On This Day in 1910, Hawes Junction train crash
On this day, December 24, 1910, one of the most serious railway accidents in early twentieth‑century Britain occurred near Hawes Junction on the Midland Railway’s Settle and Carlisle line. In the pre‑dawn darkness, at approximately 5:49 am, a northbound Scotch express from St Pancras to Glasgow collided with two light engines that were waiting on the down (northbound) main line. The signalman at Hawes Junction had forgotten the presence of the light engines when he cleared the signals for the express. As the light engines began to move slowly, the express, running late and traveling at high speed, struck them from behind near Ais Gill summit, derailing the leading coaches.
The construction and design of the carriages worsened the consequences of the collision. Most of the coaches were of timber construction and lit by pressurised Pintsch oil gas. When the first coaches were crushed in the collision, the main gas pipe was ruptured and the escaping gas ignited in a flash, engulfing the wreckage in flames. Only the electrically lit sleeping cars at the rear of the train escaped the fire. The intensity of the blaze, fueled by the wind across the moorland, made rescue efforts extremely difficult.
Twelve passengers lost their lives in the collision and subsequent fire, and seventeen others were injured. Many of the fatalities resulted from being trapped in the leading coaches or overcome by the flames. The bodies of those who died were taken to the nearby Moorcock Inn, which became the centre for identification and the inquest. Railway staff and local residents attempted to rescue survivors but were hindered by smoke and fire.
A formal inquiry by the Board of Trade was convened to investigate the causes of the accident. The report concluded that the immediate cause was human error by the signalman, who had failed to account for the light engines on the line before allowing the express to proceed. The inquiry also noted that the crews of the light engines had not followed Rule 55, which required them to remind the signalman of their location after waiting at a signal. These factors together led to the collision.
The disaster highlighted risks in railway operations at the time, particularly the dangers posed by gas‑lit carriages and the challenges of managing heavy traffic on steep gradients. The inquiry’s findings emphasized the need for improved safety procedures, including better signalling practices and the adoption of safer lighting systems in carriages. In subsequent years, electric lighting gradually replaced gas lighting in passenger trains.
More than a century later, the Hawes Junction crash remains one of the most serious incidents on the Settle and Carlisle line. It is remembered as a stark example of the consequences of signalling errors and operational oversights in early railway travel, and it played a role in shaping later safety improvements on Britain’s rail network.