On This Day in 1968, Hixon Train Crash
On this day in 1968, a major rail disaster occurred at Hixon in Staffordshire when a British Rail express passenger train collided with a heavy road vehicle on an automatic half-barrier level crossing. At about 12:26 pm on 6 January, the 11:30 am Manchester to London Euston service struck a slow-moving low-loader transporting a 120-ton electrical transformer as it crossed the West Coast Main Line near the village.
The road vehicle, operated by Robert Wynn & Sons Ltd, was moving the transformer from the English Electric works at Stafford to a nearby storage site. Because of its size and weight, the transporter was travelling at roughly 2 mph and was accompanied by a police escort and a specialist crew. As the vehicle was still straddling the rails, the crossing’s automatic warning lights activated and the half-barriers descended for the approaching train.
The train was hauled by Class AL1 electric locomotive E3009 and consisted of twelve coaches carrying around 300 passengers. It was travelling at approximately 75 mph when it struck the rear of the transporter, where the transformer was mounted. The impact destroyed the locomotive and the first five coaches, derailed the next three, and caused extensive damage to both running lines as well as the overhead electrical equipment.
Eleven people were killed in the collision, including the train driver, two other railway staff in the cab, and eight passengers. A further forty-five people were injured, six of them seriously. None of the transporter crew or police escort were killed. Rescue efforts were swift, with emergency services and local residents assisting passengers from the wreckage.
Because of the circumstances, a public inquiry was held under the Railways Act 1871, the first such inquiry since the Tay Bridge disaster. The inquiry concluded that the transporter crew and police escort had not contacted the signalman before crossing, despite a telephone being provided. It also found that warning signs for drivers of slow or long vehicles were inadequate and that there were failures in communication by both British Rail and the haulage company regarding the operation of automatic crossings.
The Hixon crash proved to be a turning point in level crossing safety in Britain. As a result, clearer signage and stricter procedures were introduced for abnormal loads approaching automatic crossings, including mandatory contact with railway staff. The level crossing at Hixon was eventually replaced by a road bridge in 2002, and memorials in the village continue to commemorate those who lost their lives on 6 January 1968.