Ditton Junction rail crash

Ditton Junction rail crash

Date and time	17 September 1912
Location	Ditton Junction
Rail line	London and North Western Railway
Cause	Driver misread signals
Trains	1
Deaths	15
List of UK rail accidents by year

Ditton Junction is on the London and North Western Railway near Widnes. A complex junction it had no less than eight running lines with associated signal gantries. On 17 September 1912 the 17:30 Chester to Liverpool express was signalled to cross from the fast to the slow line, but the driver who had little experience of the junction had never been switched here before, misread the signals and thought he had a clear run through. The crossover had a speed limit of 15 mph but the train hit it at 60 mph. The locomotive, a 2-4-0 of the Precedent class turned on its side and travelled some distance, striking the pier of an overbridge (partially demolishing it) and broke in two. The six carriages following ploughed over the engine and were all destroyed - forming a heap of wreckage between the station platforms. Punctured gaslighting cylinders ignited, turning the scene into an inferno. Driver, fireman and 13 passengers were killed.

Blame was attributed to the driver for not applying for a pilot at Chester. The confusing signalling at the junction was also criticized.

Sources

• Rolt, L.T.C.; Kichenside, Geoffrey (1982) [1955]. Red for Danger (4th ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. pp. 173–174. ISBN 0-7153-8362-0. 

External links

• The Railways Archive :: Report by Lieutenant-Colonel Yorke, R.E., C.B., on the Accident that occurred on the 17th September, 1912, to a Passenger Train at Ditton Junction, on the London and North Western Railway
• Photograph showing the site of the Ditton Junction Disaster

Coordinates: 53°21′23″N 2°46′09″W / 53.35634°N 2.76918°W / 53.35634; -2.76918