There are a number of books on British railway accidents which provide aid in the systematic study of the causes and effects of accidents, and their prevention. There are common themes in many accidents (see Classification). Key books are listed here to avoid repeating them for each individual accident.
Classification of railway accidents, both in terms of cause and effect, is a valuable aid in studying rail accidents to help to prevent similar ones occurring in the future. Systematic investigation for over 150 years has led to the railways' excellent safety record.
The doyen is L. T. C. Rolt's Red for Danger, first published in 1956, which takes a wide-ranging overview of over 100 accidents. Most other books concentrate on a smaller number of specific accidents, described in more detail. O.S. Nock's "Historic Railway Disasters" combines both approaches, with individual chapters on especially significant accidents such as Armagh and Quintinshill. For accidents in the last 30 years and modern operating practice, Stanley Hall's four books are particularly good. Apart from Schneider and Mase (1968/1970) and Faith (2001), all the books below are confined to British accidents.
Doyen and doyenne surnames derived from the French word doyen, which is the term for dean, e.g., Dean (religion) and Dean (education).
Lionel Thomas Caswall Rolt was a prolific English writer and the biographer of major civil engineering figures including Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Thomas Telford. He is also regarded as one of the pioneers of the leisure cruising industry on Britain's inland waterways, and as an enthusiast for both vintage cars and heritage railways.
The Armagh rail disaster happened on 12 June 1889 near Armagh, Ulster, Ireland, when a crowded Sunday school excursion train had to negotiate a steep incline; the steam locomotive was unable to complete the climb and the train stalled. The train crew decided to divide the train and take forward the front portion, leaving the rear portion on the running line. The rear portion was inadequately braked and ran back down the gradient, colliding with a following train.
During a violent storm on Sunday 28 December 1879, the first Tay Rail Bridge collapsed as a train from Wormit to Dundee passed over it, killing all aboard. The bridge—designed by Sir Thomas Bouch—used lattice girders supported by iron piers, with cast iron columns and wrought iron cross-bracing. The piers were narrower and their cross-bracing was less extensive and robust than on previous similar designs by Bouch.
The Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash was a three-train collision at Harrow and Wealdstone station in Wealdstone, Middlesex during the morning rush hour of 8 October 1952; 112 were killed and 340 injured ; it remains the worst peacetime rail crash in the United Kingdom.
On 6 January 1968, a low-loader transporter carrying a 120-ton electrical transformer was struck by an express train on a recently installed automatic level crossing at Hixon in Staffordshire, England.
An extremely valuable source now on the Internet is the Railways Archive compilation of official Railway Inspectorate Accident Reports - see "External Links" below.
Key books
Faith, Nicholas (2001). Derail: Why Trains Crash (2nd ed.). Channel 4 Books. ISBN0-7522-1987-1. First published 1998 to accompany the Channel 4 series. An overall survey like Rolt's, but covering worldwide accidents.
Hall, Stanley (1987). Danger Signals: an investigation into modern railway accidents. Ian Allan. ISBN0-7110-1704-2. A broad survey, concentrating especially on accidents in the 20 years up to 1986, especially those caused by drivers' and signalmen's errors.
Hall, Stanley (1991). Danger on the Line. Ian Allan. ISBN0-7110-1872-3. Covers Clapham Junction, Purley, Glasgow Bellgrove and a wide range of other accidents, e.g. track problems, fires, staff fatalities.
Hall, Stanley (1999). Hidden Dangers. Ian Allan. ISBN0-7137-1973-7. Covers the period 1989-97 including Cowden, Newton and Southall.
Hall, Stanley (2003). Beyond Hidden Dangers: Railway Safety into the 21st Century. Ian Allan. ISBN0-7110-2915-6.. Includes Ladbroke Grove, Hatfield, Potters Bar, Great Heck (Selby).
Hamilton., J.A.B. (1967). British Railway Accidents of the 20th Century (reprinted 1987 as Disaster down the Line). George Allen and Unwin / Javelin Books. ISBN0-7137-1973-7. Covers 27 accidents between 1905 and 1962. Particularly good on the human factor and psychological reasons behind accidents.
Nock, O.S. (1980). Historic Railway Disasters (2nd ed.). Ian Allan. First published 1966, another well-written classic.
Rolt, L.T.C. (1956). Red for Danger. Bodley Head / David and Charles / Pan Books. An excellent overview of accidents up to 1957, in fine writing style. An early reviewer wrote, "At the risk of being thought callous, one must praise Mr Rolt for making death and disaster most attractive reading". Several revised and updated editions published (1960, 1966, 1976, 1982). Later editions have material added by G.M. Kichenside.
Schneider, Ascanio; Armand Mase (1968). Katastrophen auf Schienen. (In German). Orell Fussli Verlag.
Schneider, Ascanio; Armand Mase (1970). Railway Accidents of (Great Britain and) Europe. Translated from German (book above) by E.L. Dellow. David and Charles. ISBN0-7153-4791-8. Includes classification and numerous European accidents.
Vaughan, Adrian (1989). Obstruction Danger. Guild Publishing. ISBN1-85260-055-1. Written by a former signalman, with an interesting selection including some less well-known mishaps.
British Railway Disasters. Ian Allan. 1996. ISBN0-7110-2470-7. covers 47 accidents between 1876 and 1991 with many photographs.
Vaughan, Adrian (2000). Tracks to Disaster. Ian Allan. ISBN0-7110-2731-5. 19 modern accidents in the period 1975-97. Like his previous book, contains some trenchant comments on railway management.
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.
UK Rail Accident Investigation Branch Publications - Covers the period from 2006 onward. Note as well as major accidents there are reports on relatively minor incidents.
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Related Research Articles
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