The Connington South rail crash occurred on 5 March 1967 on the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between its northern terminus at and southern terminus at . The key towns and cities of , , , , and are on the line. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Grea ...

near the village of Conington, Huntingdonshire,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Five passengers were killed and 18 were injured. The 22:30

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from King's Cross to

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, hauled by D9004 ''The Queens Own Highlander'', was travelling along the Down Fast line at around 75 mph when the rear portion of the train was derailed to the left. The last four coaches came to rest on their sides and two others were derailed.

Investigation

The formal accident investigation was undertaken by Lieutenant Colonel I. K. A. McNaughton of the

Railway Inspectorate Established in 1840, His Majesty's Railway Inspectorate (HMRI) is the organisation responsible for overseeing safety on United Kingdom, Britain's railways and light rail, tramways. It was previously a separate non-departmental public body, but ...

. The investigation determined that the

interlocking In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junctions or crossings. In North America, a set of signalling appliances and tracks inte ...

showed that the

Home signal The application of railway signals on a Rail transport, rail layout is determined by various factors, principally the location of points of potential conflict, as well as the speed and frequency of trains and the movements they require to make ...

had been at Danger when the accident occurred. However, the driver and secondman of the train stated that it was displaying Green until it passed out of their line of sight. Just beyond the Home signal there were

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

for controlling movements from the Down Fast to the Down Goods line, and it was on these that the train was derailed. The points were locked in position by two means: *A standard mechanical lock, operated by a lever in the

lever frame Mechanical railway signalling installations rely on lever frames for their operation to interlock the Railway signal, signals, track locks and Railroad switch, points to allow the safe operation of trains in the area the signals control. Usuall ...

. It could not be released unless the Home signal was at Danger. *An electrical lock, which engaged if a

track circuit A track circuit is an electrical device used to prove the absence of a train on a block of rail tracks to control railway signals. An alternative to track circuits are axle counters. Principles and operation The basic principle behind the t ...

just beyond the Home signal was occupied by a train. No fault was found with either the track or the train. Immediately after the accident, 20-year-old signalman Alan Frost claimed that he had accidentally changed the points while "swinging" on the levers. Initially, the investigation was unable to determine any cause for the derailment as there was no apparent explanation found from the evidence of the train crew and signalman or in the signalling system, permanent way or mechanical systems of the train. The Railway Inspectorate inquiry into the accident surmised that, as the train approached Connington South

signal box A signal is both the process and the result of transmission of data over some media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processing, information theory and biology. In ...

, the signalman had: # Replaced the Home signal to Danger just as the locomotive reached it. # Pulled the point lock lever to withdraw the mechanical lock. # Raised the latch of the point lever just before the electrical lock operated. This sequence would have had to occur in the time between the train passing the Home signal and running on to the track circuit, i.e. in less than two seconds. Tests were conducted using a similar signalling frame to the one at Connington South and it was found that an experienced signalman could just about manage to reproduce the sequence. Thus, it was shown that the

could be defeated. It was clear that the signalman had stood for some seconds with the points lever slightly out of its frame, moved it just as the sixth coach was passing over it, then returned it to its normal position. This would be a premeditated rather than an accidental act.McNaughton 1969, p9.

Consequences

The signalman had entered the railway service in January 1965 after serving with the

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. He had been discharged after suffering from "hysteria and immature personality", but this was not known to the railway management at the time, even though his references had been taken up. He was tried on charges of

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

and endangering the safety of railway passengers in November 1968. After a trial lasting 11 days, the

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

instructed the

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence, make Question of fact, findings of fact, and render an impartiality, impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty or Judgmen ...

to acquit him on the charges of manslaughter and sentenced him to two years'

imprisonment Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...

for unlawfully operating the signal and points mechanism of the Connington South signal box so as to endanger persons being conveyed on a railway, on which charge the signalman had changed his

plea In law, a plea is a defendant's response to a criminal charge. A defendant may plead guilty or not guilty. Depending on jurisdiction, additional pleas may be available, including '' nolo contendere'' (no contest), no case to answer (in the ...

to guilty.McNaughton 1969, p.10 Frost is not recorded as offering any explanation for his actions.

References

Bibliography

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Investigation

Consequences

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading