Ditton Junction is near

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form th ...

on the Liverpool spur of the former London and North Western Railway. This complex junction had eight running lines and associated signal gantries. On 17 September 1912 the 17:30 Chester to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

express was signalled to cross from the fast to the slow line, but the driver, Robert Hughes, age 41, from Llangwstenin, Conwy, 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 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. Blame was attributed by

Horatio Arthur Yorke Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Horatio Arthur York (3 June 1848 - 10 December 1930) C.B. R.E. was Inspector of Railways to the Board of Trade from 1900 to 1913. Life He was born on 3 June 1848 near New Wimpole in Cambridgeshire, the fourth son of the Ven ...

to the driver for not applying for a pilot at Chester. The confusing signalling at the junction was also criticised.

Sources

*
The Railways Archive :: Report by Lieutenant-Colonel Yorke, R.E., C.B., on the Accident that occurred on 17 September 1912, to a Passenger Train at Ditton Junction, on the London and North Western Railway

External links

Photograph showing the site of the Ditton Junction Disaster
{{Railway accidents in the United Kingdom, 1900–1999, state=collapsed Railway accidents and incidents in Cheshire Railway accidents in 1912 1912 in England Rail transport in Cheshire History of Cheshire Accidents and incidents involving London and North Western Railway Disasters in Cheshire Derailments in England 20th century in Cheshire 1912 disasters in the United Kingdom September 1912 events Rail accidents caused by a driver's error