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Settle and Carlisle: accident 19600121
site name:-   Settle and Carlisle Railway
locality:-   Smardale
civil parish:-   Waitby (formerly Westmorland)
county:-   Cumbria
locality type:-   railway accident site
coordinates:-   NY74220787
1Km square:-   NY7407
10Km square:-   NY70
SummaryText:-   Not the site of a crash, but the beginning of real trouble.

hearsay:-  
About here, near railway milepost 268, the right side bottom inner slide bar of Britannia class 4-6-2 locomotive no.70052 Firth of Tay, fell off. The driver had heard knocking earlier, and had inspected the loco by torchlight at Garsdale at 1.16am, and had decided to procede at moderate speed to Hellifield where a detailed examination would be possible. The train was the 9.05pm up sleeper from Glasgow to London, 20/21 January 1960.
9 miles further on, about 259¼ from London, the right side outer bottom slide bar fell off. The crosshead was kept roughly in position by the piston rod, but ¾mile north of Settle the crosshead and piston rod came adrift, fouled the track of the down line and pulled it out of gauge. An approaching down freight train was derailed, and heeled over into the up passenger express, ripping out the sides of coaches; 5 passengers were killed and 8 injured.

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