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1870 Hatfield rail crash

1870 disasters in the United Kingdom1870 in England19th century in HertfordshireAccidents and incidents involving Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)December 1870 events
Derailments in EnglandHatfield, HertfordshireHistory of HertfordshireRailway accidents and incidents in HertfordshireRailway accidents in 1870Use British English from February 2018

On a frosty Boxing day in 1870 the driver of the 16:25 from London King's Cross to Peterborough noticed an 'uneasy oscillation' as he passed over Marshmoor level crossing, 2 miles south of Hatfield station. He peered back and discovered he had lost his train and pulled up. He reversed back, preceded by his fireman on foot showing a red light. They were met by the white-faced guard who told them there had been a disaster. The driver reversed direction again and sped to Hatfield to warn oncoming traffic and summon help. It transpired that as the train approached the crossing the left hand leading wheel of the van at the front of the train had disintegrated and the coupling between the van and the locomotive had parted and the van and two following coaches had run off the rails onto the roadway demolishing a wall, and the crossing gates and posts and killing the mother and sister of a signalman who were waiting at the crossing. In addition six passengers in the two coaches were killed. The accident inspector criticized the method of tyre fixing and recommended, not for the first time, the use of Mansell composite wheels on passenger rolling stock.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article 1870 Hatfield rail crash (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

1870 Hatfield rail crash
Travellers Lane, Welwyn Hatfield North Mymms

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Wikipedia: 1870 Hatfield rail crashContinue reading on Wikipedia

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N 51.7387 ° E -0.213 °
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Travellers Lane
AL9 7HT Welwyn Hatfield, North Mymms
England, United Kingdom
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