Source this map is based on.
Wikipedia's List of Rail Accidents (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_rail_accidents)

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Howden rail accident - 8/17/1840
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howden_rail_crash)
The Howden rail accident in Yorkshire on 7 August 1840 killed 4 passengers. It occurred when a large cast-iron casting fell from a wagon and derailed the following carriages. It happened on the Hull and Selby Railway as the train was travelling from Leeds to Hull.

Sonning Cutting railway accident - 12/24/1841
Wikipedia
The Sonning Cutting railway accident occurred during the early hours of 24 December 1841 in the Sonning Cuttingthrough Sonning Hill, near Reading, Berkshire. A Great Western Railway (GWR) luggage train travelling from London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads station entered Sonning Cutting. The train comprised the broad-gaugelocomotive Hecla, a tender, three third-class passenger carriages and some heavily-laden goods waggons. The passenger carriages were between the tender and the goods waggons.
Wikipedia Commons

Versailles rail accident - 5/8/1842
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versailles_rail_accident)
At 5:30 pm a train left the rive gauche[note 1] Versailles railway station for Paris Montparnasse.[2] Over 120 metres (390 ft) long and composed of 16 to 18 carriages hauled by two steam locomotives, the train was crowded, carrying 770 passengers.[3] Travelling at 40 kilometres per hour (25 mph) between Bellevue and Meudon,[1] one of the axles of the leading locomotive snapped and the vehicle derailed, scattering the contents of its fire-box. When the other locomotive and carriages continued over the derailed locomotive and carriages caught fire, passengers were locked in their compartments as was the custom in continental Europe at the time.[2]
Wikipedia Commons

Dee bridge disaster - 5/24/1847
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dee_bridge_disaster)
On 24 May 1847, a local train to Ruabon fell through the bridge. The accident resulted in five deaths (three passengers, the train guard, and the locomotive fireman) and nine serious injuries.[1]
The bridge had been designed by Robert Stephenson, and he was accused of negligence by a local inquest.
Wikipedia Commons

Sutton Tunnel railway accident - 4/30/1851
Wikipedia
After the races, by 6 pm one train had already left Chester General station and soon after another train carrying about 430 passengers departed.[1] A further train was standing in sidings with a notice "Manchester via Warrington" on its side. People crossed the line and completely filled the train. It was estimated that 900 passengers were crowded into 18 small carriages. The train left the siding at about 6.50 pm hauled by the locomotive Druid. It was assisted up the incline from Chester station by another locomotive, No. 16, pushing at the back.[2] No. 16 returned to Chester to collect its own train and the train pulled by Druid made "good speed"[1] to Frodsham where some passengers left it. By then it had begun to rain, this had turned to sleet, and the driving wheels had started to slip. From Frodsham station to the Sutton Weaver Viaduct there is an adverse gradient of 1:240 and the fireman and a local platelayer sanded the rails. Despite this the train made only slow progress, even on the level viaduct. Beyond the viaduct the tunnel also had an adverse gradient of 1:264 and it was a struggle to keep the train moving. By this time the train hauled by No. 16 had left Chester with only 430 passengers and was catching up with Druid's train. By the time it arrived near Sutton tunnel it was only 60 yards (55 m)–70 yards (64 m) behind it. Druid's guard signalled to the following train to come behind and push his train. This it did but then No. 16's wheels also began to slip. In the middle of the 1.25 miles (2 km) tunnel the two trains came to a virtual or complete halt.[1][2]
By now the next train, pulled by Albert, had arrived in Frodsham station and it was allowed to leave two minutes later. This was 14 minutes after No. 16's train had left and 24 minutes after Druid's train; the company's rules allowed trains to pass intermediate stations at intervals of five minutes. Albert's train entered the tunnel at 15–20 miles per hour. The driver noticed a lot of steam in the tunnel and stated that he slowed, but his train collided with the rear of No. 16's train.

Norwalk rail accident - 5/6/1853
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwalk_rail_accident)
At 08:00 that morning the Boston express left New York with 200 passengers driven by a substitute driver for whom this was the third transit of the route. The train comprised two baggage and five passenger cars. On approaching the bridge he neglected to check the signal and only became aware that the bridge was open when within 400 feet of it. The bridge had been opened for the passage of the steamship Pacific which had just passed through. The driver applied the brakes and reversed the engine but was unable to stop in time. He and the fireman leapt clear before the bridge and escaped serious injury. The engine itself flew across the 60 foot gap, striking the opposite abutment some 8 feet below the level of the track and sinking into 12 feet of water. The baggage cars came to rest atop the locomotive; the front of the first passenger car was crushed against the baggage cars and then submerged as the second passenger car came to rest on top of it. The third passenger car broke in two; the front half hanging down over the edge of the abutment; the rear remaining on the track. Most of the 48 dead and 30 injured were in the first passenger car. A further 8 people were reported missing.

Baptiste Creek train wreck - 10/27/1854
Wikipedia
The train involved left Niagara Falls the previous afternoon; it comprised eight cars altogether; four first-class, two second-class and two baggage cars. As was commonplace during that early time of rail travel it was subject to several delays; these were caused by dense fog, a derailed gravel-train, a burst cylinder head and a slow freight train ahead of it. By the time it left London at 1 a.m. bound for Windsor it was at least four hours late.
At Baptiste Creek a gravel train consisting of fifteen cars loaded with wet gravel was on a siding employed in repairing the track bed. Its engineer had been told by the night watchman at Baptiste Creek station that it was safe to venture onto the main line as the passenger train had already passed; at 5 a.m. as the train backed along the main railway line at between ten and twelve mph the passenger train emerged from the fog at a speed of twenty mph.
The collision was described as "absolutely dreadful", the second-class cars were described as being "smashed into bits and pieces" with "nearly every person of them killed or dreadfully injured". The people in the front of one of the first class cars suffered a similar fate.

Gasconade Bridge train disaster - 11/1/1855
On November 1 on a day of rain, an inaugural train carrying some 600 invited visitors and dignitaries, set out from St. Louis. As the train started to pass over the Gasconade Bridge, a 760-foot wooden structure spanning the Gasconade River, the span between the bank and the first pier collapsed. It consisted of temporarytrestle work. The engine and all but one of the 15 cars fell off the tracks, some going through the broken wooden timbers, and others rolling down the bank into the river. Thirty-one people were killed, and hundreds were injured, making this the worst railroad disaster in Missouri history.

Great Train Wreck of 1856 - 7/17/1856
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Train_Wreck_of_1856)
The Great Train Wreck of 1856 occurred in Whitemarsh Township, Pennsylvania, between Camp Hill Station and Fort Washington Station, on July 17, 1856. Two trains, traveling on the same track in converging directions, collided, killing between 59 and 67, and injuring over 100. The incident was referred to as The Camp Hill Disaster in Montgomery County, and The Picnic Train Tragedy in the city of Philadelphia. It was the deadliest railroad catastrophe in the world up to that time and became one of the signature events of its era.

Lewisham rail crash - 6/28/1857
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewisham_rail_crash_(1857))
The Lewisham rail crash (1857) occurred just east of Lewisham railway station on 28 June 1857 and killed 11 people.[1] [2] The 14-carriage 9:15pm from Strood, which was running 15 minutes late, pulled up 200 yards short of Lewisham station at a red signal. The guard took a red lamp to the rear of the train to warn the 9:30 train following. When he heard the approaching train he ran towards it blowing his whistle and waving the lamp. It appears that he was not seen by the driver and the standing train was struck at a speed of around 20 mph, destroying the brake van and rear carriage, killing 11 and injuring 30 more.

South Bend Train Wreck - 6/27/1859
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Bend_train_wreck)
The train concerned was the Night Express from Chicago to Toledo carrying about 150 passengers. Just before midnight it was crossing an embankment known as the Springbrook bridge[3] over a 25-foot (7.6 m) deep ravine at a speed of 10 to 20 mph (16 to 32 km/h) when the embankment collapsed, plunging the entire train into a torrent of water, drowning many. According to the Chicago Journal "The engine was literally buried in the opposite side of the ravine in quicksand and mud, and the tender, baggage and express car, and two second class cars, were shattered almost into kindling wood, and piled on top of the engine. The two first class passenger cars followed, and were torn to pieces and carried down the stream, while the sleeping car, although making the leap with the rest was less injured".[4] There had been extreme rainfall in the area the previous afternoon and evening and it is thought that the culvert beneath the embankment became blocked causing build-up of water behind the embankment which collapsed as the train was crossing. The westbound train had passed over safely at 8:30 p.m.[4]

Bull bridge accident - 9/26/1860
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_bridge_accident)
The accident happened on the Midland Railway between Derby and Chesterfield, on the night of 26 September 1860. With visibility only about 10 yards due to fog, the train was proceeding northwards at only 14 mph. It was a long train, with 27 wagons loaded with salt, two loaded goods vans, and brake van, hauled by a tender locomotive. The heavy load was causing some slippage of the engine's driving wheels on the rail. Half a mile beyond Ambergate station, the driver suddenly noticed that the engine's rear wheels were no longer on the rails. He shut off steam, stopped the engine and went to investigate. His tender was attached to only two wagons, and they were all off the rails too. There were two more wagons about 10 yards behind, close to Bull bridge, a small viaduct over a local road. The next nine wagons behind were piled in a heap about 25 feet high from the bottom of the road, reaching up to the telegraph wires by the side of the track. The guard in the brake van had been thrown head first against the front panel when the accident occurred, but was not seriously hurt. All the wagons behind the bridge were still on the line.

Atherstone rail accident - 11/16/1860
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atherstone_rail_accident)
A special cattle train from Holyhead to London via Peterborough was shunting just south of Atherstone station to let the Scotch mail train pass. Before the cattle train could clear the main line, the mail train struck it. The four rear carriages of the cattle train were 'shivered to pieces' killing all nine Irish drovers who were asleep in the brake van and the fireman of the mail train, James Sherry. 29 cattle were killed or had to be slaughtered soon afterwards. The Duke and Duchess of Montrose were passengers on the mail train but escaped without injury.
The driver of the mail train was not aware that a cattle train was ahead of him when they left Tamworth (the preceding station) and claimed he had not seen the advance signal at all approaching Atherstone station, but did not worry as he was not aware of there being a train ahead of him. By the time he saw a red signal just before the station he immediately applied the brakes but it was too late to avoid the collision.

Wootton bridge collapse - 6/11/1861
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wooton_Bridge_Collapse)
The Wootton bridge collapse occurred on 11 June 1861, when the rail bridge over the road between Leek Woottonand Hill Wootton in Warwickshire collapsed under the weight of a passing goods train on the line between Leamington Spa and Kenilworth owned by the London and North Western Railway Company. The train had passed over the bridge safely in the morning with a full load of coal, and was returning to Kenilworth with the empty wagons at 7 am. The 30 ton locomotive fell through the deck of the bridge onto the road below, and the tender crashed into the cab, killing both driver and fireman instantly. Many of the empty wagons behind were dragged into the gap to form a pile almost up to the height of nearby telegraph poles.

Clayton Tunnel rail crash - 8/25/1861
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_Tunnel_rail_crash)
At that moment, the first train cleared the tunnel, so Brown signalled back "tunnel clear" to Killick. But unfortunately, Killick thought that Brown was referring to the second train and not the first. In fact the second train's driver had seen the red flag and stopped about half a mile into the tunnel, and was reversing back to return to the south end. Meanwhile Killick saw the third train approaching and stopping at his signal; thinking that the tunnel was clear, he waved his white flag for it to proceed. The second and third trains then collided in the tunnel with great force. The second train was pushed forward, and the loco obliterated the guard's van at the rear before smashing into the last carriage. It then rode up over the carriage roof and smashed its chimney against the tunnel roof before stopping. Many of the 23 deaths were in this last carriage, where passengers were burnt or scalded to death by the broken engine.

Kentish Town rail accident - 9/2/1861
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentish_Town_rail_accident)
On 2 September 1861, near Kentish Town station in London, 16 people were killed and 317 injured, when an excursion train operated by the North London Railway collided with a freight train operated by the London and North Western Railway.[1]
The excursion train was running early and had been given permission to proceed; but met the freight train as it crossed the lines at a freight sidings unprotected by signals..[2]

Platte Bridge Railroad Tragedy - 9/3/1861
The Platte Bridge Railroad Tragedy was a bushwhacker attack on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad during the American Civil War on September 3, 1861, in which the train derailed on a bridge over the Platte River east of St. Joseph, Missouri, killing between 17 and 20 and injuring 100. The bridge crosses the river in Buchanan County, between Marion Township on the east, and Washington Township on the west.

Winchburgh rail crash - 10/13/1862
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchburgh_rail_crash)
The Winchburgh rail crash occurred on Monday 13 October 1862, a mile and a half northwest of Winchburgh in Linlithgowshire (now West Lothian). At that point, the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway passes through a cutting on a curve. On the day of the accident, only one line was in use due to track maintenance when two trains met head-on. The drivers saw each other when they were some 300 yards apart and managed to slow down so that their relative speed was under 30 mph when they collided. The driver of the Glasgow train leapt clear prior to the impact and survived though badly injured, but both firemen and the driver of the other train along with 15 passengers were killed and 35 injured.

Chunky Creek Train Wreck of 1863 - 2/19/1863
Severe flooding at the time caused debris to build up against the bridge. The weight of the debris caused the bridge to shift, leaving it six inches out of alignment. Attempts to warn the train failed, and the bridge collapsed as the train crossed.
The locomotive was totally submerged with the attached wooden boxcars demolished. The cargo debris of barrels, boxes, and supplies could be found floating in the winter cold stream. Over forty out of nearly one-hundred passengers were killed because of the high speed impact but others drowned after being trapped under the wreckage.[1]

St-Hilaire train disaster - 6/29/1864
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St-Hilaire_train_disaster)
On June 29, 1864, a Grand Trunk train carrying between 354 and 475 passengers, many of them German and Polish immigrants, was travelling from Quebec City to Montreal.[2][5] At around 1:20 a.m. local time the train was approaching the Belœil Bridge.[6] The swing bridge had been opened to allow the passage of five barges and a steamer ship. A red light a mile ahead of the bridge signalled to the train that the crossing was open and it needed to slow.[5] However, the light was not acknowledged by the conductor, Thomas Finn, or the engineer, William Burnie, and the train continued towards the bridge.[6][7]
At 1:20 a.m. the train came onto the bridge and fell through an open gap. The engine and eleven coaches fell through the gap one after another on top of each other, crushing a passing barge. The train sank into an area of the river with a depth of 10 feet (3.0 m).[2] 99 people aboard the train were killed and 100 more were injured.[2]

Shohola train wreck - 7/15/1864
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shohola_train_wreck)
A mile and a half from Shohola the track passes through "King and Fuller's Cut" which had only 50 feet of forward visibility as the track negotiated a series of blind bends. The trains collided head-on with a crash so fierce that it was said that locals 'felt it as an earthquake'.[1] The combined speed was more than 30 mph, and propelled the wood stacked in each engine's tenders forward into the cabs; killing both engineers and firemen. The wooden box cars were telescoped into each other.[3] Of the 37 men in the car immediately behind the engine, 36 were killed outright, the only survivor being thrown clear. Most casualties occurred in the first three box cars, those riding further back escaped death though many were injured. A ring of uninjured guards was formed around the wreck but despite this five Confederate prisoners escaped and were never recaptured.[4] Frank Evans, a Union guard described the scene: "The two locomotives were raised high in the air, face-to-face against each other, like giants grappling...The front (car) of our train was jammed into a space less than six feet. The two cars behind it were almost as badly wrecked. There were bodies impaled on iron rods and splintered beams. Headless trunks were mangled between the telescoped cars"[6]

Rednal rail crash - 6/7/1885
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rednal_rail_crash)
On 7 June 1865 a permanent way (groundwork and rails) gang were lifting and packing the "up" line 600 yards north ofRednal station on a 1 in 132 gradient that falls from Whittington. A green flag had been set 1100 yards away at the top of the incline as a warning. At 12:29 an excursion train from Birkenhead left Chester for Shrewsbury consisting of 28 coaches and two brake vans and hauled by two locomotives. An additional four coaches were added at Gobowen.
When the train reached Whittington it began to gain speed on the gradient, but the driver of the front locomotive did not see the flag warning of the work ahead. The brakes were applied when the workmen were sighted, but it was too late to stop such a heavy train. The lead locomotive derailed on the unsupported track, but continued along the ballast until it reached points outside Rednal station where it ran off the road and turned over. The extreme weight of the following train meant that the first four carriages were destroyed completely, killing 11 passengers and 2 train crew.

Staplehurst rail crash - 6/9/1865
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staplehurst_rail_crash)
On 9 June 1865 the daily boat train to London left Folkestone between 2:36 pm and 2:39 pm, having taken on board passengers from the tidal cross-channel ferry from France. A steam locomotive and tender hauled abrake van, a second class carriage, seven first class carriages, two second class carriages and three brake vans carrying eighty first class and thirty-five second class passengers. Three of the brake vans contained a guard and these were able to communicate with the driver using a whistle on the engine. Just after the train passed Headcorn railway station at 45–50 miles per hour (72–80 km/h), the driver saw a red flag. He whistled for the brakes and reversed his engine, but the locomotive and brakesmen were unable to stop the train before it derailed at 3:13 pm crossing the Beult viaduct, where a length of track had been removed during engineering works.[1]
The 10-foot (3.0 m) high viaduct, with eight openings each 21 feet (6.4 m) wide, crossed over a mostly dry river bed at the time of the accident. The locomotive, tender, van and second class carriage made it across and remained coupled to the first class carriage, the other end of which rested in the dry river bed. The next seven carriages ended up in the muddy river bed and the last second class carriage remained coupled to the trailing vans, the last two of which remained on the eastern bank. There were ten fatalities and forty people injured; seven carriages were destroyed, either in the derailment or when rescuing passengers.[2]

Angola Horror - 12/18/1867
W (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angola_Horror)ikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angola_Horror)
The train concerned was formed of so-called 'compromise cars,' which were originally designed to allow freight trains to run on both the 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge of the New York Central Railroad as well as the4 ft 10 in (1,473 mm) Ohio gauge of the Lake Shore Railroad, but this allowed 3⁄8 inch (9.5 mm) lateral movement on the latter, creating instability. As it neared the truss bridge over Big Sister Creek just east of Angola at 3:11, it ran over a 'frog' (the crossing point of two rails); the front axle of the rear car was slightly bent, and the frog caused a wheel on the defective axle to jump off the track, derailing the rear car, which began swaying violently from side to side.[2] The brakes were applied, but the train was still traveling at considerable speed as it crossed the bridge. The last car finally uncoupled from the train and plunged down into the icy gorge. The second-to-last car also derailed, but managed to make it across to the other side of the gorge before sliding 30 feet (9 m) down the embankment; only one person was killed in this car.[3]

Abergele rail disaster - 8/20/1868
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abergele_train_disaster)
About 1 3⁄4 mi (2.8 km) beyond Abergele, Arthur Thompson, the engine driver of the Irish Mail saw some wagons no more than 200 yards (~200 metres) in front, emerging from around a curve in the steep cutting at that point.[note 8] He initially thought the wagons were on the up line, "but immediately afterwards perceived that they were running towards him on the down line on which he was travelling". He promptly shut off steam, and the fireman, who had also seen the hazard, applied his brake. Thompson prepared to jump clear and called to his fireman "For God’s sake Joe, jump; we can do no more".[2][note 9] Thompson then jumped; Joe, his fireman, did not.
The Irish Mail is thought to have been doing 28–30 mph (45–50 km/h) when it hit the wagons, which were probably travelling at 12–15 mph (20–25 km/h) towards it at impact.[2] The force of the collision derailed the engine, its tender and the leading guard's van. The engine ran on about 30 yards and overturned to the left; the tender overturned to the right and ended up fouling the up line, along which the up (London-bound) Irish Mail was soon due to pass.[note 10]

Newark rail crash - 6/21/1870
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newark_rail_crash)
A disaster on the British rail network (Midland Railway) occurred on 21 June, 1870 when two trains collided at Newark in Nottinghamshire, England, killing 18 passengers and injuring 40 others. The investigation found that an axle had broken on the goods train, and the excursion train collided with the debris on the track.

Stairfoot rail accident - 12/12/1870
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stairfoot_rail_accident)
On 12 September 1870 in Barnsley top yard a rake of 10 goods wagons was standing on a gradient of 1 in 119. A singlesprag between the spokes of a wheel was holding them. When two gas tank wagons were shunted against the rake, the sprag broke and the 12 wagons began to move. Two pointsmen made valiant efforts to pin down the brakes to no avail. The wagons rapidly gathered speed as the gradient increased to 1 in 72 and passed three signal boxes, none of which had points under their control to deflect the runaways. Meanwhile a passenger train which had left Barnsley at 18:15 was standing at Stairfoot station one and a half miles away. The runaways struck the rear of the standing train at a speed of at least 40 mph, killing 15 and injuring 59 more.

Great Revere Train Wreck of 1871 - 8/26/1871
It was very dark that night and the engineer of the express thought the lights on the rear car were from the stations lamps. Suddenly, his head light caught the rear car and he whistled for brakes, but they were primitive hand brakes and couldn't hold on the slippery track. The express managed to slow to 10 miles per hour (16 km/h), but it wasn't enough as it slammed into the stopped local, telescoping the rear cars. The scene of the accident was horrific. The express train’s steam boiler burst and about a dozen people were either crushed to death by the boiler or scalded by the escaping hot water.[1] Some passengers that were trapped in the splintered rear coaches were burned alive as coal-oil lamps ignited the wreckage and 29 people died (some sources say 32), while several others were injured.

Kirtlebridge rail crash - 10/2/1872
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirtlebridge_rail_crash)
On 2 October 1872 the 21:00 night Scotch Express from London Euston, running 1 hour and 50 minutes late left Carlisleat 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.

Wood River Junction Train Disaster - 4/19/1873
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_River_Junction)
On April 19, 1873 a train disaster was caused by a bridge washout and burning of passenger cars.[1] The Branch was built to provide service from the Hope Valley to the main line of the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad and was only six miles long. The New Haven Railroad took over operation of the Branch in 1892 and eventually abandoned it on August 8, 1947. The main line continues in operation today as Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.

Wigan rail crash - 8/2/1873
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wigan_rail_crash)
As the lengthy train ran through Wigan North Western station the driver glanced back and saw sparks flying to the rear of the train. After drawing to a halt he walked back to find an appalling sight at the south end of the down platform. The first 15 carriages of the fast-moving train had passed safely through the station, but two wheels of the 16th coach had derailed at a set of facing points. Next came a luggage van which derailed completely, demolishing a lineside shunter's cabin and losing its side in the process. The couplings held on both these two vehicles and they travelled the length of the platform and were rerailed by a crossing at the north end. However the following carriages were not so fortunate and had all been derailed on the points, had broken away from the train and lay in shattered confusion at the start of the platform and on the passing loop behind it, leaving 13 dead and 30 injured. Only the last coach and rear brake-van were undamaged. The front portion of the train continued to Scotland 90 minutes later.

Bo'ness Junction rail crash - 1/27/1874
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo%27ness_Junction_rail_crash)
On the morning of 27 January 1874 the East Coast Scotch express, having been divided at Edinburgh was due to pass the junction in two portions; the first bound for Glasgow at 07:02 and the second bound for Perth at 07:07, but were running some 8 minutes late. A goods train was waiting in sidings at the junction; as soon as the Glasgow express passed it was shunted across onto the main line when the Perth express collided with it. It is believed that the station staff mistook the late-running Glasgow train for the second Perth express. Signals should have prevented the disaster but it is believed they were incorrectly set. Only when the roar of the approaching express could be heard were the signals set to danger but too late to prevent the collision in which 16 were killed and 28 injured. A road bridge near the point of impact was so badly damaged it had to be demolished.

Thorpe rail accident - 9/10/1874
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorpe_rail_accident)
The Thorpe rail accident occurred on 10 September 1874, when two trains were in head-on collision at Thorpe St Andrew in the English county of Norfolk.[1] [2]
The accident occurred on what was then a single-track rail line between Norwich railway station and Brundall. The two trains involved were the 20.40 mail from Yarmouth and the 17.00 express from London to Yarmouth. The latter had leftNorwich Thorpe at 21.30 and would normally have had a clear run on its way to Yarmouth, since the mail train should have been held on a loop line at Brundall to allow the express to pass. On this occasion trains were running late.
In such circumstances, when the timetable was upset, drivers had to have written authority to proceed further. Due to a series of errors (primarily, the telegraph clerk sending the authorization message before it had been signed by the appropriate official), both drivers received their authority, and anxious to make up for lost time, set off at speed along the single track. The accident, when it occurred around 21.45, resulted in both locomotives rearing into the air, and carriages reduced to wreckage.

Shipton-on-Cherwell train crash - 12/24/1874
The accident happened a few hundred yards from the village of Hampton Gay and close to Shipton-on-Cherwell, the train with 13 carriages and two engines had left Oxford station for Birmingham at 11:40.[1] The train was about half and hour late and going about 40 miles an hour when after six miles the tire of the wheel on a third-class carriage broke and the carriage left the track for about 300 yards including the bridge of the River Cherwell, after the bridge and before a similar bridge across the Oxford and Birmingaham canal the carriage went down an embankment taking other carriages with it, breaking up as they crossed the field.[1] Three carriages and a goods carried on over the canal bridge, and another fell into the water, the front section of the train carried on for some distance.[1] The owner and men from the Hampton Gay paper close to the accident site tried to assist the injured in the snow. Telegrams were sent to local stations to summon medical help but it took an hour and a half before a doctor appeared, a special train was used to move the injured back to hospitals in Oxford.[1] As well as at least 26 that died at the scene while four others were dead by the time the special train had arrived at Oxford station. At least one other died in hospital and the canal was dragged but no bodies were found.[1]

Abbots Ripton rail accident - 1/21/1876
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbots_Ripton_rail_disaster)
The Abbots Ripton rail disaster occurred on 21 January 1876 at Abbots Ripton, then in the county of Huntingdonshire, England, now in Cambridgeshire, on the Great Northern Railway main line, previously thought to be exemplary for railway safety. In the accident, the Special Scotch Express (known informally to railway workers as 'the Scotchman' although not officially the Flying Scotsman until after 1923) train from Edinburgh to London was involved in a collision, during a blizzard,[1] with a coal train. An express travelling in the other direction then ran into the wreckage. The initial accident was caused by:
- over-reliance on signals and blockworking as allowing high-speed running even in adverse conditions
- systematic signal failure in the adverse conditions of that day due to a vulnerability to accumulation of snow and ice
Additional factors in the second accident were:
- inadequate braking performance of the second express
- failure to implement emergency procedures promptly and correctlyThe accident (and the subsequent inquiry into it) led to fundamental changes in British railway signalling practice.

Radstock rail accident - 8/7/1876
On 7 August, the August Bank Holiday, the S&D ran seventeen extra trains to cater for people enjoying the day off work. These trains did not appear in the normal timetables and the superintendent at Glastonbury, Caleb Percy, had to arrange crossings i.e. issue instructions as to which trains were to be delayed to allow the special trains to be passed over the single line sections. He was hampered in this task by poor telegraph communications all day.[1]
Both trains involved in the accident were unscheduled. The "down" (south-bound) train was supposedly an empty stock train returning from Bath, but large numbers of passengers were aboard, returning to Radstock and nearby villages from a regatta in Bath.[1] The "up" (north-bound) train was a relief train from Bournemouth, arranged hastily because the scheduled train was overcrowded. Percy and his staff could get very little information on the location of either train. The replies to their enquiries from the telegraph clerk at Wellow (who was only fifteen, and trying to do the work of the stationmaster who had gone for a drink in Midford) were vague. Those from the clerk at Radstock were apparently deliberately obtuse.
The Radstock telegraph clerk sent on the "up" relief train without receiving any crossing order or ascertaining the location of the "down" train. Shortly before midnight, the driver of the "up" train pulled up at the Foxcote signal box. The signalman there, Alfred Dando was barely literate and not physically strong enough to work his signal levers, so the signal arm was somewhere between "safe" and "caution". The signal lamp was out (as he was not given enough oil to light it), so Dando was waving a hand lantern. After a few minutes, Dando allowed the train to proceed. The clerk at Wellow had already sent the "down" stock train on, but without using his block instruments to alert Dando. The "down" train driver could not see the Foxcote distant signal, as it too was unlit. He saw the home signal against him, and also saw the other train, too late to avoid a collision.[1]

Ashtabula River Railroad Disaster - 12/29/1876
On December 29, 1876, at about 7:30 pm, two locomotives hauling 11 railcars of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway carrying 159 passengers plunged into the river in deep snow when the bridge gave way beneath them. The wooden cars were set alight by their heating stoves, but no attempt was made to extinguish the fire. The accident killed ninety-two people, including the gospel singer and hymn-writer Philip Bliss and his wife, and was the worst rail accident in the U.S. until the Great Train Wreck of 1918.

Lapstone Zig Zag / Emu Plains train crash - 1/30/1878
The rail route across the mountains reached as far as Wentworth Falls (then called "Weatherboard") by 1867[6] but the Lapstone Zig Zag, which included Lucasville station, soon ran into problems: the length of the top points and bottom points limited the length of trains and the single track meant that trains travelling in opposite directions had to stop at crossing points. The first crossing point after Lapstone Zig Zag was at Wascoe's Siding at what is now Glenbrook. The single track would contribute to a fatal accident at Emu Plains in 1878 where eastbound and westbound goods trains collided.[2] A deviation including a tunnel was built around 1890 to replace the zig zag, but it too experienced problems as it was built at too steep a grade causing the locomotives to slip, and smoke became a problem for uphill trains.[2]

Tay Bridge disaster - 12/28/1879
The Tay Bridge disaster occurred during a violent storm on 28 December 1879 when the first Tay Rail Bridge collapsed while a train was passing over it from Wormit to Dundee, killing all aboard. The bridge – designed by Sir Thomas Bouch – used lattice girders supported by iron piers, with cast iron columns and wrought iron cross-bracing. The piers were narrower and their cross-bracing was less extensive and robust than on previous similar designs by Bouch.

Rimutaka Incline railway accident - 9/11/1880
The Rimutaka Incline railway accident occurred on 11 September 1880 when the leading three carriages on a Greytown to Wellington train were blown off the track in strong winds near the Siberia tunnel; killing three passengers.[1] The Rimutaka Incline section of the line over the Rimutaka Ranges between Wellington and the Wairarapa used the Fell system on the steep 1 in 15 section which was 4.8 km (3.0 mi) long.

Morelos railway accident - 6/23/1881
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morelos_railway_accident)
There had been heavy rains in the area,[3] and in the dark, the engineer was unable to see that the bridge was now unsupported. When the train started over the bridge it immediately dropped into the ravine. On the way down, burning coals from the rear locomotive set the barrels of alcohol aflame. Between the fall and the fire, few survived.

Hugstetten rail disaster - 9/3/1882
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugstetten_rail_disaster)
On 3 September, which was the Sunday after the "Day of Sedan", more than 2,000 people from Alsace (which belonged to Germany after the Franco-Prussian War) had come to Freiburg to spend a relaxing holiday in the neighboring town. At 8 p.m., the train was scheduled to return to Colmar. During the evening, an intense storm and rain had occurred in Freiburg, and the water had probably undermined the rails at the Mooswald Forest, west of Freiburg. Due to the rain, the train's departure was delayed, and when it finally was underway it was carrying some 1,200 persons in 28 wagons. The driver was probably speeding somewhat to make up for the lost time and the train was traveling as fast as 70 km/h.
When the driver noticed a washaway and tried to brake without the help of a brakeman, the momentum of the pushing railroad cars forced 25 wooden railroad cars to derail into swampy terrain. Only three cars remained on the tracks.

Hightstown rail accident - 11/ 8/1883
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hightstown_rail_accident)
The Hightstown rail accident occurred on the Camden and Amboy Railroad between Hightstown, New Jersey and Spotswood on 8 November 1833, just two months after horses were replaced by steam locomotives on the line. It is the earliest recorded train accident involving the death of passengers.[2]
The train had been travelling from South Amboy to Bordentown at a speed 35 mph, when despite having stopped 'to oil the wheels' and slowing to 20 mph,[3] a journal box overheated (a condition known as hot box) and caught fire, causing an axle to break on one of the carriages, derailing and overturning it. All but one of the 24 passengers it carried were injured; one was killed outright and another died later from his injuries.

The Bullhouse Bridge Accident, 1884 - 7/16/1884
The first major accident occurred on 16 July 1884, a few miles to the west of the town, near Bullhouse Colliery. The accident is often referred to as being at "Bullhouse Bridge", where the road to Huddersfield passes below the line. An express passenger train, the 12:30 pm from Manchester London Road to London King's Cross, with through carriages for Grimsby Docks in connection with the evening steamer sailing, had left Woodhead Tunnel and was gathering speed on the downhill gradient towards Penistone. As it entered the curve at Bullhouse, the driver felt the engine develop an uneasy roll, but before he could apply the brakes, he heard a crack. A driving wheel axle on the locomotive had snapped, and the resulting spread of the driving wheels distorted the track. The axle fracture was probably caused by metal fatigue. A horsebox coupled behind the engine was derailed but remained upright. The coupling between the horsebox and the following carriages failed, and they ran off the rails and down the embankment on the outside of the curve. In total 24 passengers were killed with a high proportion being women.[4]

Forest Hills disaster - 3/14/1887
A morning commuter train, inbound to Boston, was passing over the "Bussey Bridge", a Howe truss, at South Street in the Roslindale neighborhood a half mile from the Forest Hills station, when it suddenly collapsed, sending several cars crashing to the street below. Twenty-four commuters were killed and another 125 were seriously injured.
The train, made up of nine cars, was traveling over the Dedham Branch of the Boston & Providence Railroad on a sunny Monday morning with about 300 passengers, including several school children. Six miles from Boston, the train crossed over the Bussey Bridge on its approach to the Forest Hills Station. The locomotive and first two cars crossed the bridge and then suddenly, without any warning, the bridge fell taking the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth cars with it. The shock of the collapse was so quick and forceful that the body of one of the cars fell and its roof tore off completely and landed on the embankment beyond the bridge.

Great Chatsworth train wreck - 8/10/1887
900 people were on the train when it wrecked. The death count according to the Chicago Daily, August 13, 1887, was 355 people. On August 18 Timothy Coughlin was arrested and held responsible for the devastating crash. The summer of 1887 had been hot and dry. Fearing that sparks from the steam engines of the trains could ignite brush fires, the TP&W company began performing controlled burns to prevent an uncontrollable brush fire. On the day of the accident, TP&W crews performed a controlled burn near the site of the accident—it is suspected that failure to extinguish the fire resulted in charring of the bridge.[3]
That evening, a TP&W train departed Peoria, traveling east through Eureka and Chenoa. Two steam engines pulled six fully loaded wooden passenger cars, six sleeper cars, and three luggage cars. In total, the train carried about 700 vacationers taking advantage of a special offer to visit Niagara Falls.[4] Just before the accident site, the coach accelerated down a slope, reaching 40 miles per hour (64 km/h). The first engine successfully crossed the weakened bridge as it collapsed; the second engine crashed into the side of the hill, while each following passenger car telescoped into the next. Sleeper cars attached to the rear of the train halted just short of the bridge.[3]

Hexthorpe rail accident - 9/16/1887
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexthorpe_rail_accident)
The usual method of working the 1.5 miles (2.4 km) section of line was to pass trains from Hexthorpe Junction under a 'permissive' block ruling, not usually used on passenger lines, with additional control by two flagmen spaced between the junction box and the ticket platform. On this day two trains were in the section, the first, a Midland Railway train, stood at the platform, the second, another Midland train waiting just to its rear. As the first train moved off the second moved onto the platform so that tickets could be checked.
The third train in this scenario was a Liverpool to Hull express worked by a MS&LR crew and probably the crew who should have understood the working of the line better than any other. This train came over Hexthorpe Junction with, first the 'distant' signal and then the 'home' signal at danger. With speed down to a crawl the 'home' signal was lowered, the driver assumed, wrongly, that with no other fixed signals to Cherry Tree Lane his route was clear and speed gradually rose. In the official report it was said that the first of the flagmen gave no indication and the second gave an ambiguous signal which was seen by the fireman but not properly understood. The express was reported doing between 35 and 40 m.p.h. when they rounded the curve and saw the Midland train still in the platform. The driver applied the 'simple' vacuum brake and threw the locomotive into reverse but could not stop with the short distance of less than 250 yards.

Wreck at the Fat Nancy - 7/12/1888
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wreck_at_the_Fat_Nancy)
On the morning of July 12, 1888, one of the largest railroad disasters in Virginia's history[2] occurred when a trestle collapsed as a passenger train was atop it. Virginia Midland Railroad's Train 52—“The Piedmont Airline”—was crossing the 44-foot-high, 487-foot-long trestle when it gave way, sending the train to the ground. Twenty-six passengers were injured and nine were killed. One of the deceased was Cornelius G. Cox, the civil engineer who had designed a culvert to replace the trestle, which was known to be unstable.[2] Among the passengers was former Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet, who was returning from the 25th reunion of theBattle of Gettysburg.[1] The incident is named for the trestle, known as the "Fat Nancy" for the woman who served as the trestle watcher.[1]

Mud Run Disaster - 10/10/1888
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mud_Run_Disaster)
The trains concerned were taking home members of the Catholic Total Abstinence Union of America from a 20,000 person rally in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. Altogether 5,000 were returning to Luzerne and Lackawanna counties via the railroad, and to accommodate this great number eight trains were provided ("laid on"), running at ten-minute intervals. Each train had between 8 and 12 cars and was headed by two engines to cope with the steep grades between Penn Haven and Hazle Creek Junctions through what is now the Lehigh Gorge State Park; lookouts were posted on the engines to watch ahead for signals. The first four trains had passed through without incident but as the fifth passed through Mud Run station it stopped 500 yards beyond the station as there was no 'All Clear' signal displayed ahead. The flagman and conductor hung a red light on the rear car and walked back along the track to warn the 6th train which was approaching Mud Run. It had passed an eastbound train which normally indicates the single track ahead was now clear. The lookouts on the 6th train failed to see the red signal at Mud Run station[2] and by the time they noticed the light being waved frantically by the conductor and flagman of the 5th train it was too late to avoid a collision, which happened at 10 pm.[3]
The full length of the lead engine telescoped into the rear car and drove it two thirds of its length into the next car; which was in turn pushed into the third. No-one survived in the rear car 'on all sides hung mangled bodies and limbs' whilst the second was described as 'crowded with maimed and bleeding bodies'. An attempt was made to withdraw the engine from the third car but brought 'such awful cries of distress that it was abandoned'.[4]

Borki train disaster - 10/29/1888
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borki_train_disaster)
The imperial family was en route from Crimea to Saint Petersburg. Contrary to railway rules of the period that limited commercial passenger trains to 42 axles, the imperial train of fifteen carriages actually had 64 axles, well above the safety limit. Its weight was within the limits set for freight trains, but the train actually travelled at express speeds. It was hauled by two steam engines, a combination that caused dangerous vibrations that, according to Sergei Witte, directly caused the derailment.[1] Technical flaws of the royal train were known in advance, yet it had operated for nearly a decade without incidents.[2]

Armagh rail disaster - 6/12/1889
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armagh_rail_disaster)
The Armagh rail disaster happened on 12 June 1889 near Armagh, Ulster, Ireland, when a crowded Sunday school excursion train had to negotiate a steep incline; thesteam locomotive was unable to complete the climb and the train stalled. The train crew decided to divide the train and take forward the front portion, leaving the rear portion on the running line. The rear portion was inadequately braked and ran back down the gradient, colliding with a following train. Eighty people were killed and 260 injured,[1] about a third of them children.

Norton Fitzwarren rail crash - 11/11/1890
The incident began at 12:36 am, when a down goods train from Bristol to Exeter, hauled by both a standard-gauge engine and a broad gauge pilot engine, arrived at Norton Fitzwarren to take on and put off stock. Another down goods train, which was not scheduled to stop at the station, was due at 1:17 am, and at 1:05 am the guard of the first goods train was told by the signalman to shunt his train clear of the down line, on to the up main, while the pilot engine was separately moved on to a branch line.
After the fast goods train had passed, the signalman moved the pilot engine back to the down main line - while this movement was taking place, at 1:23 am, the up boat train was offered to the signalman by the preceding signal box. Forgetting that the slow goods train was still on the up main line, the signalman accepted the boat train, and cleared his signals for it. At 1:24 am, with full steam on at a speed estimated at 50 mph, the boat train passed the signal box and ran into the goods train. The driver and fireman of the goods train managed to jump clear before the accident, but were unable to give any signal in the short time they had. The guard of the boat train did not recall any braking before the impact.

Thirsk rail crash - 11/2/1892
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirsk_rail_crash_(1892))
James Holmes was the signalman at Manor House signal box. The day before the crash, his baby daughter Rose was taken ill and later died. Holmes was extremely distressed and had been awake for 36 hours, ministering to the child, walking miles trying to find the local doctor (who was away from home attending to another patient), and comforting his distraught wife. He reported to the stationmaster at Otterington that he would be unable to work the shift on the next night, but the stationmaster merely asked his superiors for a relief signalman, without stating that the reason was that Holmes had reported himself unfit to work. As a result, no relief signalman was appointed.
Forced to work his shift, Holmes called at the Otterington signal box before walking to Manor House. He asked the signalman there to notify him when his mother arrived on the train from York to look after his wife. He also told the Otterington signalman that he was already exhausted. It was night with a thick mist which later thickened to fog.
About three hours into Holmes's shift, two express passenger trains were due from the north, but the second had been delayed, and a goods train was sent down the main line after the first. Holmes let it into his section but then was "overmastered by sleep". The goods train came to a halt just outside his signal box. Thirteen minutes later, Holmes awoke, rather confused. The Otterington signalman warned him to be ready for the second express, and Holmes saw that his instruments still indicated that there was a train on the line. He had forgotten about the goods train, and thought he had fallen asleep before clearing the instruments after the first express. He cleared the instruments and accepted the second express.
The express crashed at sixty miles per hour into the goods train, which had only just started to move off at walking pace. Nine passengers and the guard of the goods train were killed, and 39 people injured. Nearly an hour later, hot coals from the firebox of the engine of the express train set the wreckage on fire. The express train's Pintsch oil gas lighting system acted as an accelerant and added to the fire. Two of the bodies were incinerated and were not recovered.

Rock Island railroad wreck - 8/8/1894
Locomotive 213 departed with two passenger railcars from Fairbury, Nebraska at 7:30pm on 9 August 1894, due to reach Lincoln two hours later. At approximately 9:20, the train careened 40 feet off a 400-foot-long trestle which was then southwest of town. The engine burst, spilling hot coals everywhere, and soon the whole train was aflame. Eleven of 33 passengers died.
The crash was determined to be an act of sabotage. There were pulled spikes present, as well as wrench marks in the rail, and gouges in the ties made by a crowbar. A 40-pound crowbar was located near the scene. Within two days, police arrested George Washington Davis, who some survivors claimed to have seen holding a lantern at the accident site.

Chelford rail accident - 12/22/1894
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelford_rail_accident)
The Chelford rail accident occurred on 22 December 1894 at Chelford railway station.[1] The stationmaster was supervising shunting operations, during which a high-sided wagon was fly-shunted (i.e. run-off) into a siding in strong winds and rapidly fading light. As another six wagons were being run onto an adjoining road, the stationmaster saw the high-sided wagon being blown out of its siding by the wind to meet them. A collision occurred derailing the runaway in such a way that it fouled the main line just as the 16:15 Manchester to Crewe express approached, drawn by two locomotives, LNWR Waterloo Class 2-4-0 No 418 Zygia and Experiment Class No 518 Express.[2] The stationmaster ran towards them waving a red lamp but the drivers thought he was signalling to the shunters and did not slacken speed. Zygia derailed and fell on her side whilst her tender ran up the platform ramp. Express remained upright but the first carriage demolished the front of a signalbox. In all, 14 passengers were killed and 48 injured.

Atlantic City rail crash - 7/30/1896
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1896_Atlantic_City_rail_crash)
A train consisting of seven cars left Atlantic City over the West Jersey Railroad bearing a special excursion of members of the Improved Order of Red Men and their friends from Bridgeton and Salem, New Jersey, and had reached the crossing of the Reading Railroad when it was struck by the 5:40 down express train fromPhiladelphia. Two cars were demolished and the two cars following were telescoped.
The engine of the Reading train was wrecked, the engineer killed, and the fireman fatally injured. The car behind it was thrown from the track and many of its occupants were killed or injured.
In 1896, leaving Atlantic City, the tracks of the West Jersey Road were parallel to those of the Camden and Atlantic Railway until they crossed the drawbridge, when they switched off to the south, crossing the Reading Road at an oblique angle.
John Greiner, the engineer of the West Jersey train, saw the Reading train approaching the crossing at a swift speed, but as the signals were open for him to proceed on his way, he continued. His engine had barely cleared the crossing when the locomotive of the Reading train, which left Philadelphia at 5:40 pm, struck the first car full in the centre, throwing it far off the track in a nearby ditch, and submerging it completely. The second car of the West Jersey train was also carried into the ditch, the third and fourth cars being telescoped. The engine of the Reading train was thrown to the other side of the track, carrying with it the first coach.
A few minutes after the collision, the boiler of the Reading locomotive exploded, scalding several people to death and casting boiling spray over many of the injured passengers.

The Crash at Crush - 9/15/1896
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crash_at_Crush)
Crush, Texas, was a temporary "city" established as a one-day publicity stunt in 1896. William George Crush, general passenger agent of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (popularly known as the Katy), conceived the idea to demonstrate a train wreck as a spectacle.[1] No admission was charged, and train fares to the crash site were at the reduced rate of US$2 from any location in Texas. As a result about 40,000 people showed up on September 15, 1896, making the new town of Crush, Texas, temporarily the second-largest city in the state.

Welshampton rail crash - 6/11/1897
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welshampton_rail_crash)
An excursion to Barmouth had been organised by the United Sunday Schools of Royton. A group of 320 passengers were on board a train of mixed Cambrian Railways (CR) and Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) stock of 15 carriages, pulled by two locomotives. Earlier in the day a CR guard had complained of the rough-riding of a small 4-wheeled L&YR brake van, which on the return journey was at the front of the train.
The train left Barmouth at 18:00. At about 22:20 one of the engines and 13 of the coaches left the rails of the CR's Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway, 154 yards (141 m) east of Welshampton station. Nine passengers were killed in what was the first fatal accident on the line since it was built, two other passengers and a railway employee died later from injuries.

Garrison train crash - 10/24/1897
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrison_train_crash)
The Garrison train crash occurred on October 24, 1897, in Garrison, New York, on a Sunday morning, at approximately 5:47 am,[1] when train No. 46 of the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad derailed near King's Dock of the Hudson River division, about one and three-quarters miles south of Garrison. 19 people were killed, all but one of whom drowned when the embankment gave way plunging the train into the Hudson River.[2][3] Witnesses described feeling between one and three "thuds" before three of the five sleeper cars fell into the river.[2] Several witnesses described seeing a "hole" in the trackbed after the accident, however, the cause of this was not determined.[2] Early speculation blamed a large explosion of dynamite as the cause of the train's derailment.[4] Two weeks previously, the same train had almost derailed near the same spot when a two-ton boulder was found on the tracks, with some believing it had been deliberately placed.[4]

Rakaia railway accident - 3/11/1899
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakaia_railway_accident)
Rakaia was an intermediate station on the single-track Main South Line between Ashburton and Christchurch, with a branch line to Methven. Two excursion trains carrying about 3000 workers and families from the Islington Freezing Works (abattoir) in Christchurch had been to Ashburton for their annual picnic. The first train had two locomotives and 30 carriages, and the second had one locomotive and 14 carriages plus two wagons. The first train left Ashburton at 6.05 pm. The second train left 20 minutes late at 6.35 pm., and the chief guard (William Climpson) was left on the platform. The two trains had to wait at Rakaia for the regular Christchurch-Ashburton train, and a Methven branch train was waiting on the branch line south of Rakaia Station. Conditions were wet and unpleasant, with driving rain and a south-west gale.
The second train was tying to make up time, and should have stopped short of the Rakaia station. But the driver (Charles Carter) did not brake until he saw the hand-held light of a station clerk, and the brakes skidded on the wet rails. The guard (J. Curson) of the first train saw the second train approaching fast, and signalled the drivers (William Hyland and Gardiner) to move the first train. Though the first train only had time to move two coach lengths, this reduced the damage. The engine of the second train ploughed into the back of the guard's van of the first train, causing it to cut 14 feet into the next carriage while the third carriage mounted the second carriage to a distance of about 8 feet.

Casey Jones' Cannonball Express Crash - 4/30/1900
On April 30, 1900, he alone was killed when his passenger train, the Cannonball Express, collided with a stalled freight train at Vaughan, Mississippi, on a foggy and rainy night.
His dramatic death, trying to stop his train and save lives, made him a hero; he was immortalized in a popular ballad sung by his friend Wallace Saunders, an African-American engine wiper for the IC.[3][4]

Wreck of the Old 97 - 9/27/1903
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wreck_of_the_Old_97)
On September 27, 1903 while en route from Monroe, Virginia, to Spencer, North Carolina, the train derailed at Stillhouse Trestle near Danville, Virginia. The wreck inspired a famous railroad ballad, which was the focus of a convolutedcopyright lawsuit but became seminal in the genre of country music.[1]

Glasgow St Enoch rail accident - 7/27/1903
The Glasgow St Enoch rail accident occurred on 27 July 1903.[1] A train arriving at the St Enoch terminal station failed to stop in time and collided heavily with the buffer stop, sustaining severe damage. Sixteen people were killed and 27 injured. This was the worst buffer stop collision on British main line railways, though exceeded by the Moorgate tragedy on the London Underground.

Paris Métro train fire - 8/10/1903
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_M%C3%A9tro_train_fire)
This description is too long to fit here.
Basically it involved a train with an electrical problem that began to smoke heavily. The passengers were evacuated to board another train while the damaged train attempted to move out of the way and caught fire inside a tunnel. The passengers boarded the second train which they would have to abandon several stops later because the second train was now need to push the first train out of the way. The passengers of both trains boarded a third train that when it approached the fire in the tunnel, asked the passengers of all three trains to evacuate the train and tunnel up to the street. The angered passengers demanded their money back and an altercation ensued. As a result of the passenger stubbornness, 85 people died in the tunnel due to the smoke and fire.

Purdue Wreck - 10/31/1903
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purdue_Wreck)
Two special trains operated by the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway (the "Big Four Railroad") were chartered to carry over 1,500 passengers from Lafayette to Indianapolis for the annualIndiana University / Purdue University rivalry football game. It was to be played for the first time at a "neutral" field at Washington Park in Indianapolis. Seventeen passengers in the first coach were killed when the lead special collided with a coal train after rounding a curve at the Mill Street Power House near 18th Street in Indianapolis. Thirteen of the dead were members of the Purdue football team. A fourteenth player died of his injuries in November 1903. Due to a breakdown in communication, the crew of the coal train was not aware the specials were approaching. They backed their train onto the main line just before the lead special arrived. The engineer of the special was able to throw the engine into reverse, set the brake, and jump clear of his engine, but he was not able to prevent the collision.

Connellsville train wreck - 12/23/1903
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connellsville_train_wreck)
The engineer of the Duquesne Limited barely had time to apply the brakes when at about 7.45 pm[3] the Atlantic struck the 60-foot (18 m) timbers and fell onto its side between the tracks, which were torn apart a distance of 500 feet (150 m);[7] the tender was 'thrown high into the air over the top of the engine'. The crowded smoking car ripped along the side of the engine, the broken steam dome catching it at window height. Escaping steam shot through the interior of the car, scalding everyone in it to death; according to the local paper they were 'literally cooked alive', 'Steam blistered the tongues and lips of the victims to an awful size and they protruded in a sickening manner', 'Death came quickly, but its agony evidently was intense'.[4] Another car was thrown over an embankment into the nearby Youghiogheny River. On the other side of the river an operator in a tower (signal box) on the Pittsburg and Lake Erie Railroad witnessed the disaster. Baggagemaster Thomas Baum managed to avert a worse disaster; despite being seriously injured he set fire to his coat using matches to flag down the next westbound passenger train, which managed to stop just short of the wreck. A relief train was organised which arrived on the scene at 9 pm amid reports that many of the bodies had been robbed.[3]

Eden train wreck - 8/7/1904
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eden_Train_Wreck)
The engineer, Charles Hinman had been given a thunderstorm caution and had slowed the train to 10-15 mph to watch for washaways. After the engine had crossed the creek, a large wave threw the cars over to the right, broke the coupling to the rear 2 Pullman and dining cars, and dragged the engine backwards into the river. The Pullman's porter, Melville Sales of St. Louis, quickly pulled the emergency air brakes saving the remaining passengers. The front Pullman car was left hanging four feet over the edge of what remained of the bridge.[1]

New Market train wreck - 9/24/1904
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Market_train_wreck)
The trains met on New Market Hill at 10:18 a.m.; the special managed to gather speed on the upgrade and was travelling at 60 mph; the local on the downgrade was trying to make up lost time and attained 70 mph; when they saw each other the emergency brakes were applied but the trains collided at a combined speed of over 100mph (though a contemporary source says 70 mph)[4] and the crash could be heard 15 miles away. Both engineers were killed. The locomotive and coal-tender of the local train were catapulted into the air, turning upside down they flew over the Special's engine, tender and baggage cars, landing squarely on top of the wooden passenger cars which were also struck from behind by the weight of the sturdy steel Pullman cars, which remained relatively undamaged. In seven seconds,[3] the wooden coaches were 'crushed like eggshells'.[1] Death was quick for most, with many of the victims decapitated or horribly mangled; 'splintered timbers, iron, and steel were piled in chaotic masses over the rails, mingling with human bodies'.[2] When news of the crash reached Knoxville, a relief train was organised to bring doctors and medical supplies to the site and take the injured to Knoxville General Hospital. Reporters also managed to board the train and many photographs of the scene were made (see here) Estimates as to the death toll vary from 56 (with 106 injured)[2] to 113 dead.[3]

Hall Road rail accident - 7/27/1905
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall_Road_rail_accident)
The Hall Road rail accident occurred at 16:37 on 27 July 1905 at Hall Road station betweenBootle and Formby north of Liverpool, operated at the time by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. The 16:30 Liverpool Exchange railway station to Southport express collided with a local train which had departed Liverpool ten minutes earlier, and which was to be turned round at Hall Road. The local train had been shunted into a siding to allow the express to pass; there is doubt whether the points had been closed afterwards, or if the express had jumped the points. Either way the express struck the rear of the local train, killing 20 people. Both drivers survived, having jumped clear prior to the impact.

Witham rail crash - 9/1/1905
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witham_rail_crash)
All 14 coaches of the 09:27 London Liverpool Street to Cromer express derailed whilst travelling through the station at speed. 10 passengers and a luggage porter were killed when several of the carriages somersaulted on to the platforms causing considerable damage to the rolling stock and the station. 71 passengers were seriously injured.[1] This remains to this day the worst single loss of life in a railway accident in Essex.

Ninth Avenue derailment - 9/11/1905
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninth_Avenue_derailment)
Trains of the Ninth Avenue and Sixth Avenue elevated lines shared the same track above West 53rd Street, where the Sixth Avenue line branched off. Downtown-bound trains displayed disks indicating to the towerman at the junction whether he should set the switch for the train to enter the curve or proceed straight on to the 50th Street station.[1][2] During the morning rush hour on September 11, 1905, a Ninth Avenue train following a Sixth Avenue train was mistakenly switched onto the curve. The train was traveling at 30 mph when it entered the sharp curve, for which 9 mph was the company-mandated limit.[3]The motorman, Paul Kelly, realizing the error, braked quickly. The lead car remained on the tracks but the second was thrown right off the trestle and down to the street, coming to rest with one end on the ground and the other across the third rail on the trestle, which sparked an electrical fire.[4][5] The roof was torn off and some passengers were crushed under the car by a falling truck and motor equipment from the third car, which came to rest hanging off the edge of the trestle against the front of an apartment building, into which some passengers were able to escape through a window.[4][6] The rest of the train also derailed but continued down the trestle along Ninth Avenue. The death toll was 13, and 48 serious injuries in the second car.[1]

Salisbury rail crash - 7/1/1906
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salisbury_rail_crash)
In the Salisbury rail crash of 1 July 1906, a London and South Western Railway boat train fromPlymouth's Friary railway station to London Waterloo station failed to navigate a very sharp curve at the eastern end of Salisbury railway station. The curve had a speed limit of 30 mph, but the express had been travelling at more than 70 mph. The train was completely derailed, and smashed into a milk train and a light engine, killing 28 people.

Grantham rail accident - 9/19/1906
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grantham_rail_accident)
The Grantham rail accident occurred on 19 September 1906. An evening sleeping-car and mail train from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh Waverley hauled by Ivatt 'Atlantic' No 276 derailed, killing 14. The accident occurred in mysterious circumstances; the train ran right through Grantham station, where it was scheduled to stop, and derailed on a sharp junction curve at the end of the platform, which at the time had been set for the passing of a freight train; no definite cause was ever established as to why the train did not stop as scheduled or obey the signals at Caution and Danger. Rolt (1956) described it as "the railway equivalent of the Marie Celeste [sic]".

Atlantic City train wreck - 10/28/1906
The newly constructed bridge crossed The Thoroughfare, a creek separating Atlantic City from the mainland. On Sunday, October 28, 1906 the bridge had been opened to allow a small vessel to pass. The signals protecting the bridge were interlocked, meaning that the signals only showed clear after the bridge was back in place for rail operation.
At 2.20 pm the first eastbound train, which had left Camden an hour earlier,[4] attempted to cross, but as it moved onto the bridge at a speed of 40 mph it derailed. After bumping along the ties (sleepers) for a few seconds the first two cars plunged 15 feet into the water. With doors shut and connecting doors closed, the passengers had very little chance to escape. The trailing car remained hanging from the bridge super-structure for a brief time before slipping into the water. The brakeman traveling in this third car rushed to open the rear door as soon as the train left the rails, and held it open to allow many passengers to escape, with only one or two escaping from the first two cars. Both men and women broke windows in attempts to get free, several returning selflessly to rescue others as well as themselves.[5] It was to the rear car that rescue efforts were soon directed, both from boats and from ropes let down from the bridge.

Elliot Junction rail accident - 12/28/1906
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliot_Junction_rail_accident)
A Dundee and Arbroath Railway train was standing at Elliot Junction railway station during a blizzard when it was hit by a North British Railway train.

Washington DC train wreck - 12/30/1906
The local train, consisting of three wooden cars, was travelling from Frederick, Maryland and was fifteen minutes late. It was just pulling out of Terra Cotta station (near the site of the current Fort Totten Metro station) when it was struck from behind by a 'special equipment train', No 2120, travelling at full speed, about 65 mph. The heavy locomotive, which sustained very little damage itself, ploughed through the rear two cars sending bodies and debris flying for a quarter of a mile on both sides of the track.[3]

Shrewsbury rail accident - 10/15/1907
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrewsbury_rail_accident)
The Shrewsbury rail accident occurred on 15 October 1907. An overnight sleeping-car and mail train from Manchester to the West of England derailed on the sharply curved approach to Shrewsburystation, killing 18 people.

Newport rail accident - 9/28/1907
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_rail_accident)
The Newport rail accident occurred on Saturday night, 28 September 1907. A mineral train from Rogerstone to Cardiff and a passenger train from Cardiff collided near the Ebbw Junction, killing 1 and injuring at least 12. The passenger train left Cardiff at 19:42.[1]

Sunshine rail disaster - 4/20/1908
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_train_disaster)
On the night of Easter Monday, 20 April 1908, 44 people were killed and over 400 injured when a Melbourne-bound train from Bendigo collided with the rear of a mail train from Ballarat, which was just leaving the station. Around 1,100 people were aboard the two trains. Almost all of the casualties were from the Ballarat train, as the Bendigo train was cushioned by its two locomotives. A temporary mortuary was set up at Spencer Street Station (Melbourne's regional terminus, now Southern Cross Station), and flags at the station flew at half-mast. The disaster was the worst train crash in Victorian railway history.[2]

Spanish River derailment - 1/21/1910
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_River_derailment)
During the early afternoon on January 21, 1910, Canadian Pacific Railway's westbound Soo Express derailed as it crossed the bridge over the Spanish River. 44 people died as a result of the accident and many more were injured.
Conductor Thomas Reynolds of North Bay made a daring escape from the submerged dining car into the freezing water. After surfacing, he hauled out several passengers through the roof hatch. Some construction workers who were working nearby also assisted saving some passengers.

Wellington, Washington avalanche - 3/1/1910
The avalanche missed the Bailets Hotel (which also housed the town's general store and post office), but hit the railroad depot. Most of the passengers and crew were asleep aboard their trains. The impact threw the trains 150 feet downhill and into the Tye River valley. Ninety six people were killed, including 35 passengers, 58 Great Northern employees on the trains, and three railroad employees in the depot. Twenty-three passengers survived; they were pulled from the wreckage by railroad employees who immediately rushed from the hotel and other buildings where they had been staying.

Rogers Pass avalanche - 3/4/1910
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1910_Rogers_Pass_avalanche)
The winter of 1909-1910 provided conditions particularly conducive to avalanches; many slides being experienced during January and February. On March 1, 96 people had been killed further south in the Wellington avalanche in Washington State. Three days later on the evening of March 4 work crews were dispatched to clear a big slide which had fallen from Cheops Mountain, and buried the tracks just south of Shed 17. The crew consisted of a locomotive-driven rotary snowplow and 59 men. Time was critical as westbound CPR Train Number 97 was just entering the Rocky Mountains, bound for Vancouver. Half an hour before midnight as the track was nearly clear, an unexpected avalanche swept down the opposite side of the track to the first fall. Around 400 metres of track were buried. The 91-ton locomotive and plow were hurled 15 metres to land upside-down. The wooden cars behind the locomotive were crushed and all but one of the workmen were instantly buried in the deep snow. The only survivor was Billy Lachance the locomotive fireman who had been knocked over by the wind accompanying the fall but otherwise remained unscathed.[3][4]

Green Mountain train wreck - 3/21/1910
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Mountain_train_wreck)
A train wreck earlier that morning at Shellsburg meant that the Rock Island Line trains were being diverted from Cedar Rapids to Waterloo over Chicago Great Western tracks viaMarshalltown.[3] The trains concerned were the No. 21 St Louis-Twin Cities and No. 19Chicago-Twin Cities; which had been combined into a ten car train; the two locomotives travelling backwards, tender first.[4] The new combined train now had two wooden cars sandwiched between the locomotives, a steel Pullman car, and other steel cars.[2]
At a place between Green Mountain and Gladbrook, just east of the Marshall County border the lead engine left the tracks and hit a clay embankment coming to a sudden stop. The steel cars sliced through the two wooden coaches: a smoking car and a ladies' day coach containing many children.[1] There were no fatalities in the Pullman cars;[5] one of the uninjured passengers said "I saw women in the coach crushed into a bleeding mass, their bodies twisted out of human shape. I have seen what I shall see all my life when I dream".[3] A relief train arrived two hours after the accident "The sight was one of horribly crushed, mutilated, and dismembered bodies".[6]

Hawes Junction rail crash - 12/24/1910
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawes_Junction_train_disaster)
The Hawes Junction rail crash occurred on 24 December 1910, between Hawes Junction and Ais Gillon the Midland Railway's Settle and Carlisle main line in Westmorland (now Cumbria), England. It was caused when a busy signalman (Sutton) forgot about a pair of light engines waiting at his down (northbound) starting signal to return to their shed at Carlisle. They were still waiting there when the signalman set the road for the down Scotch express. When the signal cleared, the light engines set off in front of the express into the same block section. Since the light engines were travelling at low speed from a stand at Hawes Junction, and the following express was travelling at high speed, a collision was inevitable. The express caught the light engines just after Moorcock Tunnel near Ais Gill summit inMallerstang and was almost wholly derailed.

Pontypridd railway accident - 1/23/1911
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontypridd_railway_accident)
On Monday 23 January 1911, a collision between a passenger train and coal train on the Taff Vale Railway line at Hopkinstown, outside Pontypridd in Wales, resulted in the loss of eleven[1] (twelve according to the official report)[2] lives. The accident, also known as the Hopkinstown rail disaster or the Coke Ovens collision, occurred at 9:48am, when the 09:10 from Treherbert to Cardiffpassenger train heading towards Pontypridd railway station, carrying roughly 100 people on board, rounded the bend at Gyfeillion Lower signal box with a clear signal ahead. The train collided with a stationary coal train that was using the same line. The impact caused the underframe of the lead carriage to rise up and pierce through the carriage directly behind it.[3]

Indianola train wreck - 5/29/1911
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indianola_train_wreck)
On the morning of May 29, 1911, train number 12 (pulled by engine 804) of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was eastbound to Chicago after stopping at McCook, Nebraska to receive orders from the local dispatcher. Train number 9 (pulled by engine 2825) was the westbound Denver Limited which had left Chicago the previous day, May 28 and was due in Denver midday on May 29. Both trains were to meet at Red Willow, Nebraska and coordinate passing one another. However, eastbound train number 12 continued past Red Willow and built up speed to approximately 55 mph (90 km/h) heading toward Indianola. Meanwhile westbound Denver Limited was approaching Indianola anticipating to stop at the next westbound point (Indianola) and approached at approximately 25 mph (40 km/h). In a dense fog neither train was able to stop in time and at 7:08 a.m. the trains collided head-on approximately one-half mile (0.80 km) west of Indianola, Nebraska. Both locomotives were immediately destroyed and their crews killed. The three forward cars of each train were smashed and every car of the westbound Denver went into a ditch except the last two Pullman sleepers. Several passengers were also killed from escaping steam from the locomotives.

Corning train wreck - 7/4/1912
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corning_train_wreck)
At 3.50 a.m. freight train No.393 left Elmira with 55 loaded cars; it experienced steaming problems and at 4.46 a.m. pulled into a siding at East Corning freight station to investigate. As it was doing so a coupling broke, leaving several cars on the main line. The line operated Automatic Block Signals; the presence of a train in the block section automatically setting the preceding semaphore signals; the first to caution, the next to danger. In addition as it was foggy the flagman placed twotorpedoes on the line to protect the rear of the train.[2]
Passenger train No.9 running from Hoboken, New Jersey to Buffalo and Niagara Falls left Elmira at 4.47; it consisted of ten cars hauled by two locomotives. It heeded the signals and came to a halt behind the disabled freight train. The engineer of No.9 decided to assist the freight train and the head locomotive was uncoupled to push the loose cars ahead onto the siding.[1]
Meanwhile train No.11, an eight car mail express pulled by a Wootten-type engine, also travelling from Hoboken to Buffalo, departed Elmira at 5.00 a.m. For some reason the engineer, William Schroeder ignored two signals, one at caution and one at danger and plowed into the back of No.9 at a speed of 60 mph. The rear coach of No.9 was 'completely destroyed', the next one being of steel construction was less damaged only the 'vestibules and platforms on both ends were crushed', however it was 'stripped off its trucks and telescoped the third (wooden) car from the end through two-thirds of its length.[2]All but two of the mail express cars were derailed and whiplashed, bringing down the telegraph poles on both sides of the track; meaning it was an hour before news of the disaster reached Corning. Meanwhile hordes of spectators gathered hampering subsequent access by medical and rescue teams.[3] A special relief train arrived from Elmira at 7 a.m. carrying doctors and nurses, but by 9 a.m. injured were still trapped in the wreckage[4]

Ditton Junction rail crash - 9/17/1912
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ditton_Junction_rail_crash)
Ditton Junction is on the London and North Western Railway near Widnes. This complex junction had eight running lines and associated signal gantries. On 17 September 1912 the 17:30 Chester to Liverpool express was signalled to cross from the fast to the slow line, but the driver, who had little experience of the junction and had never been switched here before, misread the signals and thought he had a clear run through. The crossover had a speed limit of 15 mph but the train hit it at 60 mph. The locomotive, a 2-4-0 of the Precedent class turned on its side and travelled some distance, striking the pier of an overbridge (partially demolishing it) and breaking in two. The six carriages following ploughed over the engine and were all destroyed - forming a heap of wreckage between the station platforms. Punctured gaslighting cylinders ignited, turning the scene into an inferno. The driver, fireman and 13 passengers were killed.

Ais Gill rail accident - 9/2/1913
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1913_Ais_Gill_rail_accident)
The two trains involved were both passenger trains which left Carlisle railway station in the early hours of 2 September, destined forSt Pancras station. The Midland Railway, which owned and operated the Settle-Carlisle line, had a policy of using small engines, and the two locomotives had barely sufficient power to surmount the steep gradients on the line with the heavy trains they were assigned. In theory, the load pulled by the first engine was slightly (13 tons) over its maximum limit (of 230 tons), and the driver asked for assistance from a pilot engine but was not given one. To make matters worse, the coal with which both engines were supplied had not been properly screened and was full of slack and "small coal", which would not fire well and would tend to clog the grates.
The first train left Carlisle at 1:38 am. As it struggled up the gradient to Ais Gill summit, the highest point of the Settle-Carlisle line, the steam pressure steadily dropped to the point where the locomotive's ejectors were unable to generate enough vacuum to hold the train brakes 'off', and the train stopped half a mile short of the summit. As they cleaned out the grate and tried to build up steam pressure, the driver and fireman made the mistake of telling the guard that they would only be standing for a few minutes. The guard therefore did not protect the train in the rear (by laying detonators or walking a considerable distance along the line with a lantern).
Meanwhile, the second train was also struggling, although it had a lighter load. Just short of Mallerstang, a few miles north of Ais Gill, the driver left the cab, to walk round the outside framing and oil some of the working parts while the train was in motion. Even though this procedure was no longer necessary since wick lubricators were in use, drivers apparently continued to do it out of habit and pride.
While the driver was out of the cab, the fireman was having difficulty getting an injector to work and the boiler water level was dropping. When the driver returned, both men worked on the injector, and eventually restarted it. While they were busy, their train had passed all the Mallerstang signals, and they also missed a red lantern being waved from the signal box by the Mallerstang signalman and another being waved by the guard of the first train. Shortly after, they looked up from their distractions to see the first train stalled in front of them only a few yards away, and far too late to stop.

Exeter crossing loop collision - 3/13/1914
The Up fast goods train was running late by the time it reached Exeter. Despite the train being too long to be accommodated in the loop at that station, the signaller [night-officer] turned the train into the loop. When the locomotive had reached the points at the Sydney end of the station, the rear of the train was still on the Main line at the southern end.
Faced with the knowledge that the Temora Mail would soon be due, the goods train was brought forward so that it could be reversed into a siding on the eastern side of the station yard. It was during this manoeuvre that the Temora Mail struck the goods train head-on.[1]

Ilford rail crash - 1/1/1915
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilford_rail_crash_(1915))
On New Year's Day 1915, the crew of the 07:06 Clacton to London Liverpool Street express failed to see that the distant and home signals at Ilford East signal box were at danger.[1] The signalman tried to attract their attention by shouting and waving a red flag from the signalbox, but to no avail, and the express collided violently with the 18-carriage 08:20 local train from Gidea Park to Liverpool Street. It completely destroyed the 8th coach and damaged 5 others; 10 passengers were killed and over 500 complained of injuries. The official report[2] noted that the accident would have been much less likely if some form of Automatic Warning Systemhad been in use, and recommended its introduction.

Quintinshill rail disaster - 5/22/1915
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quintinshill_rail_crash)
The crash occurred when a troop train travelling from Larbert to Liverpool[3] collided with a local passenger train that had been shunted on to the main line, to then be hit by an express train to Glasgow which crashed into the wreckage a minute later. Gas from the lighting system of the old wooden carriages of the troop train ignited, starting a fire which soon engulfed the three passenger trains and also two goods trains standing on nearby passing loops. A number of bodies were never recovered, having been wholly consumed by the fire, and the bodies that were recovered were buried together in a mass grave in Edinburgh's Rosebank Cemetery. Four bodies, believed to be of children, were never identified or claimed and are buried in the Western Necropolis, Glasgow.

Weedon rail crash - 8/14/1915
On Saturday, 14 August 1915, the 08:45 Birmingham to Euston express passenger train hauled by LNWR George the Fifth Class locomotive No. 1489 lost a taper pin; its purpose was to lock a screwed collar which retained the offside coupling rod to its crank pin. The coupling rod detached and struck one of the sleepers on the up line; pushing the track out of alignment just as the 08:30 Euston to Holyhead Irish Mail train approached. It consisted of 15 coaches hauled by two locomotives LNWR Renown Class No. 1971 andPrecedent Class No. 1189 and was travelling at 60 miles per hour. Both locomotives and every carriage was derailed; several being thrown down an embankment, killing 10 passengers and injuring 21 more. The approximate location of the collision was 52°13′20″N 1°03′50″W between Weedon and Stowe Hill tunnel.

St Bedes Junction rail crash - 12/17/1915
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Bedes_Junction_rail_crash)
St. Bedes Junction lies between Jarrow and Bede Metro stations on what was the North Eastern Railway line between Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and South Shields. From the junction a mineral line descends on a gradient of 1 in 100 to Tyne Dock Bottom. On 17 December 1915 in the early morning in fog, a goods train ran out onto the main line past St Bedes signalbox having been banked in the rear up the incline by a six-coupled tank engine. The banking engine, uncoupled dropped away from the goods train and came to a stand on the up main line, but was not seen by the signalman. Shortly afterwards the signalman accepted the 07:05 passenger train from South Shields to Newcastle on the up line, and the 06:58 empty stock train from Hebburn to South Shields. The passenger train collided with the rear of the banking engine at 30 mph; telescoping the two leading coaches. Almost immediately the empty stock train collided with the wreckage, killing the fireman. The gas-lit passenger coaches were consumed by fire, killing 18.

Ratho rail crash - 1/3/1917
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratho_rail_crash)
Just west of the station lay Queensferry Junction where the line from Dalmeny via Kirkliston (now lifted) joined from the north. A train from Dalmeny came to a stand opposite the junction signalbox. The signalman had intended to keep it there until the 16:18 express from Edinburgh to Glasgow had passed. However he did not inform the driver and there was no fixed signal to hold him, instead a system of hand-signals was in use. The engine uncoupled and began to move towards the main line without his instructions. He put the main line signals to danger and blew his whistle but was unable to attract the drivers attention in the stormy conditions. The express was heavily laden with people returning from their New Year's holiday including many soldiers. It collided with the light engine at a speed of 30 mph, telescoping the first coach and derailing the second; killing 12 and seriouly injuring 46 more.

Ciurea rail disaster - 1/13/1917
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciurea_rail_disaster)
At 1 pm a train of 26 carriages headed by two locomotives,[3] loaded with wounded Russian soldiers[3] and refugees fleeing from the advance of von Mackensen's troops, left Bârnova.[2] Passengers were crowded on the carriage roofs and between the carriages above the buffers.[4] When the train was moving a soldier closed the Westinghouse train pipe cock, rendering the train brakes inoperative.[4] The connecting brake pipes between the carriages were damaged by passengers stepping on them.[3] As the train began to descend the bank the drivers found the Westinghouse brake inoperative, and were unable to apply the brakes on the carriages. The braking power of the two engines was insufficient to slow the train,[3] which accelerated quickly.[4] Despite throwing the locomotives into reverse, and operating the sanding equipment to increase the grip of the locomotives' wheels on the track the train crews were unable to slow the train.[3] The straight line at the foot of the bank at Ciurea station was occupied by a second train,[4] and the runaway train was switched to the right[2] into the loop at high speed.[4] The train derailed, only 2 of the 26 carriages remaining on the line,[2] and caught fire burning down to a pile of twisted ironwork.[4]

Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne derailment - 12/12/1917
The first car derailed while going at 102 km/h (60 mph) where the authorized speed was 40 km/h (25 mph), and its coupler broke only 1,300 metres from Saint Michel de Maurienne station shortly after crossing the metal highway bridge at Saussaz, over the river Arc. The wooden cars smashed into one another and promptly caught fire, triggered by candles which had been lit to provide light in the Italian cars, whose electric lighting was not working. The fire was also fed by grenades and other explosives carried unauthorized by the soldiers going on leave. The fire did not burn out until the evening of the following day. The wrecked cars were also at a point where the railway line passed through a gap in the mountain terrain, leaving little room for heat from the fire to escape.
The driver (engineer) of the locomotive had been too preoccupied with his inadequate brakes to notice the absence of the cars until he reached the station at Saint Jean de Maurienne, where he finally succeeded in stopping his locomotive and its tender. Together with some Scottish soldiers waiting to depart for Modane (two British divisions had also been sent to the Italian front in October) and railway employees from both stations, he left immediately for the accident site to try to bring assistance. Their task was made difficult by the rocky terrain where the wrecked cars lay, by heat from the fires, and by the height of the piled-up wreckage. It should be noted that the station master at La Praz, seeing the train passing at a dangerous speed, had notified the station master of the next station, Saint Jean de Maurienne, who held the departure of a train full of British soldiers. He thereby prevented another catastrophe.

Shepherdsville train wreck - 12/20/1917
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepherdsville_train_wreck)
A local train No.41, known as the Accommodation, departed Union Station in Louisville[5] at 4:35 pm, bound forSpringfield.[1] It comprised an engine pulling a baggage car, a combination smoker/colored car, and a first class car. It arrived at Brooks, 14 miles from Louisville at 5:12 pm, some six minutes late, and its conductor was told by the dispatcher to let the approaching Cincinnati-to-New Orleans express train, Flyer, pass at Shepherdsville unless he could make it toBardstown Junction.[6] The Flyer had left Louisville at 4:53 pm, nearly two hours late;[1] it had nine steel cars and was intending to make up time on the run south.[6]
The local train's conductor decided to stop as normal at Shepherdsville (rather than to go straight into the siding) then confirm the Flyer's position before deciding whether to back into the siding. Unfortunately when it arrived at the station at 5:24 the station operator had no news about the Flyer, so Conductor Campbell hurried to the depot for information. Meanwhile the Flyer passed Brooks, giving four short whistle blasts to request right of way; this was granted, the signal being changed from red to green. The depot informed the Campbell that the Flyer was approaching fast so the local pulled forward in order to "back in" at the switch.
The engineer on the Flyer reported later that half a mile from Shepherdsville, "I blew four blasts for orders. I could see the signal only dimly, and it was green, our signal to proceed if we had seen it change from red to green. I did not see it change, I believed it had already changed from red to green, meaning for me to proceed".[6] As the local threw the switch to allow it to back into the siding the signal automatically changed the signal to red. The Flyer's engineer immediately applied the emergency brakes but too late. It struck the rear of the wooden framed local at a speed of 25 mph. The engine continued the entire length of the rear car, "shattering it completely" and continued through half the length of the smoker, though itself was not derailed.[6] The force of the collision drove the local forward a distance of 800 feet.[1]

Hammond Circus Train Wreck - 6/22/1918
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammond_circus_train_wreck)
In the early morning hours of June 22, 1918, Alonzo Sargent was operating a Michigan Central Railroad troop train pulling 20 empty Pullman cars. He was aware that his train was closely following a slower circus train. Sargent, an experienced man at the throttle, had slept little if at all in the preceding 24 hours. The effects of a lack of sleep, several heavy meals, some kidney pills, and the gentle rolling of his locomotive are thought to have caused him to fall asleep at the controls.
At approximately 4:00 am, he missed at least two automatic signals and warnings posted by a brakeman of the 26-car circus train, which had made an emergency stop to check a hot box on one of the flatcars. The second train plowed into thecaboose and four rear wooden sleeping cars of the circus train at a rail crossing known as Ivanhoe Interlocking[1] (5½ miles east of Hammond, Indiana) at an estimated speed of 35 miles per hour.
The circus train held 400 performers and roustabouts of the Hagenbeck-Wallace circus. Most of the 86 who were killed in the train wreck perished in the first 35 seconds after the collision. Then, the wreckage caught on fire. Among the dead were Arthur Dierckx and Max Nietzborn of the Great Dierckx Brothers, a strongman act, and Jennie Ward Toddof The Flying Wards. There were also 127 injuries.

Great Train Wreck of 1918 - 7/9/1918
The Great Train Wreck of 1918 occurred on July 9, 1918, in Nashville, Tennessee. Two passenger trains, operated by theNashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway ("NC&StL"), collided head-on, costing at least 101 lives and injuring an additional 171. It is considered the worst rail accident in United States history,[1] though estimates of the death toll of this accident overlap with that of the Malbone Street Wreck in Brooklyn the same year.
The two trains involved were the No. 4, scheduled to depart Nashville for Memphis, Tennessee at 7:00 a.m., and the No. 1 from Memphis, about a half-hour late for a scheduled arrival in Nashville at 7:10 a.m. At about 7:20 a.m., the two trains collided while traversing a section of single track line known as "Dutchman's Curve" west of downtown, in the present-day neighborhood of Belle Meade. The trains were each traveling at an estimated 50 to 60 miles per hour; the impact derailed them both, and destroyed several wooden cars.

Weesp train disaster - 9/13/1918
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weesp_train_disaster)
While riding up the slope of the Weesp station towards the bridge over the Merwedekanaal the dike sagged over a length of 95 metres.[1] This was caused by the extensive rain in the preceding time and the poor state of repair of the railway dike. At the moment of the sagging the locomotive already was on the bridge and was entangled in the ironworks of the bridge construction. The locomotive and tender flipped to the right. The tender lay on the bridgehead, a luggage wagon next to it came to a standstill against the bridgehead. The following three carriages slid off the slope and shoved into each other. The wooden upperside was largely splintered, causing the most deaths and wounded. The third carriage was also engulfed by the luggage carriage on the rear and a postal carriage, which because of the speed partially ended up next to the forward carriages. The carriage behind the postal carriage ended up skewed down from the slope, but was barely damaged, The rear carriages of the train derailed but remained on the tracks.

Getå railroad disaster - 10/1/1918
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get%C3%A5_Railroad_Disaster)
The Getå Railroad Disaster (Swedish: Järnvägsolyckan i Getå) was a train disaster caused by a landslide in Getå, a town that is now part of the municipality of Norrköping on 1 October 1918. To date, it is the worst rail accident in Swedish history.
The derailment occurred when the layers of colloidal clay and gravel in the embankment that had been cut into the hill gave way. Shortly afterwards, a mixed train consisting of a locomotive and ten cars came down the tracks, falling down the embankment and landing on the road below. Of the passengers and crew on board that night, 41 people were injured and at least 42 were killed or died later from injuries sustained in the crash. It is unclear how many died in the derailment compared to those who died in the blaze that followed it. Many of the passengers were burned alive as the unreinforced wooden cars caught fire, killing those who had survived the crash itself but were still trapped in the wreckage.

Malbone Street Wreck - 11/1/1918
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malbone_Street_Wreck)
The wreck occurred the evening of November 1, 1918 at 6:42 PM, during the last days of World War I. An elevated train, consisting of five cars constructed primarily of wood, entered the tunnel portal beneath Malbone Street going toward theProspect Park station, negotiating a curve designated to be taken at six miles per hour (9.6 km/h) at a speed estimated at between 30 and 40 mph (48–65 km/h). The trailing truck of the first car derailed, and the two following cars completely left the tracks, tearing off their left-hand sides and most of their roofs. The first and fourth cars sustained relatively minor damage, while the second and third cars were severely damaged, the third so badly that it was dismantled on the spot. The fifth suffered no damage at all. The motorman was not injured and left the scene of the accident.

Vigerslev train crash - 11/1/1919
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigerslev_train_crash)
In the Vigerslev train crash in Denmark on 1 November 1919, an express train collided at speed with a stopped train due to a dispatcher error. 40 people were killed and about 60 injured.

Onawa train wreck - 12/20/1919
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onawa_train_wreck)
Freight train No.78 had departed Megantic at 6 p.m. the previous evening. It consisted of 26 cars[3] and had been waiting on a siding at Moosehead where it had allowed the first two sections of No.39 to pass.[5] It had received orders it was five hours ahead of Third 39; giving it plenty of time to reach Morkill, it left Greenville at 6:40 a.m. and arrived in a siding at Morkill at 6:57 a.m. At Morkill further orders were received to the effect that Third 39 was late, and Fourth 39 was eight hours late. This order was misread and the freight train mistakenly believed that Third 39 was now running eight hours late, giving them time to reach Brownville Junction before the end of their 16 hour shift.[3]
At 7:14 a.m. as dawn approached the trains collided head-on just west of Onawa station on a curve beside Little Greenwood Pond[5] at a combined speed of 50 mph. The baggage car next to the engine was 'entirely demolished'. The next passenger cartelescoped the one behind it for two-thirds of its length.[6] The wreckage then caught fire, adding to the horror.[1] Seventeen people were killed outright, including six children, and the enginemen and firemen of both trains, with six more dying after being freed from the wreckage.[1] Fifty people were injured, many seriously, and were taken by special train to hospitals in Brownville Junction and Bangor.[4]

Abermule train collision - 1/26/1921
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abermule_train_collision)
The Abermule train collision was a head-on collision which occurred at Abermule, Montgomeryshire, Wales on 26 January 1921, killing 17 people. The crash arose from misunderstandings between staff which effectively over-rode the safe operation of theElectric Train Tablet system protecting the single line. A train departed carrying the wrong tablet for the section it was entering and collided with a train coming the other way.

Nidareid train disaster - 9/18/1921
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nidareid_train_disaster)
The Nidareid train disaster was a train collision on 18 September 1921 on the Trondhjem-Størenbanen railway line, between the stations of Marienborg and Skansen in Trondheim, Norway. The accident occurred the day after the inauguration of the new line to Trondheim, Dovrebanen, and one of the trains involved was the inaugural train returning from the celebrations in Trondheim. Six people (all prominent Norwegians) were killed in the crash, the first serious passenger train accident in Norway.

Winslow Junction Train Derailment - 7/2/1922
On Atlantic City Railroad's Camden to Atlantic City Line, in Winslow, New Jersey: at Winslow Junction near the WA Tower, On July 2, 1922 shortly before 11:30pm,[2] a derailment of train № 33 the Owl, with Philadelphia and Reading Railway Eng № 349. The train was going approximately 90 miles (140 km) per hour as it sped through an open switch.[2] The derailment of train № 33 resulted in most of the six-car Atlantic City express plunging down an embankment into the WJ&S's southbound Cape May branch connecting track. This resulted in the death of 3 passengers, 3 employees and 1 Pullman porter, and the injury of 84 passengers and 5 employees.[3]

Glenrock train wreck - 9/23/1923
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenrock_train_wreck)
The train concerned was operated jointly by the Burlington and the Colorado and Southern Railroad and comprised seven cars hauled by Colorado and Southern engine No.350.[1] It had left Casper at 8.35 p.m., due in Denver at 10 a.m. the following day.[6]According to the official ICC report it was traveling at a speed between 30 and 40 miles per hour (48 and 64 km/h) when it reached bridge 98 crossing Cole Creek; the bridge being on a curve was not visible to the headlights of the train until it was too late. The only surviving member of the train or engine crew stated that the emergency brakes were only applied just before the train plunged off the rails.
After the accident very little of the bridge structure remained. The engine ended up 'practically submerged in sand' the structure of the first car was completely destroyed; the next three cars ended up in the creek; the 2nd and 4th on top of the 3rd which was 'demolished'; the 5th car remained on the west bank with one end submerged; although it finally fell into the torrent.[1]

Lytham rail crash - 11/3/1924
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lytham_rail_crash)
The derailment of a passenger train at Lytham, Lancashire, England occurred when the front tyre of the locomotive fractured and led to the loss of 14 lives. The accident happened on 3 November 1924 to the 4.40 pm Liverpool express travelling to Blackpool at 5.46 pm. When the tyre failed, the train was moving at about 50 mph (80 km/h), and the train derailed at a crossing, then hit a bridge, closely followed by the Warton signal box. The building was completely demolished and coals from the grate ignited a carriage. The engine toppled over together with two of the carriages.

El Virilla train accident - 3/14/1926
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Virilla_train_accident)
At 7 am, three carriages arrived at Alajuela and left 30 minutes later. Further stops were made and three more carriages were added at Heredia. Despite this many people were unable to board the train and it even missed out a later stop as it was too crowded to allow any more on. At 8:20 the train began to cross the bridge which lay on a left hand curve. A combination a poorly-fastened rail and the excessive weight of the train caused the last carriage to derail and pulled two further carriages from the track; one of which plunged 190 feet to the river below, killing 248 including Professor Alizago. The rescue work continued into the evening; several trains returning to Alajuela and Heredia with the bodies which were left at the stations for identification by friends and families. The government declared three days of national mourning; flags flew at half mast; cinemas, bars and other places of entertainment were closed.

Murulla rail accident - 9/13/1926
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murulla_railway_accident)
The Murulla rail accident involved the collision of the Sydney-bound Northwest Mail Train with runaway goods wagons nearMurrurundi, New South Wales, in the Upper Hunter Valley on 13 September 1926. 26 persons lost their lives.[1]
A goods train had become divided and the attempts of the train crew to re-unite the portions resulted in 12 vehicles running away down a steep gradient, and colliding with the approaching mail train.

Hull Paragon rail accident - 2/14/1927
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hull_Paragon_rail_accident)
On 14 February 1927, on the approaches to Hull Paragon station, the incoming 08:22 from Withernsea to Hull collided head-on with the 09:05 from Hull to Scarborough. Twelve passengers were killed and 24 were seriously injured. This happened despite the tracks having the latest safety features available at the time: a system of interlocking should have made it impossible to give clearsignals to trains unless the route to be used is proved to be safe.
Three signalmen were present in the signalbox, the enquiry found that one of them had pulled the wrong lever; he had intended to set the points for the incoming train but instead set the points ahead of the Scarborough. Locking bars should have prevented these points from being changed as the signal ahead of the Scarborough was set to clear. Unfortunately one of the other signalmen was setting the signals behind the Scarborough train to danger, in contravention of the rules this was done whilst the train was still passing. This therefore disengaged the locking bar on the points for a few seconds before the Scarborough train reached it, allowing them to be changed by the application of the wrong lever. A combination of these two failings led to the disaster.

Sevenoaks railway accident - 8/24/1927
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sevenoaks_railway_accident)
The Sevenoaks railway accident occurred on 24 August 1927 between Dunton Green railway station and Sevenoaks railway station. The Southern Railway's afternoon express from Cannon Street to Deal left London at 5pm, in charge of River Class tank engine No 800 River Cray. Several passengers later recounted that from time to time the train seemed to roll excessively on fast curves. As it passed through Pollhill Tunnel at 60 mph the rocking became violent and the train derailed past Dunton Green railway station. Unfortunately, at this point on the line, the line is in a cutting which is spanned by a bridge carrying Shoreham Lane, which the cab of the locomotive struck, turning it on its side across the cutting. The leading coaches piled up against it, killing 13 and injuring many more (railway engineer Archibald Jack survived).

Darlington rail crash - 6/27/1928
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darlington_rail_crash)
As the engine moved forward the shunter saw that the signals were at "danger"; the shunter then applied the brake and noted that the brakes were working correctly as he noticed a reduction in speed. Within 10 yards of the signal at "danger", the shunter believing the train was now stopping, released his brake. He then immediately checked the signals and seeing them at "danger" immediately re-applied the brake. At the inquest the shunter stated that the first brake application was not full due to his fear of the train dividing; the second brake application although applied to a greater extent was still not a full application. The parcels train now blocked the track upon which the excursion train was attached.
The driver of the return excursion train from Scarborough to Newcastle approached the South Junction signal box at approximately 45 miles per hour, having observed the previous signals displaying "Clear". The driver stated the first he knew of an obstruction on the line was seeing the headlights of another engine emerging from the left onto the down through line.[3] The driver of the excursion train stated he had less than two seconds to act during which time he made a continuous brake application

Combe Down Tunnel - 11/20/1929
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combe_Down_Tunnel#Accident)
Combe Down tunnel had no intermediate ventilation and there were significant problems with fumes. On 20 November 1929, the driver and fireman of a northbound goods train were overcome by smoke. The train was moving very slowly in the tunnel due to a heavy load and due to starting from a standstill at Midford. The locomotive, 2-8-0 No. 89, plodded on and eventually breasted the summit of the gradient. Its downward course to Bath was accomplished more quickly, and the train ran away, crashing into the goods yard on the approach to Bath Green Park railway station, killing the driver, Henry Jennings, and two railway employees in the yard.[4]
The fumes that overcame the footplate crew were a consequence of the restricted bore, lack of ventilation shafts, the exceptional humidity and lack of breeze, and the very slow speed of the train, running tender first. The inspecting officer, Colonel A. C. Trench recommended that maximum loads should be reduced or assistant engines provided to prevent a recurrence.[5]

Charfield railway disaster - 10/13/1928
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charfield_railway_disaster)
The Leeds to Bristol LMS night mail train failed to stop at the signals protecting the sidings at Charfield railway station. The weather was misty, but there was not a sufficiently thick fog for the signalman at Charfield to employ fog signalmen. A freight train was in the process of being shunted from the main line to the sidings, and another train of empty goods wagons was passing through the station from the Bristol direction. The mail train collided with the freight train and was derailed, coming into collision with the up train underneath the road bridge to the north of the station. Gas used to light the carriages ignited, and four carriages were burnt out. The driver of the mail train claimed that he had seen a clear distant signal on approach to the station, and therefore had assumed that the home signals protecting the station were also clear; however, testing of the signals after the accident confirmed that the distant had been correctly in the yellow "Caution" position. The driver was charged with manslaughter, but was subsequently acquitted.