Harrow and Wealdstone Accident, 08 Oct 1952

[Inversnecky]

The Harrow and Wealdstone accident of 1952, the second most deadly British rail disaster, was the subject of the most recent Signals to Danger podcast. Previous threads on this site are locked, so I'm just starting a new one to add some material that may be of interest.

The Railways Archive has the official reports and some photos.

This is another interesting article: Angels and Errors: How the Harrow & Wealdstone Disaster Helped Shape Modern Britain

I also dug out a book I must have bought forty years ago, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the accident, which has some interesting diagrams which I reproduce below to help illustrate the tragic events.

 

[swt_passenger]

Your second linked article did also appear in the 2012 and 2019 locked threads on this subject, it’s quite well known.

 

[Inversnecky]

And some photographs:

 

[Gloster]

There was also a book in 2002, fifty years after, by Peter Tatlow and published by Oakwood.

 

[Inversnecky]

Your second linked article did also appear in the 2012 and 2019 locked threads on this subject, it’s quite well known.

Yes, that’s where I found it, so thought I’d mention it here too, since those threads are locked.

It’s amazing that the City of Glasgow was rebuilt:

 

[Harvester]

Yes, that’s where I found it, so thought I’d mention it here too, since those threads are locked.

It’s amazing that the City of Glasgow was rebuilt:

View attachment 94820

When A3 Grand Parade was similarly wrecked in the Castlecary crash in 1937, a replacement A3 was constructed from the Stores Pool at Doncaster. Its completion was around the time the wrecked loco reached Doncaster, so few if any parts from the original were used. I suspect 46242 was similarly replaced.