Kirtlebridge rail crash

The Kirtlebridge rail crash was a rail crash that took place at Kirtlebridge railway station in Dumfries and Galloway.

On 2 October 1872 the 21:00 night Scotch Express from London Euston, running 1 hour and 50 minutes late left Carlisle at 07:50. It consisted of 18 vehicles pulled by two locomotives. Just north of Kirtlebridge station the Solway Junction was fully interlocked but the station itself was not, nor was the block system in operation. At 07:55 a goods train arrived at the station and began shunting operations. Crossover points were not controlled by the signalman but by ground levers and were moreover 300 yards from the signalbox. Local rules were that the signals should be kept at danger, but on this occasion they were showing clear. In addition the signalman was not kept informed about the shunting manoeuvres, nor did he receive any advice by telegraph about the progress of the express. The Kirtlebridge stationmaster momentarily forgot that the late-running express had not yet come through, and diverted waggons onto the downline via the crossover points, as he did so the express appeared, running at 40 mph and collided with the waggons. The lead locomotive ended up facing the way it had come and its tender ended upright on the platform, the second locomotive stayed on the rails with its tender and three leading coaches piled up against it. Eleven passengers and one engineman were killed. As in many previous accidents 'interlocking and block working' would have prevented the disaster.

Sources

• Rolt, L.T.C.; Kichenside, Geoffrey (1982) [1955]. Red for Danger (4th ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. pp. 63–64. ISBN 0-7153-8362-0. 

External links

• Official accident report