The Sun.
London, England, 1848-09-09 00:00:00

THE FATAL COLLISION ON THE

LANCASTER AND -PRESTON RAILWAY.
OFFICIAL REPORT.

The following official report from Captain Laffan,
the Government Inspector to the Railway Commis-
sioners, with reference to the accident which hap-
pened on the Lancaster and Preston Railway on
Monday, the 21st ult., clearly shows the causes which
produced this shocking disaster, and is also of the
highest importance.
After referring to the extraordinary position of the
Lancaster and Preston Railway, the rightful pro-
prietors of it being unknown, and the companies
using it running their trains between Preston and
Lancaster without paying toll to any one, the inspec-
tor proceeds to lay before the Commissioners the re-
sult of his inquiries into the more immediate causes
of the accident in the following terms :
" I shall first observe that, on examining the line, 1
found that the signals at the stations were of the rudest
description, and that though they might have sufficed
for the traffic when this railway was only a small local
line, they are utterly insufficient to provide for the
public safety now that this line forms part of one
of the great chains of railway communication with
the north. There is but one signal at each station,
so that it is impossible to tell to which line of rails it ap-
plies, and that one signal consists simply of a small red
flag hoisted to a staff. At some of the stations an attempt
is made to keep the flag square with the line, by fixing to
it small cross sticks, but at others, and particularly at
the Bay Horse station, where the present collision
occurred, there is simply a small stick at the top,
.and,
the flag not being held down in any way, blows about
freely, and can scarcely be perceived_ when the wind
blows up or down the line. On Monday, when I was at
the Bay Horse station, it was a remarkably fine bright
day, and, having directed the signal to be hoisted, I
walked away from it to ascertain at what distance it
could be seen. I had scarcely got 200 yards:from it, when,
ou turning round by chance, I was surprised at not see-
ing the flag. I returned to ascertain the cause, and on
getting nearer perceived that in fluttering to the wind it
had wrapped itself so tightly round the staff, that at a
short distance it could not be distinguished from it.
Had another express train been coming round the neigh-
bouring curve just then, and another local train been
standing in the station, it is probable that a second die.
aster would have occurred.

" The insufficiency of these signals was pointed out to
the company by Captain Coddington, but his suggestions
were not attended to.

" All trains running northward over the Preston and
Lancaster Railway start from the Preston station, which
belongs to the London and North-Western and the Lan-
cashire and Yorkshire Railway Companies jointly. The
Lancaster and Preston Company and the Lancaster and
Carlisle pay rent for the use of it, and the whole of the
trains are started by the superintendent appointed by the
two companies to whom the station belongs. The ac-
commodation in the station is utterly insufficient for the
great traffic passing through it, and most of the trains
going northward are very much delayed, and start late
in consequence. On Monday last, the day this collision
occurred, the local train of the :Lancaster and Preston,
which was subsequently overtaken and hrun into by the
express, started 14 minutes late. It was standing ready
in a siding, but could not be allowed even to come on the
line, because two other trains, which were timed' to start
before it, were both detained.
" These were the Preston, Fleetwood, and Wyre train
of the Laneashire.and Yorkshire Company, and the Ken-
dal and Windermere train of the Lancaster and Carlisle
Company, both of which were timed to start at 3.40,
while the Lancaster and Preston train's time was 3.45.
They actually started the Fleetwood and Wyre train at
3.50, the Kendal and Windermere train at 3.54, and the
local train of the Lancaster and Preston was then allowed
to start at one minute before four, being 14 minutes after
its time. _ _ _

" The express train of the Lancaster and Carlisle
Company which leaves London at nine ♦.m. should arrive
at Preston at five minutes past three, should leave that
place at ten minutes past three, and, running over the
Lancaster and Preston line without stopping, should
reach Lancaster at 44 minutes past three. For some
time past, however, it has invariably been late. For
the last fortnight, especially, it has seldom left Preston
before a quarter past four, and sometimes it has been so
late as a quarter to five. On Monday last it left Pres-
ton at 24 minutes past four, being 25 minutes after the
starting of the Lancaster and Preston local train. This
want of punctuality in the time of the express train,
causing it to start after instead of before a slow local
train, is very dangerous, when combined with the want
of cordiality between the two companies, and the insuffi-
ciency of the signals on the line.
" The local train, which left Preston at 1 minute
before 4 o'clock, consisted of an engine, tender, and five
carriages. The wind was blowing strongly across the
line, and the driver found that this circumstance affected
his engine so much that he hid scarcely steam enough
to keep up his speed—in fact, it appears that he lost
time, tor the time tables show that he should be leaving
the Bay Horse station 45 minutes after leaving Preston,
whereas it appears that he only reached it 47 minutes
after, and that he had been standing there 3 minutes
more before the express train came up. He was thus
already 5 minutes behind his time, and he was not even
then prepared to move away. The station-master, who
is the only man at that station, was actually in the lug-
gage-van assisting the guaid to get out the luggage,
when the express train struck their train. There is a
private coal depot near the Bay Horse station, and the
stoker, to help to get up the steam, took a large lump of
coal, broke it up into small pieces, and spread it on the
fire. This caused a great smoke, which the wind blew
across the line, and rendered it difficult to distinguish the
signal flag, even if it had been blowing free in the right
direction to be seen, and, as engines do not usually emit
smoke, it was impossible for any person not seeing the
engine to know whence it came.

; The express train left Preston at 24 minutes past
four o'clock, and passed the Scorton station, 2.2-3ds
miles short of the Bay Horse station, at 44 minutes
past four o'clock. It is a rule on the Lancaster and
Preston line, that on a train leaving any station no other
train be allowed to pass until it has been gone five mi-
nutes. On nearing the Scorton station, therefore, all the
parties in charge of the express train looked to see whe-
ther any signal was hoisted, but there was none, and
they passed the Scorton station without seeing any one
there, as they could have seen any signal at the Scorton
station a long way off; they, therefore, concluded that
the local train which was ahead of them must have
passed at least six or seven minutes. In this conjecture
they were right, for the stationmaster at Scorton de-
clares that there were seven minutes :between the two
trains. Thinking, therefore, that the line was clear be-
fore them, the express train passed on at its usual speed,
and, on nearing the Bay Horse, the driver blew his whis-
tle loudly while yet three quarters of a mile off. This
whistle was heard at the station, yet the local train made
no attempt to move away, nor was any precaution taken
to stop the coming train; all parties seemed to have con-
fided in the little red flag. On nearing the station still
more, the driver of the express train leaned forward over
his hand-rail to catch the first sight of a signal, if there
should be any, and to see the line as far ahead as he
could. The stoker, too, screwed up the break to within
a turn of the wheels, and stood with the handle in his
hand ; the guards also stood to their breaks. They all
knew that the Bay Horse station was dangerous when
a slow train was ahead. Yet, having to run over the
whole distance from Preston to Lancaster in 34 minutes,
they could not afford, without actually seeing a signal,
to slacken their pace.
" The Bay Horse station is placed on a wide curve,
and about a quarter of a mile before coming to it the
line sweeps round this, a deep cutting. 370 yards from
the station there is an ovorbridge, and a signal can be
seen in fine weather 100 yards before coming to the
bridge, or 470 yards from the station. On Monday last,
however, the weather was very unfavourable. There
was a high wind, and it was raining, and the smoke which ,
blew across the line still further obscured the view. It
is impossible to tell how the flag was blowing, for no one
seemed to have remarked it; but, even had it been blow-
ing ever so well, it is probable that under such circum-
stances it could not have been perceived further than
the bridge. No one on the express train saw the flag,
though they were anxiously on the look out for it, but
'D n
the line.passing the
Tbridge i
Ttehre they
of sawthe
expressth e other
instantlytrain
sprang
on
to his whistle, opened it, and left it blowing. lie then
shut off his steam, reversed the engine, and put the steam
on again in back action. The stoker at the same time
screwed up his break and the guards applied theirs, but
all was unavailing. The rain had rendered the rails
slippery, the train was running at least 40 miles an hour,
and the distance was only. 370 yards ; they were still
going about eight miles an hour when they struck the
other train. The stoker jumped off about 90 yards be-
fore he reached the other train ; he merely came down
upon one knee, and was in no way hurt. The driver
remained on his engine, and to the last moment did all
ho could to stop it.
" The indifference displayed'on the part of those in
charge of the local train, while this disaster was im-
pending, would be difficult to account for, were it not ex-
plained by their confidence in the little red flag, which
always sufficed for their own local traffic and slower
speed, and by the feeling which evidently prevailed
among them that they were on their own ground, and
that the others were intruders. On hearing the distant
whistle they had disregarded it; on hearing it sounded
sharply a second time, with the full loud tone that tells
of imminent danger, the driver looked, and saw the ex-
press coming under the bridge.
"He called to the guard that ho must get away, but
the guard, who was by the station-master, told him to
stand still, and that the express must wait for them. al
few seconds, after, however, even the guard v. 0,04,,