The Newport rail accident occurred near Newport, Wales on Saturday night, 28 September 1907. A mineral train from Rogerstone to Cardiff and a

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...

from Cardiff collided near the Ebbw Junction, killing 1 and injuring at least 12. The passenger train left Cardiff at 19:42. The one fatality was Albert Workman - the driver of the mineral train - a married man with two children. Also injured was Ernest Day, aged 24, of Cardiff, fireman on the mineral engine. The passenger train was travelling at 50 mph at the time. The driver and fireman on the express train were thrown from their engine by the force of the impact, as was the fireman of the mineral engine. A number of passengers were also slightly injured. According to the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

report, the accident was caused by the

signalman A signalman is a person who historically made signals using flags and light. In modern times, the role of signalmen has evolved and now usually uses electronic communication equipment. Signalmen usually work in rail transport networks, armed for ...

in Park Junction signal box pulling the wrong lever. This allowed the heavy goods train onto the down gradient and cross the main line into the path of the passenger train at Ebbw Junction. Even though he realised his mistake and returned the signals to danger, there was not enough time for either train to avoid the collision.

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See also

References