RAILWAY – Accident near Redcar Station

Accreditation Redcar and Saltburn-by-the-Sea News 21/01/1875

ACCIDENT TO A PASSENGER TRAIN
NEAR REDCAR STATION

     An accident of an alarming character occurred on the Darlington section of the North Eastern Railway on Friday morning last, near Redcar station. A miners train is shunted into what is known as the excursion siding at Redcar every night, and leaves for Upleatham Mines at 5.45 a.m. We understand that it is the duty of one of the porters at the station to attend to the points after the miners train has left; but owing to the train having started before the porters got to the station on Friday morning, or their having being forgotten, the points were left open, and the Leeds and west train, timed to leave Redcar at 5.53 a.m. ran into the siding. With this train there are always two engines, one of which takes the Leeds carriages at Preston Junction, and the other carriages running west, and both engines, together with the guard’s van and third class carriage, ran over the end of the siding, the darkness which prevailed preventing the engine men seeing they were on the wrong line. Both engines were thrown on their side, and they lay embedded in the embankment opposite Red Barnes, the residence of T. Hugh Bell, Esq., Mayor of Middlesbrough.

     The van and all the carriages remained upright, and none of the passengers were injured. Strange to say, neither the engine men nor firemen were hurt, and considering the way in which both engines were turned over, they had a most remarkable escape. The passengers were detained at Redcar until 8.45, when they were despatched to their various destinations, the up-line fortunately remaining clear and on this the traffic was worked during the day. The accident, as a matter of course, considerably delayed the down trains, but relays of men from Middlesbrough and Shildon were speedily set to work to remove the engines, and by working all Friday night they were enabled to have the line cleared by Saturday morning.