On This Day in 1945, Ballymacarrett Train Crash

On 10 January 1945 at approximately 7:50 am, a devastating railway collision occurred in the Ballymacarrett area of Belfast, County Down, Northern Ireland. Two passenger trains on the Belfast to Bangor line of the Belfast and County Down Railway were involved when a railmotor passenger train ran into the rear of a conventional passenger service that was stopped at a signal. The crash took place during the final months of the Second World War, amid darkness and heavy fog that obscured visibility on the line. On that morning, around 800 people were on board the two trains. Twenty-two passengers lost their lives and twenty-seven were injured as a result of the collision.

The first train involved was the 7.10 am service from Bangor to Belfast, hauled by a steam locomotive and composed of thirteen lightweight wooden-bodied coaches. This train had stopped at an outer home signal near Ballymacarrett Junction, on approach to Belfast, and was awaiting clearance to continue its journey. The second train was the later 7.40 am railmotor service from Holywood to Belfast, consisting of three coaches with a steam locomotive pushing from the rear. The railmotor’s lead car was of all-steel construction, with about 186 seats, and was heavily occupied at the time of the collision.

The collision occurred when the railmotor, having passed a stop signal under the railway’s “Stop and Proceed” rule after waiting the required time and sounding its whistle, continued along the line. This operating rule allowed a train to enter an occupied section after two minutes at a red signal, without direct communication with a signalman. Darkness and intense fog compounded the poor visibility. The driver of the railmotor reportedly saw the rear light of the Bangor train only at about 30 yards distance and could not stop in time, leading to the heavy steel lead car of the railmotor ploughing into the rear wooden coach of the preceding train.

The impact was catastrophic for the older rolling stock. The steel lead car rode up over the underframe of the wooden coach at the rear of the Bangor train and pierced through it and into the next coach. Most of the fatalities and injuries occurred in these rear wooden coaches, where the construction provided little protection. Rescue efforts were hampered by the early morning darkness and fog, but local people, including workers from nearby shipyards, lit bonfires and used bus headlights to assist emergency workers in reaching and aiding survivors at the scene.

Inquiries following the crash examined the causes and contributory factors. A criminal inquiry charged the railmotor driver with manslaughter, but he was acquitted; expert testimony highlighted the unusual “Stop and Proceed” rule and inefficient braking arrangements as factors that placed responsibility heavily on the driver. A Ministry of Commerce investigation found that the railmotor was travelling too fast for the conditions and criticised the signalling practices then in use. The accident prompted the withdrawal of push-pull trains, the removal of the “Stop and Proceed” rule, and the installation of improved lineside telephones and more modern operational protocols on the railway.

The financial fallout from the crash was severe for the Belfast and County Down Railway. Compensation payouts, reported to total around £75,000 to £80,000, placed an enormous strain on the already financially struggling company. With declining post-war traffic and the burden of these costs, the railway’s condition worsened, and it was transferred to public ownership in 1948. Each year on 10 January, the Ballymacarrett rail crash is remembered as one of Northern Ireland’s most serious rail disasters and a sombre reminder of the importance of safety and rigorous operating standards in railway transport.