In the Milton rail crash a passenger train took a crossover too fast and derailed. 11 were killed, and 157 were injured.

Overview

The crash occurred at about 13:15 on Sunday 20 November 1955, at Milton, between and on the line from on the Western Region of British Railways

Western Region of British Railways

The Western Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s and was wound up at the end of 1992...

. The train involved was the 08:30 excursion train from , South Wales

South Wales

South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...

, to Paddington station

Paddington station

Paddington railway station, also known as London Paddington, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex.The site is a historic one, having served as the London terminus of the Great Western Railway and its successors since 1838. Much of the current mainline station dates...

, consisting of ten coaches hauled by Britannia Pacific no. 70026 Polar Star. The train failed to slow down for a low speed crossover.

The engine and several carriages rolled down an embankment, which exacerbated the severity of the accident.

Contributing factors

The signals were on the right hand side of the track, but the driving position on the engine was on the left hand side, which hampered visibility.

There was a berth track circuit

Track circuit

A track circuit is a simple electrical device used to detect the absence of a train on rail tracks, used to inform signallers and control relevant signals.- Principles and operation :...

 approaching the crossover but it was much longer than the train, making it hard for the signalman to estimate the speed of the train.

Aftermath

The signals were later modified to prevent a driver seeing a proceed signal for the crossover too soon. This is known as Approach Release.

Handrails on the smoke deflectors also obscured the drivers' view, and these were later removed and replaced with hand holds on all the "Britannia" class locomotives which ran on the Western Region.

See also

Jokela rail crash

Jokela rail crash

The Jokela rail accident occurred on April 21, 1996 at 07:08 local time in Tuusula, Finland, approximately north of Helsinki. Four people were killed and 75 injured when express train P82 from Oulu, bound for Helsinki, derailed in heavy fog. The overnight sleeper train was carrying 139 passengers...

 - similar overspeed accident in Finland Colwich rail crash

Colwich rail crash

The Colwich rail crash occurred on the evening of Friday 19 September 1986 at Colwich Junction, Staffordshire, England. It was significant in that it was a high speed collision between two packed express trains...

 - overspeed through turnout, signal aspects a factor

• Lists of rail accidents