Time 08:18 Date 30 December 1941 Injuries 57 Location Eccles | Country England Total number of deaths 23 Trains 2 | |
Rail line Liverpool to Manchester Line Cause Signal passed at danger, fog, error in working practices Operator London, Midland and Scottish Railway | ||
The 1941 Eccles rail crash occurred on 30 December 1941 at the east end of Eccles railway station in Lancashire, England.
Contents
Events
A westbound train passed danger signals in fog in the wartime blackout and collided at about 30 mph with an eastbound train traversing a crossover. A major contributory cause was that the signalman had erroneously suspended "fog working", which would give greater distances between trains, due to a misunderstanding about whether fogmen were on duty. The fog was worsened by the nearby Manchester Ship Canal and visibility was as low as 10 yards.
Victims
Twenty-three people were killed.
References
Eccles rail crash (1941) Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA