Rail accidents in Winsford

There have been three major rail accidents near Winsford in Cheshire:

1948 accident

Winsford rail accident (1948)

Date and time	17 April 1948 : 0027
Location	Winsford railway station, Cheshire
Coordinates	53°11′49″N 2°29′56″W / 53.197°N 2.499°W / 53.197; -2.499
Rail line	West Coast Main Line
Cause	Signalling error
Trains	2
Deaths	24
Injuries	10
List of UK rail accidents by year

On 17 April 1948, 24 people died when the 17:40 Glasgow to London Euston train was stopped after the communication cord was pulled by a passenger (a soldier on leave who presumably lived near Winsford and was seen to leave the train after it had stopped). The stopped train was then run into by a following postal express hauled by LMS Coronation Class 4-6-2 No 6251 City of Nottingham.^[1] The collision happened at between 40 and 45 mph and was so severe that only five of the ten passenger coaches could be pulled away on their wheels and only the rear eight of the 13 Postal coaches could be drawn back. 24 passengers were killed. The signalman at Winsford station had, in error, reported the passenger train clear of the section and accepted the postal train.^[2]

1962 accident - Coppenhall Junction

Coppenhall Junction rail crash

Date and time	26 December 1962 : 1801
Location	Coppenhall Junction, Cheshire
Coordinates	53°10′06″N 2°28′40″W / 53.1684°N 2.4778°W / 53.1684; -2.4778
Rail line	West Coast Main Line
Cause	Signal passed at danger
Trains	2
Passengers	~800
Deaths	18
Injuries	34
List of UK rail accidents by year

On the evening of 26 December 1962, cold weather and snow in and around Crewe had caused points to become frozen and trains were being detained at signals. Approximately midway between Winsford and Crewe, the English Electric type 4 diesel hauled 13:30 Glasgow Central to London Euston was stopped at a signal but the driver found the telephone to Coppenhall Junction, the next signal box ahead, out of order. Seeing the next signal ahead he decided to proceed down towards it and use the telephone there, but in the darkness failed to notice the 16:45 express from Liverpool to Birmingham standing on the line ahead and collided with it at about 20 mph.^[3]

The rear coaches of the Liverpool train were badly damaged in the collision, some of them being telescoped.^[4] 18 passengers were killed and 34 were injured.

1999 accident

On 23 June 1999, a Virgin Trains electric express train from London Euston to Glasgow Central ran into an empty four-carriage Pacer unit, injuring 31 people. The express had been travelling at about 110 mph, but driver Roy Eccles noticed the Pacer on the line and was able to decelerate to about 50 mph at the time of impact. Eccles was awarded a medal for his prompt action, which averted a much more serious accident. It has also been reported that the driver of the Pacer train helped in rescue efforts, and managed to help passengers of the Virgin train to safety despite his injuries.^{[citation needed]}

The Pacer had passed a signal at danger and run through a set of points, coming to a stand on the line on which the express was approaching. Its rear cab was destroyed in the crash along with a section of the passenger accommodation, and the coach bodies were displaced from their underframes. A report was filed^{[citation needed]} stating that the accident could have been human error of the Pacer driver, or a signal failure. Another report^{[citation needed]} states it could have been a brake failure which had caused the signal to be passed at danger.

See also

• List of rail accidents in the United Kingdom

References

• BBC News: Train driver averts disaster retrieved 2006-04-21.
• BBC News: Safety fears over commuter trains retrieved 2006-04-21.

Notes

1. ^ British Railway Disaster publ. Ian Allan 1996
2. ^ (PDF) Railway Accidents: Report on the Collision Which Occurred on the 17th April, 1948, at Winsford in the London Midland Region of British Railways. HMSO. 1948. http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/MoT_Winsford1948.pdf. 
3. ^ (PDF) Report on the Collision that occurred on 26th December 1962 between Winsford Station and Coppenhall Junction in the London Midland Region of British Railways. HMSO. 1963. http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/MoT_Coppenhall1962.pdf. 
4. ^ L.T.C. Rolt, Red for Danger, Chapter 12, Pan Books 1976