On the morning of 8 October 1952 one of the most serious accidents in United Kingdom railway history took place at Harrow & Wealdstone station, just north of London on the main line from Euston. A southbound express ran into the back of a local train standing in the station; another express, northbound from Euston, then ran into the wreckage. 112 people were killed, a death-toll second only to the Quintinshill disaster of 1915. This event shocked the nation, and much controversy followed over where the blame lay.

10 October 1952: The Railway Gazette reports on the accident within two days of its occurrence

17 October 1952: The Railway Gazette reflects on the accident, press coverage, and expressions of public sympathy

24 October 1952: ATC (Automatic Train Control) was a focus of concern after the accident. The Railway Gazette comments on press coverage of this issue

31 October 1952: The Railway Gazette reports on the memorial service for those who lost their lives at Harrow

November 1952: ATC features again in an editorial from The Railway World devoted to the accident

November 1952: From within the railway, the British Railways Magazine expresses the industry's grief and shock

December 1952: The Railway Magazine reflects on the accident and on the issue of ATC

'Collision at Harrow & Wealdstone, L.M.R.'
From The Railway Gazette, 10 October 1952, p. 419

At 8.20 a.m. on October 8, the 8.15 p.m. express from Perth to Euston ran into the back of the 7.31 a.m. train from Tring to Euston as the latter was standing in Harrow & Wealdstone Station, London Midland Region, the wreckage being thrown across the down fast line. The 8 a.m. express from Euston to Liverpool and Manchester, which was double-headed, collided with the wreckage, as the result of which all six tracks of the L.M.R. Western Division main line were blocked. At the time of going to press, 61 passengers were reported to have been killed and 81 were detained in hospital. Mr. Alan Lennox-Boyd, Minister of Transport, sent telegrams to Lord Hurcomb, Chairman of the British Transport Commission, and to Mr. John Elliot, Chairman of the Railway Executive, expressing his great distress and his sympathy with the relatives of those who had lost their lives and with the injured. Lord Hurcomb replied on behalf of the B.T.C., thanking all concerned who had rendered prompt aid after the accident. Mr. Lennox-Boyd postponed his journey to the Conservative Party Conference at Scarborough so as to visit the scene of the accident, where he was accompanied by Lord Hurcomb, Mr. Elliot, and Mr. J. W. Watkins, Chief Regional Officer, London Midland Region.

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'The Harrow & Wealdstone Accident, L.M.R.'
From The Railway Gazette, 17 October 1952, pp. 422, 442

The hope that 1952 would prove to be a good year from the point of view of train accident casualties has been extinguished by the disaster at Harrow & Wealdstone Station, L.M.R., on October 8 which caused 111 deaths - among them many railway staff travelling to work - and a very large number of serious injuries. It was exceeded in that respect in the United Kingdom only by the troop train accident at Gretna, Scotland, on May 22, 1915. Both cases involved a second collision arising from the impossibility of stopping an express which was approaching on the adjacent line, but whereas fire broke out at Gretna and raged for many hours, that complication fortunately was not added to the great destruction done at Wealdstone. After Gretna it was at once made clear that the accident had originated in particularly gross carelessness in the signal box, which led to a shunted train being overlooked. The Wealdstone accident, of which the circumstances were given in our October 10 issue, has profoundly moved the public by reason of the unusually grave loss of life and damage to material. It has not yet been established why the sleeping car express from Perth ran into the local passenger train which had been crossed from the slow line, and was just leaving the station to run fast thereafter. Lt. Colonel Wilson's inquiry into the accident opened in the Board Room at Euston Station on Wednesday.

[p.442] Harrow &Wealdstone Accident: Press Arrangements

How news was handled in the L.M.R. Press Section at Euston

The first news of the accident at Harrow & Wealdstone Station, London Midland Region, which took place at 8.20 a.m. on October 8, reached the Press Section of the office of the Public Relations Publicity Officer, L.M.R., at Euston House, at 8.34, 14 minutes afterwards. For the following account of the procedure adopted in the section we are indebted to information supplied by Mr. George Dow, Public Relations Publicity Officer, L.M.R. Immediate check was made with the Accident Section of the Regional Operating Superintendent and the facts confirmed. Within three minutes this confirmation had been telephoned to the three London evening newspapers and the news agencies.

Meanwhile telephone and messenger contact was being made with the Personal Injuries Section of the Commercial Superintendent, London Midland Region, to obtain minute-to-minute details of injuries, and similar arrangements with the Passenger Train Section of the Operating Superintendent for changes in train services. The Accident Section was then contacted again to ensure that fuller details of the accident would be forthcoming at brief and regular intervals.

Within 30 minutes of the first news, representatives of the news agencies and newspapers were established in a room adjacent to the Press Section and were given information immediately it came in and had been collated. They were given free use of office telephones (other than those of the Press Section) with which they could contact their respective offices. At the same time the recently established District Public Relations Publicity Offices at Manchester and Liverpool were given the facts.

News was supplied to the press and to the British Broadcasting Corporation minute by minute continuously for five days and nights, for long periods of which the three Press Section telephones were dealing with up to three calls a minute from newspapers all over the country. These calls mostly concerned particular aspects of the accident, such as signalling methods, names of the locomotives involved, confirmation or denial of the many rumours which reached newspaper offices from unreliable sources, and the names and personal details of railwaymen involved in the accident; they were all handled promptly, largely because of the collaboration of the railway departments concerned.

Simultaneously, interviews and facilities were given to feature writers of newspapers on subjects such as the railway organisation for dealing with accidents, signalling, and railway ambulance organisation. Facilities for newsreel, television, and photographic agencies also had to be provided, Most of the enquiries from members of the public as to the safety of relatives were dealt with by the Personal Injuries Section, but any calls which came through to the Press Section were answered direct.

The circumstances of the accident resulted in an unusually heavy pressure, for not until the fourth day was it possible to state definitely that the last body had been removed. The fact that the disaster occurred so near to London did, however, reveal one advantage; very soon after the accident several officers. from Mr. J. W. Watkins, Chief Regional Officer, downwards, were on the spot and could give press representatives authoritative information.

Harrow Accident: Expressions of Sympathy

Messages of sympathy with the relations of the dead and with those injured in the collision at Harrow & Wealdstone, L.M.R on October 8, were sent by The Queen, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Queen Mary, and the Prime Minister, Mr. Winston Churchill, to the Minister of Transport, Mr. A. T. Lennox-Boyd. Expressions of sympathy were received from a number of Heads of States and foreign Governments.

Among the many messages received by Mr. John Elliot, Chairman of the Railway Executive, were telegrams from the Minister of Transport, the Chairmen and Members of other Executives of the British Transport Commission, the Chairman and the General Manager of Coras lompair Eireann, and the Presidents or General Managers of the Belgian National, French National, German Federal, Luxembourg National, Netherlands, Spanish National, and Swiss Federal Railways, and the Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens; messages also were received from the Chairman of the National Coal Board, the Chairman of the London Branch of the Institute of Shipping Forwarding Agents, the Secretary General of the Institute of Directors. and the President of the National Farmers Union.

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'Press Comment on A.T.C. Development'
From The Railway Gazette, 24 October 1952, p. 471

Public concern at the Harrow & Wealdstone accident of October 8 gave rise to much correspondence in the press on the desirability of extending automatic train control. Many correspondents advocated wider use of the former G.W.R. system, which has been operating successfully for some 40 years and is installed on all principal main lines of the Western Region. In the News-Chronicle of October 11 a letter from Mr. Charles Higham said: 'Since 1946 there have been six serious accidents through train collisions, and all of them in Regions other than the Western Region. This is because the automatic safety system operating in this region makes it impossible for a train to enter a section occupied by another train. The Railway Executive has refused to extend this system to other Regions. This must not be allowed. The Executive must be compelled to extend it to the whole country.'

A reply from the Railway Executive was published as a footnote to the above letter. The footnote read: 'The Western Region system would not work in other Regions because of different signalling methods and electric rails. We have been experimenting for three years to find a method which would work everywhere. Estimated cost of installing national automatic train control is about £10 million. We don't want to spend such a sum and then find the system imperfect.'

These statements by the Railway Executive were challenged in a letter published in the News-Chronicle of October 14 from Mr. F. H. D. Page, formerly Signal Telegraph Engineer, Great Western Railway, who wrote: 'Having been intimately associated for over 40 years with the development and installation of the Great Western system of automatic train control, I cannot let the Railway Executive's reply to Charles Higham pass unchallenged.

'It has already been demonstrated that the Western Region system can be adapted without great expense to the different signalling methods in other regions, and I think this can apply equally to the problem of electric rails.

' Three years' experimenting appears to me a very long time to go without finding an alternative method - especially with the advantages that might be expected as a result of nationalisation.'

After the trial run on October 17 with the final prototype of the apparatus now being developed by British Railways, some comments by Sir Felix J. C. Pole. formerly General Manager of the Great Western Railway, were quoted in the Sunday Express of October 19. His reported observation on the statement made at Kings Cross before the trial run that development of the new equipment had been in progress for four years was: 'it is humbug to talk about four years of experimenting when they already have on the Western Region a safety apparatus which has proved its efficiency for 40 years.' He thought it 'fantastic' to suggest that snow might interfere with a contact system of A.T.C. and asked: 'does the Railway Executive imagine that snow is unknown in Wales or the West Country?'

A full account of the Western Region A.T.C. system appeared in our April 15, 1949, issue. As at present arranged' the locomotive shoe is raised and locked at a height out of possible contact with the centre live rail when running on sections electrified with that system.

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'Harrow Accident Memorial Service'
From The Railway Gazette, 31 October 1952, p. 500

A memorial service for those railway employees who lost their lives in the accident at Harrow & Wealdstone, L.M.R., on October 8, and a service of thanksgiving for those whose lives were spared, was held at St. Marylebone Parish Church, London, W.1., on October 23. The service was conducted by the Reverend W. P. Baddeley, Vicar of St. Pancras, and the prayers were offered by the Reverend J. D. Richards, Vicar of St. John the Baptist, Greenhill, Harrow. The Lord Bishop of Stepney, the Right Reverend Joost de Blank (a former Vicar of St. John the Baptist), gave the address. The lesson was read by Mr. J. Tay1or Thompson, Civil Engineer, London Midland Region.

In his address the Bishop said that this was a service both of memorial and of thanksgiving. They must give thanks not only forthose who were spared, but for the daily work of all railwaymen and for the way in which the sudden crisis at Harrow had called forth their powers of organisation in the work of rescue and relief of suffering.

The congregation numbered over 1,000. Lord Leathers, Secretary of State for the Co-ordination of Transport, Fuel, and Power, was represented at the service by his Personal Secretary. Among others present were:-

Mr. A. T. Lennox Boyd, Minister of Transport; Lord Hurcomb, Chairman, and the Members of the British Transport Commission; Lord Latham, Chairman, London Transport Executive; Mr. John Elliot, Chairmian, and the Members of the Railway Executive; Sir Robert Letch, Deputy Chairman, Docks Inland Waterways Executive; Lt.-Colonel G. R. S. Wilson, Chief Inspecting Officer of Railways, Ministry of Transport.

Mr. J. W. Watkins, Chief Regional Officer, L.M.R., and the Chief Regional Officers of the Eastern, North-Eastern, Scottish, Southern, and Western Regions. Messrs.

F. W. Abraham, Motive Power Superintendent, L.M.R.; S. G. Hearn, Operating Superintendent, L.M.R.; F. G. Hole, Member, Hotels Executive; W. R. Keith, Hotels Executive; J. Taylor Thompson, Civil Engineer, L.M.R.; S. Williams, Signal Telecommunications Engineer, L.M.R.

The widows of Driver Jones and Fireman Turnock of the Perth express and the widow of Driver Perkins of the Manchester express, among the many relatives of the railwaymen who were killed and injured; Signalman A. G. Armitage, who was on duty at Harrow No. 1 Box on the day of the accident.

The Chairmen of the N.U.R., T.S.S.A., and A.S.L.E.F.; the Mayors of St. Pancras, Watford, and Marylebone and the Chairman of the Harrow U.D.C., Mr. F. P. Bishop, M.P. for Harrow Central; Mr. John Freeman, M.P. for Watford. Mr. B. K. Cooper, representing Mr. B. W. C. Cooke, Editor, The Railway Gazette; Mr. Charles F. Klapper, representing Mr. D. R. Lamb, Editor, Modern Transport.

Representatives from all the organisations who assisted at Harrow: the U.S.A.F., Salvation Army, R.A.F., St. John's, Red Cross, Civil Defence and Police. In addition railway representatives from all parts of the London Midland Region attended the service.

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'Action needed'
From The Railway World, November 1952

Although evidence is still to be taken, Colonel Wilson, Chief Inspecting Officer to The Railway Executive and in charge of the inquiry into the cause of the tragic disaster at Harrow and Wealdstone station on 8th October, has, with laudable abandonment of red tape, given his personal opinion on the matter.

There appears to be no doubt that the Perth express ran through a distant, an outer, and an inner home signal, all at danger, before it struck the rear of the Tring to Euston local train.

The driver and fireman of the City of Glasgow heading the train were amongst the 39 railwaymen and 72 passengers who lost their lives. It may well be that the truth of what was happening in the cab of the locomotive on that misty, but not very foggy morning, will remain a mystery. Driver Jones was an experienced man, but like all of us he could have made a mistake, if it was a mistake; it may be that he was taken ill. Whatever the answer, there is a criminal neglect which cannot be lightly passed over and that is the failure on the part of the late L.M.S. (which applies also to the L.N.E.R. and S.R.) to introduce some system of Automatic Train Control.

It is easy to be wise after the event, but the wisdom now demanded has been demanded before: many times before. Why wasn't something done? Why, when the G.W.R. had a well nigh perfect system of A.T.C., did not the others follow the lead? The answer many believe, could be found in a stubborn refusal to adopt something which another company had conceived. We would like to think that such petty reasoning could be dismissed as ridiculous. That there are technical difficulties, particularly with electrified track, is acknowledged but there is no evidence of any real effort having been made to overcome them.

To-day The Railway Executive has a golden opportunity to rise above the failure of the past and see to it that every avenue is investigated until a foolproof system of A.T.C. is devised. It is heartening to know that tests are now in progress between New Barnet and Huntingdon, and we confidently hope that it will not be long before a solution is found to overcome the 'human element.'

Our railways are safe, make them even safer.

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'Harrow &Wealdstone, 8 October 1952'
From British Railways Magazine, November 1952, p. 201

On behalf of the British Transport Commission, the Railway Executive, and the whole of British Railways, I should like at the outset of this Inquiry to express our great concern that this grievous accident should have happened, and to associate myself with you in extending our deepest sympathy to all who have been bereaved or injured, and to wish the injured complete recovery.

With the long tradition of safety on the railways of Britain, any accident when it occurs must always be a matter of concern to us, and careful enquiry, but in a catastrophe of this kind every railwayman and woman throughout the system feels a deep personal sense of sorrow, not least because so many of their own colleagues are among the dead and injured. I know that I can speak for them all on this sad occasion.

The Chairman of the Railway Executive at the Ministry of Transport Inquiry into the accident.

[p.402] The Harrow Accident

While this issue was in preparation, there occurred the tragic collision at Harrow & Wealdstone, L.M. Region, involving three trains and the most severe loss of life in any railway accident since 1915. The 112 deaths include 43 railway staff who were on duty, or travelling as passengers. On behalf of all its readers, the British Railways Magazine joins the Press of the world in a sincere tribute of sympathy to all who suffered, by bereavement or injury, through this accident.

Speaking afterwards at Scarborough, the Minister of Transport (Rt. Hon. Alan Lennox-Boyd, M.P.) said '... there is so little we can do except to express our grief for those who are suffering from this frightful disaster and our sympathy for all those splendid people who are in charge of our magnificent railway system.'

Lord Hurcomb, Chairman, British Transport Commission, in a telegram to the Minister of Transport, said 'We desire to express our gratitude to the members of the public, the police, the doctors and nurses, the railway staff and to all those who so spontaneously gave their services to attempt to alleviate the sufferings arising from this shocking disaster which has unfortunately marred the high standard of safety long held by British Railways.'

Mr. John Elliot, Chairman, Railway Executive, at his second visit to the scene said, 'I came down here ... to thank all the officials, men and women, who have worked so devotedly, including our own railway workers, members of public services and volunteers. We wish to pay tribute on behalf of British Railways to the work they have done. Many of them have worked almost non-stop since the disaster. Among them are the crane workers, who have refused to give up and have taken only brief spells of rest. But you cannot single out anyone. Everyone has worked magnificently, it is the one consolation out of this tragedy.' The Chairman praised the technical and operating staff who 'in unprecedented conditions' had got the traffic moving again, and his statement at the M. o T. Inquiry is given on the first page.

However deep may be our feelings about the Harrow accident, we must remember that British Railways hold a premier place for safety among the various methods of transport and that, in 1951, the odds against death to a passenger were 1 in 38 millions - a record that cannot be won or sustained without the ceaseless vigilance of every railwayman responsible in any way for the movement of traffic.

[p.205] 'Our deepest sympathy' - C.R.O.

It is very hard for us to realise that so many of our friends and colleagues in the various offices at Euston who were travelling to work on the 7.31 a.m. train from Tring on October 8 are no longer with us.

Thirty-four of them were killed and casualties to the train staff and other personnel of the British Transport Commission brought the total of staff killed to 43, more than one-third of the total of 112.

Of the 167 injured and detained in hospital 57 were members of the staff.

I send my deepest sympathy to all the bereaved and to the injured my best wishes for a speedy and full recovery.

During the days immediately following the accident it was very comforting to us all to receive so many kind messages of sympathy from many parts of the world and from people in all walks of life. They came from the Prime Minister and his colleagues, from trade unions, from widows, from children and from our friends far and wide including some from Australia, Nyasaland, Kenya, Jugoslavia, Mauritius, France and Belgium. We are grateful to each and everyone of them.

We are grateful also for those who gave us such magnificent help. The doctors and the nurses, the firemen and ambulancemen, the police, the servicemen and the many others with a special mention, of course, for the superbly equipped Americans who were so generous with their aid. Much valuable help was given spontaneously and many lives were saved by the prompt and skilful attention.

In conclusion, I send my sincere thanks to all the railway staff who worked so valiantly for long periods without thought for themselves, not only with the rescue work, but in many other ways, including the speedy restoration of normal working. You all fully upheld the tradition of British Railways and I am most grateful.

J. R. Watkins - Chief Regional Officer

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'The Harrow Accident'
From The Railway Magazine, December 1952, p. 789

The disastrous double collision at Harrow & Wealdstone on October 8 has resulted, so far as British railways are concerned, in a death roll exceeded only in the Quintinshill accident, on the Caledonian Railway, in May, 1915. In adjourning the inquiry after two days, the inspecting officer took what he described as 'a rather unusual step,' and, without waiting the time that must necessarily elapse before his report can be published, announced his main conclusion as to the cause of the disaster. This is that the first collision arose from the driver of the Perth express failing to heed the distant signal at 'caution,' and two home signals at 'danger.' The reasons for this tragically simple error may never be ascertained definitely, as both the driver and his fireman were killed. One thing is clear: after the first accident had occurred, the enginemen on the down express were powerless to avoid the second collision.

Automatic Train Control

The circumstances of the Harrow accident have focused public attention on the question of providing drivers with an audible indication as to whether the road ahead is clear. A contact system of automatic train control is in use on the main lines of the former Great Western Railway and a magnetic arrangement has been adopted on the Fenchurch Street-Southend line, but the second world war retarded further developments. Since the railways were nationalised, the question of adopting a uniform system for all main lines has been under consideration, and, as recorded elsewhere in this issue, the final prototype of the new apparatus was tested recently on the main line from Kings Cross to the North. It must not be imagined, however, that such apparatus will ensure absolute safety, or that it can prevent more than certain types of accident. There are many wrong ideas on this point, as recent events have shown.

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Compiled by Dr Ralph Harrington, Institute of Railway Studies & Transport History, York.