Elliot Junction Railroad Accident
The railway accident Elliot Junction on December 28, 1906 was the collision of an empty express train set in adverse winter weather and snow conditions with just under 50 km / h Station Elliot Junction on a waiting there passenger . 22 people died.
Framework
Elliot Junction , Angus , was a train station on the Dundee – Aberdeen railway line in Scotland , between what is now Carnoustie and Arbroath . On the day of the accident, the weather was extremely bad with blowing snow. The express train of the North British Railway to Dundee arrived in Arbroath at 7:35 a.m. and had to end its journey there, as the route was impassable due to snowdrifts . To the stranded passengers return was in Arbroath from the Dundee and Arbroath Railway compiled a passenger train which left there at 15:00, and at 15:19 in Elliot Junction arrived. The telegraph lines were torn by the snow load and communication between Elliot Junction and Easthaven was interrupted. Trains on this section were only allowed to run if the station master of Elliot Junction was on the train as the “pilot”. Therefore the passenger train had to wait for the pilot in Elliot Junction .
In the meantime, the express train set had also started the return journey at 3:15 p.m. As the turntable in Arbroath was frozen, the locomotive - contrary to the regulations - drove ahead with the tender , which made it difficult to observe the route. Since most of the signal systems had failed due to the weather , the train also ran on sight.
the accident
Despite the poor visibility, the empty train drove at approx. 75 km / h. The reconstruction of the event revealed that the signal wing of the entry signal from Elliot Junction might have been pushed down slightly from its horizontal position by the masses of snow. The signal wing in the horizontal position commanded "stop", a downward-pointing signal wing meant "free travel". The engine driver therefore believed that he saw the signal in the running position and drove past the signal that covered the waiting passenger train in the station. The locomotive of the express train rammed the end of the passenger train waiting in the station without braking, derailed , overturned and smashed the last three cars .
consequences
22 people died, 8 were seriously and 22 slightly injured. All victims - except the stoker on the express train locomotive - were in the three wrecked passenger cars . One of the by the accident of the MPs was who died Alexander William Black of the Liberal Party .
The careless driving style of the train driver of the express train set was determined to be the primary cause of the accident. The latter had acted against the instructions he had received at Arbroath station. This included stopping at every station en route and driving slowly overall. The investigation report emphasizes that the engine driver passed both the pre- signal and the main signal in front of Elliot Junction . Also, alcohol could have been involved. The engineer became a prison sentence convicted, but because of the particular circumstances of probation was suspended.
See also
literature
- Maj JW Pringle: Board of Trade Railway Department Inquiry into accident at Elliot Junction on 28th December 1906 (PDF; 5.2 MB)
- Ludwig Ritter von Stockert : Railway accidents. A contribution to railway operations theory. , Vol. 1. Leipzig 1913, p. 176, No. 39.
Individual evidence
- ^ NN: Election Intelligence. Banffshire . In: The Times v. December 31, 1906, p. 9.
- ↑ Pringle, pp. 42f.
Web links
Coordinates: 56 ° 33 '3.6 " N , 2 ° 36" 23.7 " W.