RAILWAY ACCIDENTS
Fatal accidents on the railway were not uncommon in the 19th century, although they killed and injured significantly fewer people than shipping, coal mine explosions, or road vehicles. In 1862,
The Lancet asserted that “Railway travelling is more free from danger to life and limb than any other mode of conveyance”. Despite this, the associated fear and publicity was great due to the novelty of this terrifyingly fast transport (up to 40mph) and the obvious drama of a crash. There was also a widely held and well-founded belief that railway directors focused on profits rather than safety.
Excursion train accidents were always more likely as they were long – up to 60 carriages – and interrupted the flow of traffic. Signalling could be basic, as in the Church Fenton accident, even though by 1856 safer block and interlocking signalling was available. However, nothing forced companies to invest in them: attempts to regulate railways came up against the Victorian insistence on laissez-faire capitalism and the powerful ‘railway interest’.
From 1840, the Railway Inspectorate investigated accidents and advised on improvements, but lacked powers of enforcement until 1871. Only after 80 people were killed in an accident in Armagh in 1889 was continuous braking and block signalling legislated for.
Variation in operating rules across different companies’ territories added to the hazards. A common rule book was only adopted in 1876, but it would be well into the 20th century before full standardisation of rules, operations and safety was achieved.
Dr Jill Murdoch has a doctorate in Railway Studies and teaches at the University of York