Salisbury rail crash

infobox UK rail accident
title= Salisbury rail crash
date= 1 July 1906: 0157
location= Salisbury, Wiltshire
line = West of England Main Line
cause= Overspeed on curve
trains= 3
pax= 43
deaths= 28
injuries= 11In the Salisbury rail crash of 1 July, 1906, a London and South Western Railway express train from Plymouth to London Waterloo failed to take a very sharp curve at the eastern end of Salisbury station. The curve had a speed limit of 30 mph, but the express had been travelling at over 70 mph. The train was completely derailed, and smashed into a milk train and a light engine, killing 28 people.

Overview

The accident occurred at the same time as a short cut of the rival Great Western Railway was opening, and it was claimed that the driver of the crashed train was trying to show that his railway was capable of competitive speeds. It was also rumoured that passengers - mostly rich New Yorkers travelling to London from the transatlantic port at Plymouth - had bribed the driver to run the train as fast as possible, but there was no evidence of this, and if anything the train had lost time earlier. Conversely, it was stated that drivers often ran through Salisbury very fast on these trains to "get a run" at the following hill. The engine was a new "L12" 4-4-0 with a higher centre of gravity than the earlier "T9" class. The most likely cause of the accident is that the driver simply did not realise the level of risk he was running. Also, steam locomotives at this time, and for half a century afterwards, were not fitted with speedometers.

As a result of the crash, all trains were required to stop at Salisbury station from that point onwards, and the speed limit on the curve east of Salisbury was reduced to 15 mph. This limit is still in force today.

The accident was the first of a series of three derailments due to excessive speed at night in a year, the others being Grantham 1906 and Shrewsbury 1907. The results were the same but the causes were different.

See also

* List of rail accidents
* List of British rail accidents

References

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Similar accidents

* flagicon| Japan Amagasaki rail crash - 2005 - Overspeed through sharp curve.

External links

* [http://danger-ahead.railfan.net/accidents/salisbry.htm Salisbury (1906)] - description of the crash on the "Danger Ahead" historic railway disasters website.
* [http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/BoT_Salisbury1906.pdf] - Official Board of Trade report (1906).