Harrow & Wealdstone 50 Years on

Harrow & Wealdstone 50 Years on

Clearing up the Aftermath

This appalling accident took place on 8th October, 1952, 112 people were killed and 167 passengers were taken to hospital for treatment, making it the second most serious railway accident in the United Kingdom. It came about when the overnight sleeping car train from Perth to London Euston in patchy fog overran the signals and collided with the rear of a crowded local train from Tring to Euston standing in Harrow & Wealdstone station. This had no sooner happened, when a double-headed express passenger train from Euston to Liverpool and Manchester ploughed into the wreckage. Rather than concentrate on the causes of, and steps taken following the accident to avoid recurrence, this work also looks at the huge task of mounting the rescue operation, managing the disruption to railway operations and clearing up the aftermath.

Card cover, 120 pages