On 28 June 1857, two trains collided just east of

Lewisham railway station Lewisham is a National Rail and Docklands Light Railway station in Lewisham, south-east London which first opened in 1849. On the National Rail network it is measured from and is operated by Southeastern.SoutheasternStation facilities: Lewish ...

in London, killing 11 and injuring 30 more. 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 , destroying the brake van and rear carriage. A

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

system was in place which should have prevented the second train from leaving the preceding station until the leading train had cleared Lewisham, using a system of signal bells being rung in the signal boxes. The signals sent and received were recorded in registers kept in the signal boxes: the investigation determined that the line-clear signal had not been sent by the Lewisham signal box, despite being recorded in the Blackheath book. The driver and fireman of the second train and the Blackheath signalman were charged with "neglect of duty causing the deaths of 11 persons".

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The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' 1857 : **30 June page 5 "Frightful Accident on the North Kent Railway" **9 July page 12 "The Fatal Accident on the North Kent Railway" {{Railway accidents in the United Kingdom, 1815–1899 Railway accidents in 1857 1857 in England Railway accidents and incidents in London Transport in the London Borough of Lewisham History of the London Borough of Lewisham Accidents and incidents involving South Eastern Railway (UK) June 1857 events Train collisions in England Rail accidents caused by a driver's error 1857 disasters in the United Kingdom