near Welwyn, see Welwyn Tunnel rail crash.

There was a rail crash near Welwyn Garden City railway station in Hertfordshire, England, in 1935 which killed fourteen people, and another in 1957 with one fatality.

## 1935 crash

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1935 Welwyn Garden City rail crash

Details
Date| 15 June 1935
23:27
Location| Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire
Country| England
Line| East Coast Main Line
Operator| London and North Eastern Railway
Cause| Signalling error
Statistics
Trains| 2
Passengers| 337
Deaths| 14
Injured| 29
List of UK rail accidents by year

On 15 June 1935, a train from London King's Cross to Leeds collided with the rear of a train from Kings Cross to Newcastle at night. Fourteen people were killed and 29 injured.

The accident was a caused by a signalman's error: the signalman at Welwyn Garden City, who had been fairly recently appointed to the box, became confused and accepted a second train into a block section that was already occupied. The Newcastle train, arriving first, received a signal check and was slowed to 15‒20 mph; the Leeds train, consisting of 11 coaches hauled by Class K3 2-6-0 No 4009, ran into it at approximately 65 mph.

There were several significant features.[1] Firstly, the modern rolling stock with buckeye couplings withstood the violent collision well, apart from the last coach which was totally destroyed; older coaches would have been crushed, with much heavier loss of life. Secondly, the Inspecting Officer felt that the signalman had been promoted beyond his level of competence for such a busy box, and that the assessment and training procedures for signalmen should be improved. Different commentators have disagreed on this; Rolt[2][page needed] and Hamilton[3][page needed] supported the Inspector, Vaughan[4][page needed] felt the signalman had had insufficient time to become fully experienced in working the box. Thirdly, the Inspector recommended that the block instruments should be linked to the track circuits to prevent future occurrences in such a way that a "Line clear" indication could only be given on the block instrument if the track circuits had registered passage of a train; this was widely adopted and known as Welwyn Control.

## 1957 crash

[edit]

1957 Welwyn Garden City rail crash

Details
Date| 7 January 1957
Location| Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire
Country| England
Line| East Coast Main Line
Cause| Signals passed at danger
Statistics
Trains| 2
Deaths| 1
Injured| 25
List of UK rail accidents by year

There was another rear-end collision, about half a mile south of Welwyn Garden City station, at dawn on 7 January 1957, with a different cause. The accident was due to the driver of an Aberdeen to London express passing signals at danger with visibility reduced due to mist, and not hearing the explosion of emergency detonators as his locomotive ran over them.[5]

The express was travelling at around 60‒65 mph when it collided with the rear of a local train, which had just pulled away from the station and was travelling at around 30‒35 mph. The rear coach of the local train was wrecked in the collision and two more were overturned. One passenger in the local train was killed and 25 injured. The locomotive of the express overturned, and the driver suffered severe shock.

## See also

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* Lists of rail accidents

## References

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1. ^ Mount, Lt.Col. A. (1935). Accident Report (link below). Board of Trade.
2. ^ Rolt, L.T.C. (1956). Red for Danger. Bodley Head / David and Charles / Pan Books.
3. ^ Hamilton., J.A.B. (1967). British Railway Accidents of the 20th Century (reprinted 1987 as Disaster down the Line). George Allen and Unwin / Javelin Books. ISBN 0-7137-1973-7.
4. ^ Vaughan, Adrian (1989). Obstruction Danger. Guild Publishing. ISBN 1-85260-055-1.
5. ^ Wilson, Lt.Col. G. (1957). Accident Report (link below). Ministry of Transport.

## External links

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* Railways Archive summary and link to accident report for 1935 collision
* Official Railways Inspectorate accident report for 1935 collision
* Railways Archive summary and official accident report for 1957 collision
* Official Railways Inspectorate accident report for 1957 collision

* v
* t
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Railway accidents in the 1930s

1932|

* Turenne, France (14 September)

1933|

* Lagny-Pomponne, France (23 December)

1934|

* Winwick, United Kingdom (28 September)

1935|

* Hertfordshire, United Kingdom (15 June)

1936|

* Paraparaumu, New Zealand (30 August)
* Wairarapa, New Zealand (9 October)

1937|

* London, United Kingdom (2 April)
* Dominguez Canyon, Colorado, US (26 April)
* Castlecary, United Kingdom (10 December)

1938|

* London, United Kingdom (10 March)
* London, United Kingdom (17 May)
* Custer Creek, Montana, US (19 June)
* South Jordan, Utah, US (1 December)

1939|

* Harney, Nevada, US (12 August)
* Genthin, Germany (22 December)

1920s 1940

* v
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Railway accidents in the 1950s

1950|

* Rockville Centre, New York, US (17 February)
* Sauherad, Norway (15 November)
* Canoe River, British Columbia, Canada (21 November)
* Kew Gardens, New York, US (22 November)

1951|

* Woodbridge, New Jersey, US (6 February)
* Doncaster, United Kingdom (16 March)
* Yokohama, Japan (24 April)
* Nova Iguaçu, Brazil (7 June)
* Weedon, United Kingdom (21 September)
* Piquet Carneiro, Brazil (17 December)

1952|

* Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (4 March)
* Gibalta, Portugal (31 March)
* Rzepin, Poland (9 July)
* Harrow, United Kingdom (8 October)

1953|

* Washington, D.C., US (15 January)
* Cdoro. Rivadavia, Argentina (15 February)
* Conneaut, Ohio, US (27 March)
* London, England (8 April)
* Weesp, the Netherlands (19 June)
* Hai Van Pass, Vietnam (24 June)
* Manchester, England (15 August)
* Sydenham, Australia (19 December)
* Tangiwai, New Zealand (24 December)
* Šakvice, Czechoslovakia (24 December)

1954|

* Fabrica, Negros Occidental, Philippines (2 September)

1955|

* Sutton Coldfield, United Kingdom (23 January)
* San Bernardo, Chile (17 July)
* Milton, United Kingdom (20 November)
* London, United Kingdom (2 December)

1956|

* Los Angeles, California, US (22 January)
* Cedar, West Virginia, US (23 January)
* Santiago, Chile (14 February)
* Swampscott, Massachusetts, US (28 February)
* Mahbubnagar, India (2 September)
* Matsusaka, Japan (15 October)
* Ariyalur, India (23 November)

1957|

* Welwyn Garden City, United Kingdom (7 January)
* Staines, United Kingdom
* Gambar, Pakistan (29 September)
* Yarımburgaz, Turkey (20 October)
* Lewisham, United Kingdom (4 December)
* Codogno, Italy (9 December)

1958|

* Dagenham, United Kingdom (30 January)
* Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (8 May)
* Oslo, Norway (2 August)
* Eastbourne, United Kingdom (25 August)
* Newark, New Jersey, US (15 September)

1959|

* Lauffen bus crash, West Germany (20 June)
* Meldrim trestle disaster, United States (28 June)

* v
* t
* e

Railway accidents and incidents in the United Kingdom, 1900–1999

1900s|

* Slough (Jun 1900)
* Glasgow St Enoch (Jul 1903)
* Gomshall (Feb 1904)
* Hall Road (Jul 1905) ‡
* Witham (Sep 1905)
* Charing Cross (Dec 1905)
* Salisbury (Jul 1906) ‡
* Grantham (Sep 1906)
* Elliot Junction (Dec 1906) ‡
* Newport (Sep 1907)
* Birmingham (Oct 1907)
* Dore (Oct 1907)
* Shrewsbury (Oct 1907)
* Bournemouth (May 1908)
* Tonbridge (Mar 1909)

1910s|

* Braunton Road (Jan 1910)
* Coulsdon North (Jan 1910)
* Hawes Junction (Dec 1910)
* Pontypridd (Jan 1911)
* Ditton Junction (Sep 1912)
* Chumhill (Feb 1913)
* Ais Gill (Sep 1913)
* Burntisland (Apr 1914)
* Carrbridge (Jun 1914)
* Ilford (Jan 1915)
* Quintinshill (May 1915) ‡ §
* Weedon (Aug 1915)
* St Bedes Junction (Dec 1915)
* Penistone (Feb 1916)
* Ratho (Jan 1917)
* Bere Ferrers (Sep 1917)
* Little Salkeld (Jan 1918)
* Paddock Wood (May 1919)

1920s|

* Littlehampton (Aug 1920)
* Abermule (Jan 1921)
* Birmingham New Street (Nov 1921)
* Birkenhead Park (Dec 1922)
* Retford (Feb 1923)
* Lytham (Nov 1924)
* Parkgate & Rawmarsh (Nov 1926)
* Hull Paragon (Feb 1927)
* Penistone (Feb 1927)
* Sevenoaks (Aug 1927)
* Darlington (Jun 1928) ‡
* London Bridge (Jul 1928)
* Glasgow Queen Street (Oct 1928)
* Charfield (Oct 1928)
* Combe Down Tunnel (Nov 1929)

1930s|

* Lawrence Hill (Jan 1930)
* Leighton Buzzard (Mar 1931)
* Raynes Park (May 1933)
* Winwick (Sep 1934)
* Welwyn Garden City (Jun 1935)
* Battersea Park (Apr 1937)
* Castlecary (Dec 1937) ‡
* Charing Cross (Mar 1938)
* Charing Cross (May 1938)

1940s|

* Bounds Green (Oct 1940)
* Balham (Oct 1940) ‡
* Norton Fitzwarren (Nov 1940) ‡
* Bank (Jan 1941) ‡
* Eccles (Dec 1941) ‡
* Bethnal Green (Mar 1943) ‡
* Catterick Bridge (Feb 1944)
* Ilford (Jan 1944)
* Soham (Jun 1944)
* Ballymacarrett (Jan 1945) ‡
* King's Cross (Feb 1945)
* Bourne End (Sep 1945) ‡
* Lichfield (Jan 1946) ‡
* Potters Bar (Feb 1946)
* Grayrigg (May 1947)
* Polesworth (July 1947)
* Doncaster (Aug 1947)
* South Croydon (Oct 1947) ‡
* Goswick (Oct 1947) ‡
* Manchester Victoria (Dec 1947)
* Winsford (Apr 1948) ‡
* Stockport Viaduct (Nov 1948)
* Penmanshiel Tunnel (Jun 1949)

1950s|

* Penmaenmawr (Aug 1950)
* Doncaster (Mar 1951)
* Huntingdon (Jul 1951)
* Newcastle (Aug 1951)
* Weedon (Sep 1951)
* Harrow & Wealdstone (Oct 1952) ‡
* Stratford (Apr 1953)
* Irk Valley Junction (Aug 1953)
* Watford Junction (Feb 1954)
* Sutton Coldfield (Jan 1955)
* Milton (Nov 1955)
* Barnes (Dec 1955)
* Luton (Dec 1955)
* Welwyn Garden City (Jan 1957)
* Chapel-en-le-Frith (Feb 1957)
* Lewisham (Dec 1957) ‡
* Dagenham East (Jan 1958)
* Eastbourne (Aug 1958)

1960s|

* Settle (Jan 1960)
* Severn Railway Bridge (Oct 1960)
* Royton (Feb 1961)
* Baschurch (Feb 1961)
* Singleton Bank (Jul 1961)
* Lincoln (Jun 1962)
* Coppenhall Junction (Dec 1962)
* Knowle & Dorridge (Aug 1963)
* Cheadle Hulme (May 1964)
* Coton Hill (Jan 1965)
* Winsford (Jun 1965)
* Stechford (Feb 1967)
* Connington South (Mar 1967)
* Thirsk (Jul 1967)
* Hither Green (Nov 1967) ‡
* Hixon (Jan 1968)
* Castlecary (Sep 1968)
* Marden (Jan 1969)
* Morpeth (May 1969)

1970s|

* Audenshaw Junction (May 1970)
* Sheerness-on-Sea (Feb 1971)
* Chester General (May 1972)
* Eltham Well Hall (Jun 1972)
* King's Cross & Euston (Sep 1973)
* Ealing (Dec 1973)
* Watford Junction (Jan 1975)
* Moorgate (Feb 1975) ‡
* Nuneaton (Jun 1975)
* Green Park (Oct 1975)
* West Ham (Mar 1976)
* Taunton (Jul 1978)
* Paisley Gilmour Street (Apr 1979)
* Invergowrie (Oct 1979)

1980s|

* Dunmurry (Jan 1980)
* Bushey (Feb 1980)
* Bushey (Apr 1980)
* Holborn (Jul 1980)
* Ulleskelf (Dec 1981)
* Seer Green (Dec 1981)
* Wrawby Junction (Dec 1983)
* Morpeth (Jun 1984)
* Polmont (Jul 1984)
* Wembley Central (Oct 1984)
* Oxford Circus (Nov 1984)
* Eccles (Dec 1984)
* Summit Tunnel (Dec 1984)
* Lockington (Jul 1986)
* Colwich (Sep 1986)
* Glanrhyd Bridge (Oct 1987)
* King's Cross (Nov 1987) ‡
* Clapham Junction (Dec 1988) ‡
* Purley (Mar 1989)
* Glasgow Bellgrove (Mar 1989)
* West Ealing (Aug 1989)

1990s|

* Stafford (Aug 1990)
* Cannon Street (Jan 1991)
* Victoria & Paddington (Feb 1991)
* Newton (Jul 1991)
* Severn Tunnel (Dec 1991)
* London Bridge (Feb 1992)
* Morpeth (Nov 1992)
* Maidstone East (Sep 1993)
* Greenock (Jun 1994)
* Morpeth (Jun 1994)
* Cowden (Oct 1994)
* Ais Gill (Jan 1995)
* Largs (Jul 1995)
* Stafford (Mar 1996)
* Watford (Aug 1996)
* Channel Tunnel (Nov 1996)
* Bexley (Feb 1997)
* Southall (Sep 1997)
* Spa Road Junction (Jan 1999)
* Winsford (Jun 1999)
* Ladbroke Grove (Oct 1999) ‡

‡ indicates railway accidents and incidents resulting in at least 20 fatalities
§ indicates the deadliest railway accident in British history
1815–1899 2000–present

51°48′07″N 0°12′11″W﻿ / ﻿51.80194°N 0.20306°W﻿ / 51.80194; -0.20306
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