RAILWAY DISASTER
SIGNALMAN’S FATAL MISTAKE LONDON, Oct. 31.
A few moments before the derailment of the Edinburgh to London express at Goswick on October 26, a signalman mistook a cloud of steam to be a sign that the express was almost stationary and “ blowing off.” Instead, the train was travelling at at least 60 miles an hour, and it crashed into a “ Caution: Repairs ” section, killing 28 and injuring 72 of the 420 passengers. The story of the mistake which the signalman realised too late, was told when the inquiry opened at Newcastle.
The board heard how a letter’s late arrival at Edinburgh contributed to the tragedy. A railway clerk said that track repairs at Goswick were tc. be carried out on October 19 This date was amended to October 26, but the letter carrying this information to Edinburgh did not arrive until October 26. and the train crew must have left before the notice appeared on the Edinburgh notice board.
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Otago Daily Times, Issue 26608, 3 November 1947, Page 5
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161RAILWAY DISASTER Otago Daily Times, Issue 26608, 3 November 1947, Page 5
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