Abergele rail disaster

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Abstract is: The Abergele rail disaster, which took place near Abergele, North Wales, in August 1868, was the worst railway disaster in Great Britain up till then. The Irish Mail train was on its way from London to Holyhead, when a complicated shunting operation caused the derailment of a goods train at Llanddulas, the nearest sidings to Abergele, blocking the main line. In the confusion, a brake-van and six wagons loaded with paraffin were left uncoupled on a gradient leading down to Abergele, and a collision with other carriages caused it to run downhill into the path of the Irish Mail, exploding on impact. Flames and smoke made rescue impossible, and 33 people died in the crash, some of them burned beyond recognition. The inquest blamed the two brakemen on the goods train, who had failed to secure the wagons individually, as well as the stationmaster at Llanddulas who was supervising the operation. The Board of Trade also strongly criticised the London and North Western Railway for poor practices.

Abergele rail disaster is …