1906 Salisbury rail crash

January 20221906 train derailment in England March 2020 March 2020 1906 Salisbury rail crash Railway Disaster at Salisbury, 1st July, 1906.png 51.0708 -1.8042 region:GB-WIL_type:landmark_scale:50000 inline,title 1 July 1906 1:57 am Salisbury railway station, Wiltshire, England England West of England Main Line London and South Western Railway Overspeed on curve 3 43 28 11 List of UK rail accidents by year The Salisbury rail crash was a high-speed rail accident which occurred at the Salisbury railway station, Wiltshire, England, on 1 July 1906. A boat train from Plymouth to London failed to negotiate a sharp bend at more than twice the speed limit and crashed into another train, killing 28 people. Much speculation remains as to its cause. Incident The London and South Western Railway (LSWR) boat train from Devonport Stonehouse Pool to London Waterloo failed to navigate a very sharp curve at the eastern end of Salisbury station. The curve had a maximum permitted speed of 30 mph kph, but the express had been travelling at more than 70 mph kph. The train was completely derailed and smashed into a milk train and a light engine, killing 28 people including the driver and two firemen. The crash occurred around the time that a short cut for the rival Great Western Railway was opening, and it was claimed that the driver of the crashed train was trying to show that his railway was capable of competitive speeds. It was also rumoured that passengers – mostly rich New Yorkers travelling to London from the transatlantic port at Plymouth – had bribed the driver to run the train as fast as possible, but there was no evidence of this and, if anything, the train had lost time earlier. Conversely, it was stated that drivers often ran through Salisbury very fast to "get a run" at the following hill. thumb|LSWR L12 class 4-4-0 No. 415, similar to the crashed engine The crashed train's engine was a new LSWR L12 class 4-4-0 No. 421 with a higher centre of gravity than the earlier T9 class. The most likely cause of the accident is that the driver did not realise the level of risk he was running, particularly as this was the first time he had taken a non-stopping train through Salisbury. Steam locomotives at this time, and for half a century afterwards, were not fitted with speedometers. Prior to the crash the boat train had no passenger stops between Plymouth and Waterloo, just a locomotive change at Templecombe. As a result of the accident all trains were required to stop at Salisbury station,British Railway Disasters Ian Allan Ltd. 1996 and the speed limit on the curve east of Salisbury was reduced to 15 mph kph, still in effect today. thumb|Memorial tablet in Salisbury Cathedral There is a memorial tablet to the 28 dead (including the driver, two firemen and the guard) in Salisbury Cathedral. The accident was the first in a series of three derailments due to excessive speed at night in a 16-month period; the others were at Grantham in 1906 and Shrewsbury in 1907. All three resulted in deaths, including the footplate crews; the cause in each case was recorded as driver error but there has been much speculation since. See also Lists of rail accidents List of rail accidents in the United Kingdom 2021 Salisbury rail crash Similar accidents Amagasaki derailment – Japan, 2005 – overspeed through sharp curve Santiago de Compostela derailment – Spain, 2013 Eckwersheim derailment – France, 2015 Rail accidents at Morpeth – England, 1969, 1984, 1994 – three occasions, overspeed through sharp curve References J.A.B. Hamilton. British Railway Accidents of the 20th Century (reprinted as Tracks to Disaster). O.S. Nock O. S. Nock 1980 Historic Railway Disasters 2nd Ian Allan Ltd Pattenden Norman Salisbury 1906 – An answer to the enigma? 2001 South Western Circle Swindon 0-9503741-6-4 L.T.C. Rolt 1956 Red for Danger Bodley Head / David and Charles / Pan Books External links Salisbury (1906) – description of the crash on the Danger Ahead website Official Board of Trade report (1906) at railwaysarchive.co.uk collapsed Category:Derailments in England Category:Railway accidents and incidents in Wiltshire Category:History of Salisbury Category:Railway accidents in 1906 Category:1906 in England Category:1906 disasters in the United Kingdom Category:20th century in Wiltshire Category:Accidents and incidents involving London and South Western Railway Category:July 1906 in the United Kingdom Category:Train collisions in England Category:Rail accidents caused by a driver's error