1890 Norton Fitzwarren rail crash

Railway incident in Somerset, England January 2017 January 2017 Norton Fitzwarren rail crash Schweiger-Lerchenfeld Flügelrad 672A.jpg Accident site 11 November 1890 01:24 Norton Fitzwarren station England Reading to Plymouth Line Signalling error 2 ~50 10 11 List of UK rail accidents by year 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. Rich Col. F. H. Frederick Henry Rich Report of the Board of Trade Enquiry 15 November 1890 http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/BoT_NortonFitzwarren1890.pdf PDF Another significant accident 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 gauge 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.Terrible Accident to a Great Western Express at Norton Foitzwarren http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000508/18901112/068/0008 20 October 2015 Exeter and Plymouth Gazette 12 November 1890 British Newspaper Archive subscription 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.Norton Fitzwarren Accident 1890 http://spellerweb.net/rhindex/UKRH/GreatWestern/Broadgauge/BristolExeter/Norton.html John Speller's Web Pages – GWR Broad Gauge – B&ER 20 October 2015 4 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304104111/http://spellerweb.net/rhindex/UKRH/GreatWestern/Broadgauge/BristolExeter/Norton.html dead 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 engine of the boat train, 4-4-0ST No. 2051, was withdrawn following the collision. 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 Terrible Accident at Norton Fitzwarren http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000508/18901114/043/0006 20 October 2015 Exeter and Plymouth Gazette 14 November 1890 British Newspaper Archive subscription The inspector, Colonel Rich, recommended that signalmen should be provided with a device that they could place on a lever if a line was obstructed, which was already being done on some other railways or unofficially by some signalmen. This idea was widely adopted over following years by the provision of lever collars. 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 the company.The Norton-Fitzwarren Railway Accident. Board of Trade Report http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000051/18901229/030/0006 20 October 2015 London Daily News 29 December 1890 British Newspaper Archive subscription In later years this generally became a requirement for the driver and fireman instead (Rule 55). A further contributory factor was that the goods train had been shunted on to the main line through lack of a suitable siding. Following the inquest, twelve refuge sidings were built between Exeter and Weston.Sequel to the Norton-Fitzwarren Disaster http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000453/18910101/043/0003 20 October 2015 Dundee Evening Telegraph 1 January 1891 British Newspaper Archive subscription See also Norton Fitzwarren rail crash (1940) References Similar accidents Thirsk rail crash (1892) Hawes Junction rail crash (1910) Quintinshill rail crash (1915) Winwick rail crash (1934) External links Crash report and photos https://web.archive.org/web/20190526110002/https://spellerweb.net/rhindex/UKRH/GreatWestern/Broadgauge/BristolExeter/Norton.html 26 May 2019 at John Speller's web pages - GWR Broad Gauge - B&ER collapsed 51 01 N 3 08 W title Category:Railway accidents and incidents in Somerset Category:Railway accidents in 1890 Category:Accidents and incidents involving Great Western Railway Category:1890 in England Category:19th century in Somerset Category:Train collisions in England Category:Norton Fitzwarren Category:Railway accidents caused by signaller's error Category:1890 disasters Category:1890s disasters in the United Kingdom