The town of

Morpeth Morpeth may refer to: *Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia ** Electoral district of Morpeth, a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales * Morpeth, Ontario, Canada * Morpeth, Northumberland, England, UK ** Morpeth (UK ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

, England, has what is reputed to be the tightest curve ( radius) of any main railway line in Britain. The track turns approximately 98° from a northwesterly to an easterly direction immediately west of Morpeth Station on an otherwise fast section of the East Coast Main Line railway. This was a major factor in three serious derailments between 1969 and 1994. The curve has a permanent speed restriction of .

1877 derailment

On 25 March 1877, the 10:30 p.m. train from Edinburgh to London Kings Cross was derailed on the curve. It was travelling at only . The officer from the Railway Inspectorate who held the inquiry, Captain Henry Tyler, found that faulty track was to blame. He also commented perspicaciously "It would obviously be better if a deviation line could be constructed, to avoid the use of so sharp a curve on a main line". This "deviation line" has still not yet been built .

1969 derailment

On 7 May 1969 a northbound ''Aberdonian'' sleeping car express train from London to

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

derailed on the curve. The train in question consisted of Deltic locomotive ''The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers'' hauling 11 carriages. Six people were killed, 21 were injured and the roof of the station's northbound platform was damaged. The train had been travelling at . The driver had apparently allowed his attention to wander because he was thinking about an official letter that he had been handed when booking on duty, asking for an explanation of time lost on a previous journey. The investigation into this accident led to the implementation of alerts for major speed restrictions via the

Automatic Warning System The Automatic Warning System (AWS) was introduced in the 1950s in the United Kingdom to provide a train driver with an audible warning and visual reminder that they were approaching a distant signal at caution. Its operation was later extended t ...

. However, despite the recommendation for this system stemming from the accident at Morpeth and the common reference to the 'Morpeth warnings', the gradually stepped speed restriction for the Morpeth curve did not meet the guidelines for this system and it was not installed until at least after the 1984 derailment.

1984 derailment

The southbound sleeper service from Aberdeen to London was derailed at the same location on 24 June 1984. There were no fatalities but 29 passengers and 6 train crew were injured. Two houses narrowly escaped being demolished by the derailed carriages.Lt-Col. A. G. Townsend-Rose
'Report on the Derailment that occurred on 24th June 1984 at Morpeth'
''railwaysarchive.co.uk.'' Retrieved 17 August 2022. The train was estimated to have been travelling at . The train involved was led by Class 47 locomotive number 47452, hauling seven British Rail Mark 3 sleeping cars between two British Railways Mark 1 brake vans. The driver involved in this accident, Peter Allan, was prosecuted for being under the influence of alcohol, but acquitted after what was described by the Expert Witness Institute as an ambush defence. Mr Allan had consumed alcohol both before and after booking on duty, but the defence countered that he suffered from

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

and had in the past experienced severe coughing fits that had caused him to fall unconscious.

1992 accident

A further accident, unrelated to the Morpeth curve, occurred on 13 November 1992, when a collision between two freight trains at Morpeth led to one fatality. A Class 56 locomotive ran into the back of a pipe train. The cab of the locomotive was crushed and the driver was killed. The accident occurred during engineering work and was the result of the locomotive driver and the signaller at Morpeth failing to come to a clear understanding concerning required movements.

1994 derailment

On 27 June 1994 an express parcels train crashed at the curve. The locomotive and the majority of carriages overturned, without fatalities, but causing injury to the driver. As with the 1969 and 1984 accidents, the train had been travelling at . The Health and Safety Executive estimate that trains will overturn at above , and noted that "Morpeth 1994 was a very serious event, which could easily have been fatal".Health and Safety Executive notice on Network Rail speed limits
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References

External links

Official report into the 1969 accident at The Railways Archive

Official report into the 1984 accident at The Railways Archive
{{coord, 55, 09, 40, N, 1, 41, 09, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Railway accidents and incidents in Northumberland Railway accidents in 1969 Railway accidents in 1984 Railway accidents in 1992 Railway accidents in 1994 20th century in Northumberland Morpeth, Northumberland Accidents and incidents involving British Rail Lists of railway accidents and incidents in England Derailments in England 1984 disasters in the United Kingdom 1992 disasters in the United Kingdom 1969 disasters in the United Kingdom 1877 disasters in the United Kingdom 1994 disasters in the United Kingdom Railway accidents in 1877