welshpool Countess in level crossing collision
Road closed for three hours after car collides with 1902-built locomotive.
Acar collided with Beyer Peacock No. 823 Countess at a level crossing on the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway on April 5. No one was injured when a Chevrolet Spark – whose road tax had expired and which was being driven by an ‘elderly woman’ according to eyewitnesses – collided with the 0‑6‑0T on Cyfronydd level crossing, 2¼ miles from Llanfair Caereinion, closing the road for three hours. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch was notified of the incident and authorised the resumption of services the next day. An RAIB spokesman said: “We were notified by the WLLR about this incident and conducted an initial inquiry to obtain further details about the accident and the consequential damage. As a result, we concluded that there were no likely safety lessons to be learnt by RAIB investigating further.” A WLLR spokesman said that the locomotive had sustained some damage and that the car was “significantly damaged”. Enthusiast Ian Knight posted on social media that he had been looking out of the window of the first carriage and saw the accident happen. The train was, he said, moving at walking pace and the whistle was sounded. He saw the car approach and fail to stop. After the police arrived, both drivers took and passed breath tests. The only damage to the train that Mr Knight could see was a bent step on the leading carriage. The car driver told him she had used the lane “hundreds of times” and was aware of the crossing but had never seen a train there. Refreshments were offered to the 76 affected passengers before returning them to their station of origin by road.