alb9840134

CRANE. The Railway Accident at Abbotts Ripton, Huntingdon: general view of the scene of the accident, 1876. Creator: Crane.

CRANE. The Railway Accident at Abbotts Ripton, Huntingdon: general view of the scene of the accident, 1876. On 21 January 1876, the Edinburgh-London Special Scotch Express was involved in a collision, during a blizzard, with a coal train on the Great Northern Railway main line. A second collision occurred minutes later when an express to Leeds crashed into the wreckage obstructing the northbound line. Thirteen passengers died, and 53 passengers and 6 traincrew members were injured. Factors included signal failure, bad weather and poor visibility. Snow and ice on the wires by which the semaphore arm should be moved had meant that when signalmen had changed levers from the normal 'all clear', the signals did not fully move to 'danger'. The accident (and subsequent inquiry) led to fundamental changes in British railway signalling practice. From "Illustrated London News", 1876. From "Illustrated London News", 1876.
Share
pinterestPinterest
twitterTwitter
facebookFacebook
emailEmail

Add to another lightbox

Add to another lightbox

add to lightbox print share
Do you already have an account? Sign in
You do not have an account? Register
Buy this image
Loading...
Author:
Title:
The Railway Accident at Abbotts Ripton, Huntingdon: general view of the scene of the accident, 1876. Creator: Crane.
Caption:
The Railway Accident at Abbotts Ripton, Huntingdon: general view of the scene of the accident, 1876. On 21 January 1876, the Edinburgh-London Special Scotch Express was involved in a collision, during a blizzard, with a coal train on the Great Northern Railway main line. A second collision occurred minutes later when an express to Leeds crashed into the wreckage obstructing the northbound line. Thirteen passengers died, and 53 passengers and 6 traincrew members were injured. Factors included signal failure, bad weather and poor visibility. Snow and ice on the wires by which the semaphore arm should be moved had meant that when signalmen had changed levers from the normal 'all clear', the signals did not fully move to 'danger'. The accident (and subsequent inquiry) led to fundamental changes in British railway signalling practice. From "Illustrated London News", 1876. From "Illustrated London News", 1876.
Credit:
Album / The Print Collector/Heritage Images
Releases:
Model: No - Property: No
Rights questions?
Image size:
4960 x 3355 px | 47.6 MB
Print size:
42.0 x 28.4 cm | 16.5 x 11.2 in (300 dpi)