1870 Hatfield rail crash

Railway incident in Hertfordshire, England the rail crash in 1870 the accident in 2000 Hatfield rail crash February 2018 February 2018 1870 Hatfield rail crash 51.7387 -0.2130 region:GB-DGY_type:landmark_scale:50000 inline,title 26 December 1870 Hatfield, Hertfordshire United Kingdom East Coast Main Line Wheel failure 1 8 (including George Blake, aged 69, and Robert Reynolds, aged 12) 3 List of UK rail accidents by year The 1870 Hatfield rail crash was a railway accident on Boxing day in 1870 at Marshmoor level crossing, 2 mi 0 south of Hatfield station, Hertfordshire, England. Accident On a frosty Boxing day in 1870, the driver of the 16:25 from London King's Cross to Peterborough noticed an 'uneasy oscillation' as he passed over Marshmoor level crossing, 2 mi 0 south of Hatfield station. He peered back and discovered he had lost his train and pulled up. He reversed back, preceded by his fireman on foot showing a red light. They were met by the white-faced guard, who told them there had been a disaster. The driver reversed direction again and sped to Hatfield to warn oncoming traffic and summon help. It transpired that as the train approached the crossing, the left-hand leading wheel of the van at the front of the train had disintegrated, and the coupling between the van and the locomotive had parted. The van and two following coaches then ran off the rails onto the roadway, demolishing a wall, the crossing gates and posts and killing the mother and sister of a signalman who were waiting at the crossing. In addition, six passengers in the two coaches were killed. The accident inspector criticised the method of tyre-fixing and recommended, not for the first time, the use of Mansell composite wheels on passenger rolling stock. Sources Rolt L.T.C. L. T. C. Rolt Kichenside Geoffrey Red for Danger 4th 1982 1955 David & Charles Newton Abbot 0-7153-8362-0 76–77 External links Board of Trade report collapsed Category:Railway accidents and incidents in Hertfordshire Category:Railway accidents in 1870 Category:1870 in England Category:Accidents and incidents involving Great Northern Railway (Great Britain) Category:Hatfield, Hertfordshire Category:Derailments in England Category:19th century in Hertfordshire Category:December 1870 in the United Kingdom Category:1870 disasters Category:1870s disasters in the United Kingdom