Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash

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Three trains collided at Harrow and Wealdstone station in Wealdstone, Middlesex (now Greater London), England during the morning rush hour of 8 October 1952. The crash resulted in 112 deaths and 340 injuries, 88 of these being detained in hospital. It remains the worst peacetime rail crash in British history and the second deadliest overall after the Quintinshill rail disaster of 1915. An overnight express train from Perth crashed into the rear of a local passenger train standing at a platform at the station. The wreckage blocked adjacent lines and was struck within seconds by a double-headed express train travelling north at 60 mph (100 km/h). The Ministry of Transport report on the crash concluded that the driver of the Perth train had passed a caution signal and two danger signals before colliding with the local train. The reason for this was never established, as both the driver and the fireman of the Perth train were killed in the accident. The accident accelerated the introduction...

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