Darlington rail crash
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The Darlington rail crash occurred on 27 June 1928, at Darlington Bank Top station. Two steam trains collided and 25 people were killed.
The accident was a head-on collision caused by a driver's error. The inexperienced driver of a parcels train misunderstood the complicated signalling installation in the station and went too far past a signal which only allowed him to proceed a limited distance forward. His engine fouled the main line and was run into by an excursion train at about 45 mph. Two coaches of the excursion train "concertina-ed" or "telescoped" and all the deaths occurred in these carriages.
Further details may be found in a number of books on British railway accidents e.g. those by Rolt and Hamilton.