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The Manchester Examiner and Times
Saturday July 17 1852

Fatal Railway Accident At Burnley
Four Lives Lost

Another frightful calamity, involving the loss of life, took place in Burnley, on Monday night last, on the Lancashire and Yorkshire railway. On Monday, there were several excursion trips from Burnley, and among others was one to Goole, in Yorkshire. This party consisted of the Sunday scholars and friends of the Wesleyan Association belonging to the Hargreaves-street chapel, Burnley, to the numberof 1,070, who left the Burnley station early on Monday morning, arrived safely at Goole, passed the day pleasantly, and were equally fortunate until they got back to Burnley, about half-past eleven o'clock at night. At the Towneley station, which is not quite one mile from Burnley station, the train stopped, and many of the passengers quitted it. It is usual to detach the engine about this place, and let the train run down the decline to the Burnley station by its own weight. This was done in the present case, and as there were two break carriages, it would have been safe under ordinary circumstances. Arriving trains sould be turned, or "shunted" on to the main line of the East Lancashire Railway; there being a handle fixed there by which the "pointsman," standing colse to a bridge where the railway crosses the river, is to turn the end of the rails down which the train is descending, to connect them with the main line. In the present instance, the pointsman was not ready in time,-whether from culpable neglect, or from the fact that the train, being a very heavy one, had put itself too suddenly in motion from the upper part of the incline. From whatever cause, the points were not turned, and the impetus of the decending train, notwithstanding the use of the brakes, was so great that, as it ran past the offices and station, and came to the solid timber buffers, fixed horizontally to the wall of the skew bridge abutment, the effect of the force to press upward the fourth and fifth carriages from the engine, in this long train of thirty-five, and to smash the body or frame of one of them almost to pieces, raising the other carriage almost upon end. The scene which ensued was most lamentable, and almost baffles description, the screams of mothers for their children being mingled with the cries and groans of the wounded. The news of the calamity soon spread through the town, and the confusion was increased by the hundreds of people who crowded into the station. Superintendent Carswell, with a party of the county constabulary, was soon on the spot, and resorted to active measures for the extrication of the injured, four of whom, a man, a sunday-school teacher, and three girls, were found to be quite dead, and some 20 or 30 seriously injured.

The Inquest
was held on Thursday, at the Sun Inn, Bridge-street, before J. Hargreaves, Esp. coroner for Blackburn hundred; the jury being constituted as follows:-
Mr. Obadiah Foulds, manufacturer, foreman.
Mr. G. Yates, engineer, Mr. G. Slater, manufacturer, Mr. J. Hargreaves, brewer, Mr. T. Robinson, gentleman, Mr. E, Robinson, gentleman, Mr. J.McVeigh, gentleman, Mr. J. Moore, manufacturer, Mr. H. Knowles, manufacturer, Mr. J.W. Anninson, druggist, Mr. J. Lee, draper, Mr. J. Howarth, auctioneer, Mr. G. Haslam, draper, Mr. W. Pollard, manufacturer, Mr. J. Clegg, merchant, Mr. S. Watson, manufacturer.
Mr Cunliffe, from the office of Messrs. Darbishire, Lewis and Co. Manchester, solicitors to the company, attended to watch the proceedings on their behalf; Mr. Holmes appeared for the Wesleyan School committee; Mr. Baldwin for the widow of the deceased Daniel greenwood; and Mr. Hartley, of Colne, for the prisoner Parker, who was in the room during the inquiry. There were also present Captain Binstead, the company's general manager; Mr. Hall, superintendent, Manchester; Mr. Hurst, locomotive superintendent, Manchester; and Dr. Harrison, medical superintendent of the Lancashire and Yorkshire railway. Immediately on the jury being sworn, they proceeded to view the bodies and also visited the scene of the accident. On their return, John Gowland was examined: I am the clerk in charge of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway station in Habergham Eaves, usually called the Burney station. On Monday last, the Wesleyan Society in this town engaged a train to convey the children attending their Sunday schools from Burnley to Goole, in Yorkshire, and back; this was intended as a treat for the children, Monday being the principal day of the fair, and a general holiday on the town. The train started from the station at near six o'clock in the morning, and consisted of 35 carriages. One of the railway inspectors, Jas. Cross, had charge of the train on the part of the company; he set out with the train, but I am not certain whether he went as far as Goole or not. there were two guards- Charles Smith and another, whose name I don't recollect; and two or three porters accompanied the train, besides the insepctor before mentioned. The train was expected back at ten o'clock in the evening, at which hour I was in attendance at the station. I left about ten, the train not having then arrived. Did not return to the station that evening until called up by the person in charge. It is not my duty to attend the arrival of trains; my province is chiefly in the goods department. It is the duty of Henry Gledhill, the booking clerk, to attend to passenger trains. I left him at the station at ten o'clock on the night in question; the pointsman, John Parker, and the night watchman, William Grant, were also there at that time. According to the regulations, this excursion train should have passed down the East Lancashire main line, where there was more room than on the siding adjacent to the platform; in order to accomplish that, the points required turning. It was the duty of John Parker to alter the points. I was called up at half-past eleven, after the accident had occurred, and I went to the station. I found that a collision had taken place, and that two carriages of the train before spoken of were mounted on each other. Both these carriages were knocked to pieces; I believe they were the fourth and fifth carriages from the front of the train. The deceased, Daniel Greenwood, was in one of the carriages just mentioned (I am not sure which): I saw him taken out; he was quite dead. Did not see the three other deceased removed from the carriages, but I afterwards saw them lying dead in one of the rooms at the station. The train was on the Lancashire and Yorkshire siding, next to the stationhouse; it ought not to have been upon that siding, and if the points had been correctly turned it would not have been there, but upon the main line of the East Lancashire Company already spoken of. It has been the practice to unhook the engine from every train at the Towneley station, about three-quarters of a mile from Burnley; the line being on an incline from that point, the trains descend by their own impetus. The speed is regulated by a break. The train in question passed along the siding and ran against the "dead buffer" ( a strong frame of wood) at the end of the line against the bridge, by which the carriages were broken and the four deceased killed. There were upwards of a thousand persons, men, women, and children, in the train at the time of the accident. I am the station master, and have nothing to do with the arrival of trains. The guards have charge of the trains, and the station master has no business to interfere with them unless they act contrary to their instructions; if they do so, it is the duty of the station master to report them. The Lancashire and Yorkshire line terminates, and the East Lancashire commences, about a hundred yards beyond the bridge near to the Burnley station. Our ordinary trains generally consist of four or five carriages. The engines are invariably detached at the top of the incline near to Towneley station. The engines of the Goole train were detached after they got past the Towneley station. The guard has only one break for an ordinary train. The Goole train, I believe, consisted of 35 carriages, all excessively loaded. There might be four or five breaks, or there might be more - I have no idea of the number. Arrangements for this excursion train were made by the parties themselves with our superintendent, Mr. Hall, of Manchester. Extra carriages were sent from Manchester and extra men to manage the train. The railway from Towneley to Burnley inclines very much; the gradient is about one in sixty-five; that is the highest gradient, I believe; I don't think it varies from Towneley to Burnley. Burnley station is as near as can be at the bottom of the incline. If the engines had not been detached from the Goole train, it is very probable they might have been used to reverse the motion. A train of 45 carriages, with 1,500 people, arrived from York about an hour previous to the arrival of that from Goole. The York train was stopped before it got to the Burnley station; the passengers were unloaded, and the carriages sent down the incline in batches - a few at once. That would lessen the danger. If the Goole train had been managed in a similar way, it is very likely the danger would have been less. It is Parker's duty to attend to the points; it is also his duty to attend to the trains. After he has done with the points, he has to leave them and attend to passengers, to take out their luggage, &c. He discharges the duties of a porter, so far as they are required of him. On the night of the accident, he had nothing to do but to attend to the points. In addition to being pointsman and porter, Parker is also signal man. I cannot tell why similar precautions were not observed with regard to the Goole train as in the case of the York train. If the passengers had been unloaded from the Goole train as they were from the other, this accident could not have happened.
Prisoner:Do you remember in the forenoon of Monday that you and I were standing together on the platform, and I said - "Mr Gowland, where do you think will be the best place to unload these excursion trains to-night?" You said - "I don't know; it's the awkwardest place I ever saw in my life, but Cross will be with them, and you must act according to his instructions."
Witness: I don't remember anything of the kind. I might say that Mr. Cross would be there, but he had nothing to do with the arrangement of the points. It was the duty of the pointsman to look after them. Mr. Cross was in charge so far as regards giving instructions to the guards relative to minding the breaks and working the trains; but with altering the points he had nothing to do any more than a stranger.
Prisoner: But how could I know that Cross would have either of the trains stopped for the passengers to get out before reaching the station, except I had orders from him?
Witness: I don't know that. I believe you did your duty to the best of your knowledge. cross had merely control over the trains whilst travelling.
Prisoner: After the collision had taken place, I heard Cross say to Smith (the uard) that he had no business to move when the train had been stopped at the top points, without an order from him.
Witness: I don't know anything of that.
Prisoner: I just wish to say that I had no instructions that the trains should be stopped for the passengers to get out before their arrival at the station.
The witness said, in reply to a question: Three men were left at the station on Monday night to attend to the arrival of the excursion trains. These were in addition to the guards and porters who accompanied the trains. Parker has been employed upon the Burnley branch ever since the line was opened-six or seven years. He is a most excellent servant; there is not a better in the company's service.
John Nowell, butcher, of Burnley: Four sons of mine went by the excursion train to Goole on Monday last. I went to meet them on their return shortly before 12 o'clock. Whilst waiting, I stood on the bridge crossing the turnpike-road. When I had been there ten or fifteen minutes, I heard the whistle of an engine, and presently the train came into sight. When about 300 yards from the station, the engines turned on to a siding and the train stopped; but soon afterwards it moved slowly on again, and then there was a cry that the points had been turned wrong, and that the train was going on the wrong line. The train came forward towards the bridge on which I was stood, running upon the siding next to the train station. The velocity of the train gradually increased, and it was going at a good sharp speed when it reached the buffers against the bridge. The next that I heard was a most tremendous crash, about three times together, and then the alarm commenced. I immediately ran down to see where my lads were, and found two carriages reared up endways against each other; I think they were the fifth and sixth carriages in the train. The first thing I did was to seek for my children; I found them, then hastened home to acquaint my wife that they were safe. I saw several injured persons taken from one of the carriages, but don't know who they were. There was a great crowd collected soon after the accident. The bridge where I stood is considerably above the level of the line; and therefore I had a view of what was going on underneath. Did not see anyone jump off the train as it approached the dead buffers. Did not see anyone working the breaks. According to my judgement, the train would not have attained the speed it did if the breaks had been applied. There was a break in a carriage where one of my sons was, but no on to attend to it. I was told there was another break in front, and nobody with it.
Captain Binstead here remarked that the railway company deeply regretted the occurrence of this fatal accident, and they were ready to make such compensation to the injured parties as might be thought proper.
James Spencer, joiner, of Burnley: On Monday last, I went by an excursion train from Burnley to Goole, and returned in the evening. Can't say who went with the train to manage it; dont know whether there was one or more. On the return journey, I travelled in the fifth carriage from the front of the train. My father, grandfather, mother, sister, and the four deceased, were in the same carriage, together with several other parties with whose names I am unacquainted. How many there were in all I don't know. The train stopped at the Burnley Wood or Towneley station; I don't know that any other stoppage took place until the accident occurred. when we got to the Burnley station, we were all suddenly thrown to one end of the carriage; after that there was a great crash of timber. Greenwood was thrown with his belly against one of the seats. I took hold of him when I got out, but he neither spoke nor stirred. He was pressed against the seat, and remained in that position, as it seemed to me, for half an hour before he was taken out-it was so long before any one came to our help. My father had his ribs broken. Saw Greenwood after his removal from the carriage; he was dead. Was present when Margaret Hartley was taken out; she also was dead. Did not see the other two deceased that night after the accident. I have seen the bodies to day, and they are those of the persons before mentioned. I believe they were all injured by being thrown into the end of the carriage, as already described. The shock was so violent as to deprive me of sensibility. I was fast in the end of the carriage when I came to myself again. Some of those passengers who were not killed were very much injured. The carriage we were in was broken. I was in a third-class carriage. There was no partition in it, and it had two openings on each side.
George Smirthwaite, surgeon: I was in the immediate neighbourhood of the Burnley station of the Lancashire and Yorkshire railway on the night this accident occurred, about a quarter before 12 o'clock. Went to the station immediately on hearing of the accident, and found the sixth and seventh carriages of a train turned up on their ends. The buffers and springs or cross beams of the fifth carriage had run into the lower part of the sixth, which was broken in at the top as well as at the back. The lower end of the sixth carriage was crowded with persons dead and wounded. I assisted to remove the four deceased. Ellen Riley appeared to be bruised about the neck and chest. She died from asphyxia, occasioned either by the violent throw against the carriage or by being pressed upon by several parties underneath whom she was thrown. I found Elizabeth Taylor at the bottom of one of the carriages, or rather jammed between two (the fifth and sixth); the carriages had to be removed by the engine in order to extricate this person and Daniel Greenwood. The last-named female was injured principally about the body and neck; I believe her death was caused by extreme pressure between the two carriages, producing asphyxia. Margaret Hartley lay dead at the bottom of the carriage; there was very little appearance of violence upon her, but probably her death was caused by a blow upon the stomach or by the severe shock when thrown upon the bottom of the carriage. Greenwood was set upright in the carriage on a broken seat; his body was violently pressed between the end of the fifth carriage and the end of a seat running the whole length of the sixth, in the centre. I have no doubt that extreme pressure of the abdomen was the cause of death. I don't think any further information of consequence would be obtained by a post mortem examination. The injuries sustained by the several parties in the collision were doubtless the cause of their death.
John Riley, weaver, of Yarn Place, Burnley, proved that the deceased, Ellen Riley, his sister, was ten years and five months old. He was a passenger by the train: there was no stoppage until the collision took place after passing Towneley statation.
Margaret Sutcliffe, of Rochdale, deposed that the deceased, Elizabeth Taylor, was her illegitimate daughter, and was nine years old. She lived with her grandmother, Ellen Taylor, in Burnley.
Ann Hartley, widow, of Burnley-street, Burnley, examined: Margaret Hartley was my daughter; she was eleven years old last February.
Alice Greenwood, of the Park, Burnley: My husband, Daniel Greenwood, was 34; he was a weaver. I was in the carriage with him at the time of the accident. The train did not stop "gradely" after leaving Towneley station, though its speed was slackened when the engines were detached.
Henry Gledhill, railway clerk, of Burnley, examined: I am in the employ of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway company at the Burnley station. On Monday last, there was an excursion train to Goole. No particular time was fixed for its return, but we expected it about half-past ten. I was at the station at that time. No other clerk was there. John Parker, the pointsman, and William Grant, the night watchman, were the other persons there. No other servants of the company were at the station. About ten o'clock, John Parker came into the office, and said he had made arrangements about letting the York train into the station, and discharging the passengers. I inquired if the watchman was there. Parker said, "Yes, he's here, we're going up." Parker explained the arrangements to me. As I understood, the train was to be stopped at the top points, above the bridge, where we let the carriages on to the East Lancashire line; and that he would see James Cross, the inspector. Nothing further then transpired, and Parker and Grant left the office, taking their lamps to be ready for the York train. Nothing was said respecting the Goole train. The York train came in about half-past ten. About eleven, John Parker and Wm grant went up again to the points. Previous to doing so, they came into the office, and Parker said, "We are going up again, and you must be ready to collect the tickets;" referring to the Goole train. They then went away. The train came about half-past eleven. I was on the platform, and I saw that it was coming into the siding. Upon this, I ran to the end of the platform, and called to the passengers to sit fast. The train ran against the dead buffers at the end of the siding, rebounded a little, and then came forward again. Two carriages, about the fifth and sixth, I think, sprang up, and both were broken, though not so much by the concussion as by the use of sledge hammers in extricating the passengers. A few minutes after the accident, I went to the points that should have turned the train on to the East Lancashire line, and found that there was no one there. The points were shut, so as to cause the train to pass on to the siding. They were self-acting points, so that when they are not held open they would close themselves. The York train did not come into the station to discharge its passengers. There was no occasion, therefore, to open those points for the York train. What arrangement was made between Parker and Cross, I don't know. It was Parker's duty to prevent the Goole train entering upon the siding where the accident occurred. The train could not have entered the siding without danger; so far as my knowledge goes, it should not have come that way, but should have gone down the main line of the East Lancashire Company. I understood that the same arrangement applied to the Goole train as to the York train before referred to. Supposing no communication had been made with Cross, it was the duty of the pointsman to turn the train on to the East Lancashire line, and in order to have done that he must have openend the points. Whay that was not done by Parker, I don't know: I have had no conversation with him upon the subject. There are only two pairs of points: the watchman should have been at one, and Parker at the other, when the Goole train came in. Parker, being in charge of thepoints, should instruct the watchman which to attend to. I am a booking clerk at the station. It was part of my duty to give directions to Parker relative to this excursion train, but I did not consider that he required any special instructions upon the subject. I thought the arrangement for stopping the train at the top points was quite proper. Don't know how many breaks there were upon the train, but I heard them in use: I believe they were all on. A number of the company's servants accompanied the train. I should say there were two or three breaks. Never left the station from one o'clock in the afternoon until after the accident. The train did not come rapidly along the siding; I kept pace with it by walking up the buffers where the concussion took place. It would have been prudent to let down a few carriages at once, instead of the whole train, but it is not a general thing; had that been done, it is probable the accident would not have happened. The train did not increase in speed as it came along the siding; if it had had twenty yards further to go, I think it would have stopped. I walked by the side of the train, telling the passengers to keep fast in their seats as I expected a shock.
James Cross examined: I am inspector of the Lancashire and Yorkshire railway station at Manchester. I came to Burnley on Monday last for the purpose of attending to two excursion trains - one to York, and the other Goole. The directions given by me to the guards were to keep a strict look-out, to ensure the safety of the passengers. I went as far as Todmorden, and returned with the goole train in the evening. That train did not stop at the Towneley station; it came to a stand just outside Burnley, about two hundred yards from the station, as I have since ascertained, for I could not see that night in consequence of being in the rear of the train. I don't know why the train stopped, but at that place the engines were detached, and the train proceeded without them. The train moved slowly at first, but the speed gradually increased, and I called to the guard near me to keep his break on. I thought the speed was rather too fast for the gradient. There were two breaks then at work, and besides them there were toher breaks in the train. I was not aware that the train had got upon a wrong line until the concussion took place. After the accident, I inquired who had ordered the engines to be unhooked, and was informed by one of the men at the station (I think it was the watchman) that it was Parker. I went back to the points soon after the concussion, and found that they were right for going into the siding. It was improper for the train to be turned into the siding, the distance it had to run being too short for safety. I did not know whose duty it was to attend to the points until informed by Mr. Gowland. It is the duty of the pointsman to let the trains into the station, and he is responsible for putting them upon the proper lines, unless he receive special directions from the station master. There was a guard at each of two breaks - one at the back, the other in front of the train. There was no person at any of the other breaks. I can't say what was the object of detaching the engines. The breaks were perfectly sufficient, providing the engines had remained attached to the train. Had there been a similar monster train coming into Manchester station, I should have considered it my duty, holding a similar situation to Mr. Gowland, to have attended to its arrival. I think the removal of the engines was an act of carelesness.
William Grant, of Habergham Eaves: I am the night watchman at the Burnley station of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. Was there on Monday night last. Did not go with Parker into the office that night. I met with him on the platform about eight o'clock. He gave me orders to go to the top points, to let in the excursion trains from York and Goole. They were to be stopped, the engines detached and sent down the straight line, and the carriages turned across to go on to the East Lancashire line. I went there in accordance with these instructions. The York train came first - about a quarter before eleven o'clock. I gave them a signal to stop above the points. The train stopped, and I mentioned the instructions I had received from Parker. The train then moved on a short distance, the passengers alighted, the engines were detached and went on the striaght line, and I then turned the points for the carriages to go down the East Lancashire line. Parker came and asked how it was I had not attended to his orders. I replied that the guard wished the train to go a little lower down. He then told me I must stop the Goole train above the points, and I did so. I told James Radford, the driver of the leading engine, what Parker had said - that the engines were to go down the straight line to the tank, and that the carriages were to be turned across, so that they might go down the East Lancashire line. I then went ot the guard, Smith, and asked him if he had sufficient breaks to hold the train, and he said he had. Upon this I assented to the unhooking of the engines, and it was done by James Radford. He then told the other driver to move on a little, to see if the carriages would stand. The carriages stood perfectly still. At that moment, John Parker came up and I told him he had better get on the break with the guard, and go down with him to see that all was right at the East Lancashire points, there being nothing else then to attend to. The carriages were still stationary. I then went to the top points. When I got there I looked at the train; it was in motion, coming towards me. My points were properly fixed. I turned my red light as a signal for the guards to keep their breaks on. As the last guard passed I called to him to keep his break as tight as he possibly could; and I observed him screw it tighter. Parker went down with the guard, as I recommended. I followed the train down at a walking pace, and overtook the hind part of it before it was stopped by coming in contact with the buffers at the end of the siding. As I passed the second points, after the collision, I saw that they had not been turned, and that was the reason of the train having gone into the siding instead of down the East Lancashire line. I cannot account for those points not having been turned. It was Parker's duty to attend to them. He should have got down from the guard's van to open the points. John Parker gave me orders to have the engines detached from the Goole train, and I instructed the guard to do so. Parker was perfectly sober on the night in question. The distance between the first and the second pair of points is about 100 yards. To my knowledge, Gledhill was not present when I had the conversation withParker about the course to be pursued in letting in the trains. Parker gave me similar orders relative to the Goole train as to the York train - namely, that I was to stop it, have the engines unhooked, let them go down the straight line, and then turn the carriages across to go on to the East Lancashire line. He never mentioned anything to me about seeing Mr. Cross, and asking him how the trains should be let in. There would be no danger in working so long a train down the incline, if the East Lancashire points had been open.
At eight o'clock, there being still a considerable number of witnesses, the inquiry was adjourned to Wednesday next.

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