Wrawby Junction rail crash (1898)
Encyclopedia
On 17 October 1898 at Wrawby Junction
. on what was the Great Central Railway
near Brigg
in Lincolnshire
a passenger train collided with a derailed goods train; killing 9 people and injuring 26 more.
The passenger train was the 16:45 from Cleethorpes
to Manchester
consisting of a brake van
, three passenger carriages and a rear guard's van. The goods train which had left Grimsby
earlier in the day for Doncaster
consisted of 44 waggons loaded with larch
tree trunks, three trunks to a load secured with chains. The length of the trunks (up to 42 ft) necessitated the close coupling of the waggons. The goods train was being shunted on a curve at low speed adjacent to the main line when 5 trucks derailed just as the passenger train approached. One truck toppled over; its load of timber projecting over the main line. The brake van 'was carried away with the exception of the offside and roof'. The next two carriages were 'clean swept away' above the floor level; the first compartment of the third passenger carriage was also destroyed.
The investigation admitted that it was not possible to stop shunting operations from occurring on lines parallel and close to passenger running lines.
Wrawby Junction
Wrawby Junction is a busy railway junction located a short distance west of Barnetby, North Lincolnshire, England and controls the confluence of the Network Rail routes from Lincoln, Retford and Scunthorpe towards Immingham and Cleethorpes...
. on what was the Great Central Railway
Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
near Brigg
Brigg
Brigg is a small market town in North Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 5,076 in 2,213 households . The town lies at the junction of the River Ancholme and east-west transport routes across northern Lincolnshire...
in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
a passenger train collided with a derailed goods train; killing 9 people and injuring 26 more.
The passenger train was the 16:45 from Cleethorpes
Cleethorpes
Cleethorpes is a town and unparished area in North East Lincolnshire, England, situated on the estuary of the Humber. It has a population of 31,853 and is a seaside resort.- History :...
to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
consisting of a brake van
Brake van
Brake van and guard's van are terms used mainly in the UK, Australia and India for a railway vehicle equipped with a hand brake which can be applied by the guard...
, three passenger carriages and a rear guard's van. The goods train which had left Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
earlier in the day for Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
consisted of 44 waggons loaded with larch
Larch
Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. Growing from 15 to 50m tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains further south...
tree trunks, three trunks to a load secured with chains. The length of the trunks (up to 42 ft) necessitated the close coupling of the waggons. The goods train was being shunted on a curve at low speed adjacent to the main line when 5 trucks derailed just as the passenger train approached. One truck toppled over; its load of timber projecting over the main line. The brake van 'was carried away with the exception of the offside and roof'. The next two carriages were 'clean swept away' above the floor level; the first compartment of the third passenger carriage was also destroyed.
The investigation admitted that it was not possible to stop shunting operations from occurring on lines parallel and close to passenger running lines.
Sources
- The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
1898 :- October 18 page 6 "Serious Railway Accident"
- October 19 page 7 "The Serious Railway Accident"
- October 20 page 6 "The Serious Railway Accident"
- The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
1899 :- January 6 page 7 "The Wrawby Junction Accident"