The Accident
At approximately 05.50, the 03:56 Saltney to Pontypool Road freight train, formed of a Class 47 diesel locomotive with 46 wagons, weighing a total of 775 tons, was approaching Coton Hill. At the top of the Hencote downhill gradient, freight trains of Class 5 (modern equivalent Class 7) such as this one were required to obey a stop sign, but the train passed the sign and entered the Coton Hill goods loop at speed.
Despite emergency brake applications being made, the train eventually derailed on the trap points at the exit of the goods yard and continued for a further 70 yards before finally crashing into the Coton Hill South signal box, destroying it completely. The first 11 wagons followed the locomotive, but the destruction of the signal box opened a set of points which sent 24 further wagons into a siding, where they derailed and some collided with a second Class 47 diesel which was waiting to leave the yard. The destruction was widespread and the cleanup operation was further hampered by hydrochloric acid leaking from a damaged wagon. Normal service was not restored until 14 January.
Read more about this topic: Coton Hill Rail Crash
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