The Stechford rail crash occurred on 28 February 1967 at

Stechford railway station Stechford railway station serves the Stechford area of Birmingham, England on Victoria Road, just off Station Road, which is part of the A4040 Birmingham outer ring road. The station and all trains serving it are operated by West Midlands Train ...

in the area of

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Crash

A Class 24

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is con ...

, fleet number D5002, had arrived at Stechford sidings with a

ballast Ballast is dense material used as a weight to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within ...

train. This was due to return to

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and so the locomotive needed to be run round the train. There were too many wagons for the runaround loop to be used, so the Head Shunter decided to run the locomotive around via the main line. This was a movement that was only to be made in an emergency, and even then only with permission from the signalman at Birmingham New Street Signal Box. The Head Shunter did not seek such permission and when his hand signal for the guard was misunderstood by the

secondman {{unreferenced, date=August 2017 A secondman or second man is a railway employee who assists the driver of a train. For this reason the term driver's assistant is also used. In this role, the second man could learn the duties of the driver and on p ...

, the locomotive moved on to the main line just as a

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

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four-carriage Class 304 electric unit no.026 was approaching. It struck the locomotive a glancing blow at about 60 mph, derailing the first two carriages which finished on their side, killing the driver and eight passengers. In addition, 16 people were injured. The leading coach of the multiple unit was cut up on site. The second vehicle was removed to Wolverton, but never returned to service.

References

Sources

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External links

Official accident report at the Railways Archive

{{coord, 52, 29, 07, N, 1, 48, 51, W, type:event_region:GB, display=title Railway accidents and incidents in Warwickshire Rail transport in Birmingham, West Midlands History of Birmingham, West Midlands Railway accidents in 1967 1967 disasters in the United Kingdom 1967 in England 20th century in Warwickshire Railway accidents and incidents in the West Midlands (county) Accidents and incidents involving British Rail February 1967 in the United Kingdom