Fatal Accident

There was a fatal accident on the slag line from the ironworks on 28 June 1920, in which William Towers & Daniel Townson were killed.

Transcripts from the Manchester Guardian and the Lancashire Evening Post reporting from the inquest:

A shocking accident occurred at Carnforth yesterday on the single line of railway owned by the Carnforth Iron Company, a driver and shunter 1 being burned to death by molten slag.

Three waggons, or ladles, of molten slag were being conveyed from the works to the slag tips, which run out in to the head of Morecambe Bay. The engine was in the rear of the ladles, pushing them along, and when the driver reached the sharp bend near the toll-bar 2 he sounded the whistle. There was no response from the other side of the bend, and thinking therefore that all was clear, he proceeded. Unfortunately a train of waggons loaded with limestone was coming down the line from Silverdale 3 and the engine crashed into the foremost of the ladles at the bend. The molten slag was shot out of the ladles, and most of the contents of the first two splashed over the driver and shunter of the Silverdale train, who were almost instantly burned to death. Their names are Danial Townson (41) of Warton, the driver, and William James Tower (17), of Carnforth, the shunter.

1. Two man locomotive crew, driver and "shunter" more often thought of as fireman. No Guard or brake van on these trains. 
2. Howard Cottage on Sand Lane where the tracks ran underneath the lane and curved. 
3. The tracks went only as far as nearby Scout Quarry. 

NO SAFETY SIGNALS

DEPUTY CORONER AND A CARNFORTH RAILWAY LINE

INQUEST ON TWO MEN BURNED TO DEATH IN COLLISION

“It strikes me as very bad, and I am appalled at it” was the comment of Lieut.Col. H. D. Wilson, the Lancaster and district Deputy Coroner, during an inquiry held at the Station Hotel, Carnforth, yesterday into the fatality which occurred on Monday morning on a single line used by the Carnforth Hematite Iron Co., Ltd. and involving the deaths of Daniel Townson (41), who resided with his wife and five children at 13, Mary Street Warton, and William James Towers (19), of Whinmarsh House, Preston Street, Carnforth.  Townson was a locomotive driver in the employ of the company, whilst Towers was engaged as a shunter and they were badly burned by molten slag following a collision on the single line track from the limestone quarries. Mr. A. Sewart represented the employers, whilst Mr. H. H. Thomas, H.M.Inspector of Factories and Mr. R Ashworth (Blastfurnacemen’s Union) were also present.

George Henry Lewis , of Cotestones Farm, Warton said he was engaged in the next field to the toll gate at Mason’s bridge, Warton, 1 on Monday morning, and noticed an engine and wagons belonging to the Carnforth Ironworks travelling from the quarries towards Carnforth. The wagons were loaded with limestone, and the driver sounded his whistle about 100 yards from the scene of the accident. It was a medium blast, and the train was travelling at ordinary speed. Witness heard the noise of the collision.

Wilfird Gibbons, 10, Edward Street, Carnforth, a train examiner in the employ of the Midland Railway Co., said he was about 400 yards away from Mason’s bridge, on the Carnforth side, about 1130am. on Monday.  He saw an engine pushing three ladles containing hot glowing slag going from the works to the tip. The driver sounded the whistle when passing Hazel Mount, 2 and then continued sounding the whistle after a brief break. Witness heard the crash and the whistling seemed to continue up to just before the collision. When he arrived at the spot, he found the clothing of Townson and Towers was on fire. None of the Engines was overturned, but the front wheels had been knocked from underneath the engine travelling from the quarries. 3 The men were badly burned, and were on the footplate, both appearing to be dead. The slag trucks were half over, and one of them had been lifted out of the socket. Witness did not hear any whistle from the other engine, which was travelling tender first 4

NO RULES OR REGULATIONS

Richard Lowther, locomotive driver at the Carnforth Ironworks, said he was taking the slag to the tip. The single line turned to the right for the quarries and to the left for the tip. Witness had never received any orders since he went to the works, and there were no rules or regulations.

The Deputy Coroner: Nothing to tell you when there is anything coming down there:- Witness: No, nothing whatever.

Nothing to tell you whether there is one coming from the quarry? – Nothing at all.

Could there be one coming from the slag bank? – Yes.

Then you have more than one engine that runs to the tip? – Yes.

Do you take any precautions? – I give a warning signal of my approach when I am going to the tip. Proceeding.  Witness said there was a blind bend on the track both ways and he got out of it by sounding the whistle. If he saw another train on the same line and he stopped, it would depend on the distance as to which of them turned back.5

The Coroner: Had you any orders? – No: I never received any orders on the working of that road at all.

There are no signals? – None whatever. Continuing, Witness said his speed would vary from three or four miles to 10 miles an hour, and he was practically stopped when the accident occurred. He saw the other train about 12 or 15 yards away, and he reversed his engine, but it was not quick enough. He never heard a whistle sounded by the other engine.

By Mr. Thomas: He had driven the other engine, which had one brake – a hand brake. He did not think the other driver had seen his train and was coming down a gradient at the time.

The Deputy Coroner said Lowther had given his evidence very well, and the accident could not in any way be attributed to him, and the Factory Inspector agreed with him.

By Mr. Stewart: The other engine was all right when he worked it the previous week.

Robert Capstick, 7 Jackson Terrace, Warton, shunter on the engine with Lowther, gave corroborative evidence as to seeing the other wagons and the reversing of the engine. He had received no orders from the company.

“VERY LUCKY”

Harold Leslie Fitton, engineer to the company, said that it was usual for the slag man 6 to follow the other engine up.

Is there anything to prevent them going at other times? – No, but they do that for their own safety.

On the line itself, there are no safety directions and no signals? –No.  Proceeding, Witness said they fixed times for going to the quarry, but to the tip it depended on what material they had. He had been at the works 18 months and had not seen any orders.

The Coroner: How can you expect drivers to see them? Evidently they are not there.

By Mr. Stewart, The usual practices of the line were passed on from one man to another. He did not know if the line had been used for 50 years without accident, but he believed such was the case.

The Coroner: Then you have been very lucky.

Arthur Linnell, manager at the works, said they were prepared to carry out any arrangements to avoid future accidents. They had arranged a system whereby the shunter of one engine came to the bend before passing the points, and they would introduce any other system considered to be beneficial. 7

Mr. J. R. Hall, local director of the company, expressed deep sympathy with the relatives.

The Deputy Coroner recorded a verdict that the men were accidentally burned to death whilst carrying out their duties owing to their engine colliding with a train laden with burning slag, and he added a rider to be forwarded to the Home Office that the deaths were contributed to by the deceased men’s employers running trains both ways on a single line without any system of signals or other safety device to indicate to the drivers of the different trains whether the line was clear or not, some such system being all the more necessary as there was a bad corner in the line. 

1. Howard Cottage.

2. In the vicinity of Hazelmount Drive. Lowther was blowing the whistle approaching Mason's bridge.

3. The engine must have been leading the limestone train. We don't know if the locomotive was running cab first (so running "backwards") but it is likely. Industrial tank locomotives of the day didn't always have a fully enclosed, or full height back to the cab. If fate had intervened and the locomotive had been pushing the wagons they might have survived. Maybe that was not possible.

4. Running tender first according to Gibbons. Did he mean the Locomotive had a tender, or that it was a tank engine travelling in reverse?  (more likely). 

5. Almost beyond belief.  

6. Slag train.

7. Meaning every train had to stop, the shunter get off, walk to the bend and check for any opposing train.  

COMMENT

• It was perhaps consistent with the times that lives could be lost so cheaply. The impression from the newspaper reports is the inquiry was powerless, unwilling, or unable to impress upon authorities simple solutions to banish life threatening railway practice.

• "One engine in steam" would have effected an immediate and permanent solution. Otherwise there were rules governing the main line railways which could have been applied.

• It seems odd that Mr. Ashworth, the union representative was not reported as contributing to discussions.

• Even taking in to account contemporary attitudes it must have been obvious that this was an accident waiting to happen. One wonders if the company, the union, or any other organisation supported the bereaved families with anything more than tea and sympathy. 

• It was good of Mr Linnell to introduce a change in working practice and be prepared to carry out any arrangements to avoid future accidents. 

Setting aside the grim details of this tragic accident, it reveals interesting facts:

1. The slag locomotive was pushing three slag ladles to the tip which is a significant load. 

2. Instruction, examinations, signals, rules over who has right of way etc. were non existent and training was on the job.  Drivers used whistles to communicate. 

3. My assumption that a train would be protected by a flagman at the quarry road crossing is unsafe. They probably just used the whistle.

4. Both the limestone train and the slag train worked with the locomotive at the Carnforth end. 

5. One of the outcomes was a new rule that required the quarry train should closely follow the slag train in both the up and down direction and the shunter of a down quarry train should walk to Masons Bridge to check the way ahead was clear.  (That does not fill me with confidence that the Company were determined to make the system substantially more safe, and it appears they did not want new measures to cost any more or impact on their activities).

6. On a normal day the slag locomotive would have pushed the ladles to the junction then pulled them on to the dump. That is problematic for tipping slag at the end of the bank so one assumes there must have been a runaround track on the dump somewhere.