Collisions
On 8 October 1952 the 7:31 am Tring to Euston local passenger train, consisting of 9 carriages hauled by a steam locomotive, stopped at Harrow and Wealdstone station, approximately seven minutes late due to fog. As scheduled, it had travelled from Tring on the slow line, switching to the fast line just before Harrow and Wealdstone to keep the slow lines to the south clear for empty stock movements. Carrying approximately 800 passengers, the train was busier than normal as the following service had been cancelled. At 8:19 am, just as the guard was walking back to his brake van after checking doors on the last two carriages, the train was struck from behind by the 8:15 pm night express from Perth, Scotland that was travelling at 50–60 miles per hour (80–100 km/h). This train consisted of a locomotive hauling 11 carriages carrying approximately 85 passengers and was running approximately 80 minutes late. It had passed a colour light signal at caution and two semaphore signals at danger.
A second or two after the first collision the 8:00 am express from Euston to Liverpool and Manchester, 15 carriages carrying approximately 200 passengers hauled by two locomotives, passed through the station on the adjacent fast line in the opposite direction at approximately 60 miles per hour (100 km/h). The leading locomotive of this train struck the locomotive of the Perth train and derailed.
Sixteen carriages were destroyed, of which 13 were compressed into a space 45 yards (41 m) long, 18 yards (16 m) wide and 18 feet (5.5 m) high under the station footbridge.
There were 112 fatalities, including the driver and fireman of the Perth express and the driver of the lead engine of the Liverpool express. A total of 340 people reported injury: 183 people were given treatment for shock and minor injury at the station and 157 were taken to hospital, of whom 88 were detained.
Read more about this topic: Harrow And Wealdstone Rail Crash