Weedon, Northamptonshire Weedon Bec, usually just Weedon, is a village and parish in West Northamptonshire, England. It is close to the source of the River Nene. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 2,706. Geography Weedon is around southeast of ...

on the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

has been the site of two serious derailments in 1915 and 1951, killing 10 and 15 people respectively.

1915 rail crash

On Saturday, 14 August 1915, the 08:45 Birmingham to Euston express passenger train, hauled by

LNWR George the Fifth Class The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) George the Fifth Class was a class of 4-4-0 passenger steam locomotive. History The locomotives were introduced during July 1910 by Charles Bowen-Cooke following the succession of George V, construct ...

locomotive No. 1489 ''Wolfhound'', lost a

taper pin Taper may refer to: * Part of an object in the shape of a cone (conical) * Taper (transmission line), a transmission line gradually increasing or decreasing in size * Fishing rod taper, a measure of the flexibility of a fishing rod * Conically t ...

; its purpose was to lock a screwed collar which retained the offside

coupling rod A coupling rod or side rod connects the driving wheels of a locomotive. Steam locomotives in particular usually have them, but some diesel and electric locomotives, especially older ones and shunters, also have them. The coupling rods transfer t ...

to its

crank pin A crankpin or crank pin, also known as a rod bearing journal, is a mechanical device in an engine which connects the crankshaft to the connecting rod for each cylinder. It has a cylindrical surface, to allow the crankpin to rotate relative to t ...

. The coupling rod detached and struck one of the sleepers on the up line; pushing the track out of alignment just as the 08:30 Euston to Holyhead ''

Irish Mail The ''Irish Mail'' was a named train in the United Kingdom that operated from London Euston via the West Coast and North Wales Coast lines to Holyhead from 1848 until 2002 connecting with ferry services to Dublin. History The first ''Iris ...

'' train approached. It consisted of 15 coaches hauled by two locomotives;

LNWR Renown Class The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) Renown Class was a class of 4-4-0 steam locomotives. They were rebuilds of F.W. Webb's 4-cylinder compounds of the Jubilee and Alfred the Great classes into 2-cylinder simple engines by George W ...

No. 1971 ''Aurora'' and Precedent Class No. 1189 ''Stewart'' and was travelling at 60 miles per hour. Both locomotives and every carriage was derailed; several being thrown down an embankment, killing 10 passengers and injuring 21 more. The approximate location of the collision was between Weedon and

Stowe Hill tunnel Stowe Hill Tunnel is a railway tunnel on the West Coast Main Line just south of the village of Weedon Bec, Weedon, Northamptonshire, England. The tunnel runs in a straight line underneath the A5 road (Great Britain), A5 main road between Weedo ...

1951 rail crash

On Friday, 21 September 1951 the 08:20

Liverpool Lime Street Liverpool Lime Street is a terminus railway station and the main station serving the city centre of Liverpool. Opened in August 1836, it is the oldest still-operating grand terminus mainline station in the world. A branch of the West Coast M ...

London Euston Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city railw ...

passenger service consisting of 15 coaches hauled by a Princess class Stanier Pacific began to de-rail south of Weedon,

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, on the

south of Rugby, at a speed of 65 mph and finally crashed, killing 15 people and injuring 35 more. The footplate crew survived and protected their train in spite of being severely shocked. The accident enquiry, conducted by Lt Col G R S Wilson, found the track to be in good condition and the speed of the train not to be excessive. However this was the first trip out for the locomotive, No 46207 ''Princess Arthur of Connaught'' after its

bogie A bogie ( ) (in some senses called a truck in North American English) is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transp ...

wheelsets had been swapped round. The enquiry concluded that the derailment was caused by an excessively tight bogie

axlebox A bogie or railroad truck holds the wheel sets of a rail vehicle. Axlebox An ''axle box'', also known as a ''journal box'' in North America, is the mechanical subassembly on each end of the axles under a railway wagon, coach or locomotive; ...

. The approximate location of the collision was , less than a mile south-east of the 1915 derailment and close to the signal-box at Heyford south of Stowe Hill tunnel where the occupants were able to see the accident.

References

External links

Ministry of Transport Official Report into 1915 accidentMinistry of Transport Official Report into 1951 accidentPathe newsreel of 1951 accident
{{Railway accidents in the United Kingdom, 1900–1999, state=collapsed Railway accidents and incidents in Northamptonshire History of Northamptonshire Accidents and incidents involving London and North Western Railway 20th century in Northamptonshire Accidents and incidents involving British Rail Railway accidents in 1915 Railway accidents in 1951 Derailments in England 1915 disasters in the United Kingdom 1951 disasters in the United Kingdom August 1915 events September 1951 events in the United Kingdom