Today in 1915. The worst rail disaster in Britain took place at Quintinshill (Gretna Green) in Scotland, killing 227 people and injuring 246.

Today in 1915. The worst rail disaster in Britain took place at Quintinshill (Gretna Green) in Scotland, killing 227 people and injuring 246.  





The chain of disaster started when a troop train collided with the stationary commuter train which had been stopped to allow the a delayed Sleeper Service a chance to make up the time lost. This commuter train had been moved from Northbound line to the Southbound mainline rather than into the actual passing loops, these where occupied by two freight trains. 

The commuter train was now directly in the path of a troop train carrying 500 men of the 1/7th Leith Battalion of the Royal Scots on route for Gallipoli. All troop trains have clear line status, something that is still enforced today should the need arise. This also means that it’s travelling at full speed and smashed head on into the commuter train. 

Just a minute later the Sleeper Service from Euston to Glasgow collided with the wreckage of the troop and commuter train. This ignited the gas lighting of the troop train and the wooden coaches to burn ferociously, exploding debris caused the two goods trains to catch fire and eventually explode too, near Quintinshill was a large cordite factory, one of these goods trains had been carrying gun cotton and the other was an empty coal train meaning flammable coal dust. 

Part of the reason for the fierce fire was the use of old outdated gas lit carriages that had wooden frames, these carriages had been taken out of mainline service and placed in reserve pending scrap but due to extra war work, these old carriages had been brought back into use. The gas canisters could be found under each compartment under the floor which basically made each carriage a moving bomb. 

The cause of the accident was poor working practices on the part of the two signalmen involved, which resulted in their imprisonment for culpable homicide, they served 1 year in prison and then re-employed by the railway but not in a signalmans position. It later transpired that one of the signalmen was epileptic and a side effect of this is short term memory loss. Another fault laid with the Caledonian Railway whom despite being used for War Service continued to run a full peacetime timetable and with additional trains running on an already busy network, the signalmen where simply overwhelmed.

Reports from survivors tell of men have rapid amputations to free them from mangled limbs and being trapped and also the sound of gunfire, this was initially thought to be munitions exploding but reports from several survivors state that men trapped inside the inferno pleaded to be shot or took their own lives rather than burn alive. Of the 500 Royal Scots who boarded the train, only 58 were able to attend role call that afternoon. The surviving men where taken to Carlisle and examined by Army Doctors, all were found unfit for overseas service and returned to Edinburgh for UK duties only.

The disaster was toned down when reported to the nation. In 1915 WW1 was beginning to stagnate and the slaughter becoming more mechanical. It was feared that this disaster would cause national morale to drop and spread the rumour that German agents had infiltrated the UK and starting to attack the infrastructure.

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