The Irk Valley Junction rail crash occurred on 15 August 1953 at

Collyhurst Collyhurst is an inner city area of Manchester, England, northeast of the city centre on Rochdale Road (A664) and Oldham Road (A62), bounded by Smedley, Harpurhey and Monsall to the north, Miles Platting to the east, Ancoats to the south, an ...

, just over a mile from Manchester Victoria station. At that point, the electrified line to Bury passes through Irk Valley Junction, so called because it lies on a viaduct above the

River Irk The River Irk is a river in the historic county of Lancashire in the North West England that flows through the northern most Lancastrian towns of the ceremonial county of Greater Manchester. It rises to the east of Royton and runs west past ...

. At 07:40 on the morning of 15 August 1953, the 07:20 electric train from Bury collided with the 07:36 steam passenger train to

Bacup Bacup ( , ) is a town in the Rossendale Borough in Lancashire, England, in the South Pennines close to Lancashire's boundaries with West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. The town is in the Rossendale Valley and the upper Irwell Valley, east of ...

hauled by a Class 4P 2-6-4 tank engine. The leading electric coach struck and overturned the steam engine and smashed through the parapet wall. The front of the carriage fell onto the bank of the river; the rear fell into the shallow river itself. Nine passengers and the driver of the electric train were killed. The crash occurred on a Saturday; had it been a weekday, the casualties would likely have been far higher. The investigation revealed that the causes of the accident were twofold. Firstly the electric train passed the

home signal The application of railway signals on a rail layout is determined by various factors, principally the location of points of potential conflict, as well as the speed and frequency of trains and the movements they require to make. Non-provisio ...

at danger. Analysing the previous 110 runnings of the 07:20 train showed that the signal in question had not once been at danger; moreover the

distant signal The application of railway signals on a rail layout is determined by various factors, principally the location of points of potential conflict, as well as the speed and frequency of trains and the movements they require to make. Non-provisi ...

was at caution on 101 occasions. The driver appeared to have therefore missed the home signal as it was always clear in the past, and ignored the distant signal as it was normally at caution anyway and was normally cleared by the time he reached it. The signalman was also at fault for not checking that the electric train had stopped before allowing the steam train through. The absolute block system was in place, but was not being operated in accordance with the regulations. An analysis of the records revealed that the signal boxes in this area had frequently operated outside the guidelines, although until the fateful morning without serious consequence.

Sources

Ministry of Transport official accident report

External links

Pathe newsreel report on the accident
{{Railway accidents in the United Kingdom, 1900–1999, state=collapsed Railway accidents and incidents in Greater Manchester Railway accidents in 1953 1953 in England History of Manchester Railway accidents involving a signal passed at danger Accidents and incidents involving British Rail August 1953 events in the United Kingdom Train collisions in England 1953 disasters in the United Kingdom Rail accidents caused by a driver's error Railway accidents caused by signaller's error 1950s in Manchester