Dagenham East rail crash
| Date | 30 January 1958 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Time | 19:34 | ||
| Location | Dagenham East | ||
| Country | England | ||
| Rail line | LT&SR (BR Eastern Region) | ||
| Cause | Signal passed at danger | ||
| Statistics | |||
| Trains | 2 | ||
| Passengers | ~1,000 | ||
| Deaths | 10 | ||
| Injuries | 89 | ||
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| List of UK rail accidents by year | |||
The Dagenham East rail crash was a railway accident on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway line of British Railways which occurred at Dagenham, United Kingdom.
The accident took place at around 19:34 on 30 January 1958 and was a rear-end collision of two late-running trains. Conditions at Dagenham East station were foggy at the time. The accident occurred after one train had passed a signal indicating danger due to a driver error. Ten passengers were killed in the accident and 89 injured. Four members of railway staff were also injured.
The trains involved were the LMS 2-6-4 tank engine hauled 18:20 Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness and the BR standard 2-6-4 tank hauled 18:35 Fenchurch Street to Thorpe Bay. Both trains consisted of 11 coaches, carrying approximately 500 passengers each. The 18:35 train ploughed into the back of the 18:20 departure which demolished three carriages and derailed several others. The locomotive of the 18:35 train and leading carriage were derailed. Some wreckage blocked the adjacent London Underground line but did not cause any further accidents.
One of the locomotives involved in this accident (80079) survives today at the Severn Valley Railway.
At Becontree tube station, the station that both trains had left before they collided, a ghost of a woman in a white dress with long blonde hair and no face is believed to have originated from this accident. [1]
References
External links
- Major Incidents Emergency Planning College (Excel), Accessed 7 June 2006
- Report of the Collision (PDF), Accessed 7 June 2006
- British Pathe - "Dagenham. Another Fog Disaster"
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Coordinates: 51°32′32″N 0°09′20″E / 51.54228°N 0.15553°E