The Quintinshill rail disaster occurred on 22 May 1915 in Scotland near Gretna Green

Gretna Green

Gretna Green is a village in the south of Scotland famous for runaway weddings. It is in Dumfries and Galloway, near the mouth of the River Esk and was historically the first village in Scotland, following the old coaching route from London to Edinburgh. Gretna Green has a railway station serving...

 at Quintinshill, an intermediate signal box

Signal box

On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...

 (on what is now the West Coast Main Line

West Coast Main Line

The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...

) with sidings on each side on the Caledonian Railway Main Line

Caledonian Railway Main Line

The Caledonian Main Line represents most of the original route of the Caledonian Railway: a major Scottish railway company. The company was formed in 1830 and was absorbed almost a century later into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, in the 1923 railway grouping, by means of the Railways...

 (mainly linking Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

 and London). The crash involved five trains and killed 226 people. It is the worst rail crash in the United Kingdom in terms of loss of life.

The majority of victims were Territorial soldiers from the 7th Battalion, the Royal Scots, known as the "Leith

Leith

-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....

 Battalion" due to the large number of soldiers from that town.