The Ballymacarrett rail crash of 1871 occurred on 13 May 1871 at the

Ballymacarrett Junction Ballymacarrett Junction was a railway switching point on the Belfast and County Down Railway in the Ballymacarrett area of Eastern Belfast, in modern-day Northern Ireland. It was located near the present-day Titanic Quarter railway station. Hi ...

of the

Belfast and County Down Railway The Belfast and County Down Railway (BCDR) was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland (later Northern Ireland) linking Belfast with County Down. It was built in the 19th century and absorbed into the Ulster Transport Authority in 1948. All but the ...

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Two people were killed with 55 injured. The cause was a

derailment In rail transport, a derailment is a type of train wreck that occurs when a rail vehicle such as a train comes off its rails. Although many derailments are minor, all result in temporary disruption of the proper operation of the railway sys ...

caused by an intoxicated

fireman A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

who drove a

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

with four

goods wagon Goods wagons or freight wagons (North America: freight cars), also known as goods carriages, goods trucks, freight carriages or freight trucks, are unpowered railway vehicles that are used for the transportation of cargo. A variety of wagon types ...

s off the end of incomplete

set of points A railroad switch ( AE), turnout, or (set of) points ( CE) is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another, such as at a railway junction or where a spur or siding branches off. Design Th ...

at Ballymacarrett Junction blocking the main line. Another train came along and struck the first.

Notes

Transport in County Down Transport in Belfast Railway accidents in 1871 Derailments in Northern Ireland 19th century in County Down Train collisions in Northern Ireland Accidents and incidents involving Belfast and County Down Railway May 1871 1871 in Ireland 1870s disasters in Ireland 1870s disasters in the United Kingdom 1871 disasters {{Rail-accident-stub