Shrewsbury Rail Disaster - Shrewsbury, Shropshire, Great Britain
N 52° 42.787 W 002° 45.018
30U E 516868 N 5840387
Train derailed at Shrewsbury, 17 October 1907: An overnight sleeping-car and mail train from Manchester to the West of England derailed on the sharply curved approach to Shrewsbury station, in the West Midlands, Great Britain.
Waymark Code: WMP8TB
Location: West Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 07/21/2015
Views: 4
The Shrewsbury rail disaster occurred on 15 October 1907.
"The London & North Western Railway night mail train from Manchester to the west of England was derailed when it approached the station at a recklessly high speed. The driver and fireman were both killed, and an enquiry failed to discover why the train had been travelling so fast. The train was pulled by the 4-6-0 locomotive 'Stephenson', one of the LNWR's Experiment class. Some newspapers criticised the company for using what they mistakenly believed was an experimental locomotive on the main line!" Text Source: (
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"The Shrewsbury rail accident occurred on 15 October 1907. An overnight sleeping-car and mail train from Manchester to the West of England derailed on the sharply curved approach to Shrewsbury station, killing 18 people.
Casualties:
Those killed were the engine driver and fireman, two guards, eleven passengers, and three Post Office sorters working in the mail train. Thirty-three other people were reported injured.
The train:
Speed was estimated at 60 mph on a curve limited to 10. The train left Crewe at 01:20 having had extra carriages added (originating in Glasgow, York and Liverpool) to form a heavy 15 carriage train, hauled by LNWR Experiment class 4-6-0 No. 2052 Stephenson.: Text Source: (
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