Lichfield rail crash
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Lichfield rail crash | |
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Details | |
Date | 1 January 1946 |
Location | London Midland and Scottish Railway |
Cause | Points failure |
Statistics | |
Trains | 2 |
Deaths | 20 |
Injured | 21 |
List of UK rail accidents by year |
The Lichfield rail crash was a
The crash
At Lichfield Trent Valley station there were four tracks running through the station: two fast through lines in each direction with loops on each side for trains stopping at the station.
The crash occurred at 18:58, and involved the 14:50 fish train from
Casualties
20 passengers on the passenger train lost their lives – 13 in the collision and the remainder either in hospital or on the way there. Another 21 were injured, some seriously, including a porter on the platform who was injured by flying debris. The crew of the passenger train were unhurt, however the crew of the goods train suffered bruises and minor injuries, and the driver had to be treated for severe shock.
Cause
The points failure was caused by the extremely cold weather that day freezing the point mechanisms. When the signalman had accepted the fish train from the previous signalbox to the North, he needed to swing the facing points (that allowed entry into the Up Platform Loop from the Up line) from reverse to normal. Unbeknown to him, the points had frozen in reverse position. However, he was able to push the lever back into the frame and engage the point lock and thus clear the signal. He was able to do this because the point rods had become bent, allowing sufficient play for the lever to be pushed fully into the normal position, but actually leaving the points in reverse. This accident is one of the very rare occasions where mechanical interlocking has failed to work correctly.