Bo'ness Junction rail crash
Encyclopedia
Bo'ness Junction rail crash was a railway accident that took place at Bo'ness Junction in Falkirk
.
The junction lies on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway
between Falkirk
and Linlithgow
where the line to Bo'ness
joined from the north near Manuel station.
On the morning of 27 January 1874 the East Coast
Scotch express, having been divided at Edinburgh was due to pass the junction in two portions; the first bound for Glasgow at 07:02 and the second bound for Perth at 07:07, but were running some 8 minutes late. A goods train was waiting in sidings at the junction; as soon as the Glasgow express passed it was shunted across onto the main line when the Perth express collided with it. It is believed that the station staff mistook the late-running Glasgow train for the second Perth express. Signals should have prevented the disaster but it is believed they were incorrectly set. Only when the roar of the approaching express could be heard were the signals set to danger but too late to prevent the collision in which 16 were killed and 28 injured. A road bridge near the point of impact was so badly damaged it had to be demolished.
The tragedy
was heightened by the fact that the Absolute Block system which would have prevented the disaster (by preventing more than one train from occupying a section of route at the same time) was being installed at the time; and was due to be switched on only 10 days later.
Falkirk (council area)
Falkirk is one of the 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland. It borders onto North Lanarkshire to the south west, Stirling to the north west, West Lothian to the south east and, across the Firth of Forth to the north east, Fife and Clackmannanshire...
.
The junction lies on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway
Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway
The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was a railway built to link Glasgow and Edinburgh. The Act of Parliament for building the railway received its Royal Assent in 1838 which was open on 28 July 1863. Services started between Glasgow Queen Street and Haymarket on 21 February 1842. The line was...
between Falkirk
Falkirk
Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....
and Linlithgow
Linlithgow
Linlithgow is a Royal Burgh in West Lothian, Scotland. An ancient town, it lies south of its two most prominent landmarks: Linlithgow Palace and Linlithgow Loch, and north of the Union Canal....
where the line to Bo'ness
Slamannan and Borrowstounness Railway
The Slamannan and Borrowstounness Railway is an historic railway in Scotland.-History:It was a 4.5 mile extension to the Slamannan Railway built to Bo'ness, opened on 17 March 1851...
joined from the north near Manuel station.
On the morning of 27 January 1874 the East Coast
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
Scotch express, having been divided at Edinburgh was due to pass the junction in two portions; the first bound for Glasgow at 07:02 and the second bound for Perth at 07:07, but were running some 8 minutes late. A goods train was waiting in sidings at the junction; as soon as the Glasgow express passed it was shunted across onto the main line when the Perth express collided with it. It is believed that the station staff mistook the late-running Glasgow train for the second Perth express. Signals should have prevented the disaster but it is believed they were incorrectly set. Only when the roar of the approaching express could be heard were the signals set to danger but too late to prevent the collision in which 16 were killed and 28 injured. A road bridge near the point of impact was so badly damaged it had to be demolished.
The tragedy
Tragedy (event)
A tragedy is an event in which one or more losses, usually of human life, occurs that is viewed as mournful. Such an event is said to be tragic....
was heightened by the fact that the Absolute Block system which would have prevented the disaster (by preventing more than one train from occupying a section of route at the same time) was being installed at the time; and was due to be switched on only 10 days later.