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Little Salkeld rail accident

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Coordinates: 54°43′26″N 2°40′47″W / 54.724°N 2.6798°W / 54.724; -2.6798
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Little Salkeld rail accident
Details
Date19 January 1918
15:58
LocationLong Meg cutting near Little Salkeld
Coordinates54°43′26″N 2°40′47″W / 54.724°N 2.6798°W / 54.724; -2.6798
CountryEngland
LineSettle-Carlisle Line
OperatorMidland Railway
CauseLine obstructed (landslip)
Statistics
Trains1
Deaths7
Injured46
List of UK rail accidents by year

The Little Salkeld rail accident occurred on 19 January 1918 in Long Meg cutting, between Little Salkeld and Lazonby railway stations (about 15 miles south of Carlisle on the Settle-Carlisle Line).[1][2]

As the 11 carriage 08:50 London St Pancras to Glasgow St Enoch express approached the cutting, a heavy landslip caused by a sudden thaw blocked both tracks ahead of the train.[3] Just five minutes earlier a platelayer had walked past the spot and seen nothing amiss. The engine, a Midland Railway 1000 Class No. 1010, ploughed into the mass of clay at a speed of 50–60 mph, telescoping the front two carriages.[1][4][5]

6 passengers were killed immediately and another fatally injured, whilst 37 passengers and 9 railway staff received non-fatal injuries. The more seriously injured were taken either to the Cumberland Infirmary or Fusehill Military Hospital, both in Carlisle.[5][6][7]

References

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  1. ^ a b Rolt, L.T.C.; Kichenside, Geoffrey (1982) [1955]. Red for Danger (4th ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 82. ISBN 0715383620.
  2. ^ "The Accident at Carlisle". The Railway Times. Vol. 109, no. 2821. London. 26 January 1918. p. 162 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ Newton, Grace (16 December 2019). "Webcam pictures show deep snowfall on the Settle and Carlisle Railway in the Yorkshire Dales". The Yorkshire Post. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  4. ^ "The Railway Disaster". Penrith Observer. No. 2973. Penrith. 29 January 1918. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ a b Gray, Bryan (2022). "Landslip at Little Salkeld". Midland Railway Society Journal. No. 79. Midland Railway Society. pp. 8–11. ISSN 1364-0216.
  6. ^ "Railway Disaster". The Scotsman. No. 23288. Edinburgh. 21 January 1918. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "Train accident in Cumberland". The Chester Chronicle. Vol. 165, no. 6704. Chester. 26 January 1918. p. 2 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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