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Remembering Britain's Worst Rail Disaster Of The First World War

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Remembering Britain's Worst Rail Disaster Of The First World War Empty Remembering Britain's Worst Rail Disaster Of The First World War

Post by Irn Bru Mon May 25, 2015 7:54 am

On May 22, 1915, a mere two weeks after the Lusitania disaster, a train carrying 498 soldiers — the entire half of the 7th Leith Battalion of Royal Scots — was making its way towards Liverpool, from where they were to set sail for Gallipoli. But at 6:44 am, the train collided head-on with a local passenger train that had stopped after switching tracks to allow an express train to overtake it. Under normal circumstances, the passenger train would have waited at the Quintinshill rail loops, but there was no room owing to the influx of freight trains.
When the collision happened, the troop train flipped over, with most of the cars falling onto an adjacent track. One minute later, an already tragic situation turned considerably worse: The incoming Glasgow-bound express smashed into the wreckage. The ensuing fire engulfed the troop train, killing of hundreds of passengers. Two nearby trains also caught fire.

http://io9.com/remembering-britains-worst-rail-disaster-of-the-first-w-1706310174

Over 200 men off to fight for their King and country died before they even left Scotland.

A tradegy beyond belief.
Irn Bru
Irn Bru
The Tartan terror. Keeper of the royal sporran. Chief Haggis Hunter

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