Lytham rail crash
Encyclopedia
The derailment of a passenger train at Lytham, Lancashire
, England
occurred when the front tyre of the locomotive fractured and led to the loss of 14 lives. The accident happened on 3 November 1924 to the 4.40 pm Liverpool
express travelling to Blackpool
at 5.46 pm. When the tyre failed, the train was moving at about 50 mi/h, and the train derailed at a crossing, then hit a bridge, closely followed by the Warton signal box. The building was completely demolished and coals from the grate ignited a carriage. The engine toppled over together with two of the carriages.
of the Railway Inspectorate found part of the broken tyre 50 yards (45.7 m) away in a field, the left-hand leading wheel of the engine having broken. The tread had broken from a large internal blow hole. The defect probably formed during the steel casting operation, and became critical as the tread was worn away. The tyre had been made in 1920, and had run over 100000 miles (160,934 km) before failure. All the other wheels from the same batch were removed from service and broken up, but without finding any cavities in the treads. Pringle also showed how tyre fractures had decreased over the years. In 1880, there were 1238 broken tyres, 577 ten years later and by 1900, the number had dropped to 234. The majority were found on wagons, but by 1920, there were only 20 wheel failures. The drop in failure rate was due to the introduction of the monobloc steel wheel and better inspection and maintenance methods.
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
occurred when the front tyre of the locomotive fractured and led to the loss of 14 lives. The accident happened on 3 November 1924 to the 4.40 pm Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
express travelling to Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
at 5.46 pm. When the tyre failed, the train was moving at about 50 mi/h, and the train derailed at a crossing, then hit a bridge, closely followed by the Warton signal box. The building was completely demolished and coals from the grate ignited a carriage. The engine toppled over together with two of the carriages.
Investigation
Colonel PringleJohn Wallace Pringle
Colonel Sir John Wallace Pringle was Chief Inspecting Officer of the Railways Inspectorate of the Ministry of Transport from 1916 to 1929...
of the Railway Inspectorate found part of the broken tyre 50 yards (45.7 m) away in a field, the left-hand leading wheel of the engine having broken. The tread had broken from a large internal blow hole. The defect probably formed during the steel casting operation, and became critical as the tread was worn away. The tyre had been made in 1920, and had run over 100000 miles (160,934 km) before failure. All the other wheels from the same batch were removed from service and broken up, but without finding any cavities in the treads. Pringle also showed how tyre fractures had decreased over the years. In 1880, there were 1238 broken tyres, 577 ten years later and by 1900, the number had dropped to 234. The majority were found on wagons, but by 1920, there were only 20 wheel failures. The drop in failure rate was due to the introduction of the monobloc steel wheel and better inspection and maintenance methods.