Warren, Paterson, Bries and Aerts Our roots, branches and twigs » James Myles Muir (1910-1952)

Persönliche Daten James Myles Muir 

• Er wurde geboren am 17. November 1910 in Guardbridge, Leuchars, Fifeshire, Scotland, United Kingdom.Quelle 4
• Er ist verstorben am 8. Oktober 1952 in Flintshire, Wales, er war 41 Jahre alt.Quelle 3

  At 08.19 GMT on 8 October 1952, three trains collided with one another at Harrow and Wealdstone Train Station, some 11 miles to the north of Euston Station in London. A total of 108 passengers and four rail crew

• Er wurde beerdigt in Dairsie, Fife, Scotland.Quelle 3
• Aufteilung der Vermögenswerte am 18. April 1953 naar London, England.Quelle 5
• Ein Kind von John Paterson Muir und Isabella Jane Myles

Familie von James Myles Muir

Er ist verheiratet mit Barbara Louden Robertson.

Sie haben geheiratet am 23. Juni 1936, er war 25 Jahre alt.

Notizen bei James Myles Muir

At 08.19 GMT on 8 October 1952, three trains collided with one another at Harrow and Wealdstone Train Station, some 11 miles to the north of Euston Station in London. A total of 108 passengers and four rail crew, (including the driver and fireman of the Perth express), were killed and nearly 340 people injured in what, to this day, (2015), is the UK's worst peacetime rail disaster.

There were three pairs of rail lines running through Harrow and Wealdstone station. From east to west these were the slow lines, the fast lines of the West Coast Main Line, and the DC electric lines. In each case, the “up” line was southbound towards London Euston - the “down” line was northbound towards Birmingham.

The three trains involved were:

1. The 7:31 am Tring to Euston local passenger train taking about 800 early morning commuters to London - 9 carriages hauled by a steam locomotive - on the “up” fast line. It was busier than usual because the next Tring-Euston service had been cancelled. As scheduled, it had travelled from Tring on the slow line, switching to the “up” London Midland fast line just before Harrow and Wealdstone to keep the slow lines to the south of the station clear for empty stock movements. At around 08:17, this train had stopped at Harrow and Wealdstone station platform no. 4, approximately seven minutes late, because of fog.
2. The 8:15 pm Perth to Euston night sleeper express - 11 carriages carrying approximately 85 passengers hauled by a single steam locomotive - on the “up” fast line - this train was running about 80 minutes late because of fog.
3. The 8:00 am Euston to Liverpool and Manchester express - 15 carriages carrying approximately 200 passengers, double-headed by two steam locomotives - on the down fast line.

At 08:19, just as the guard of the Tring / Euston local train was walking back to his brake van, after checking doors on the last two carriages, before pulling away, the Perth to Euston express crashed into the rear of the local train at a speed of 50–60 miles per hour. The collision completely destroyed the rear three coaches of the local train, (where most of the casualties occurred), telescoping them into the length of one coach, and drove the entire train forward 20 yards (18 m). The leading two vans and three coaches of the Perth train piled up behind and above the locomotive. The wreckage and casualties from the first collision were spread across the adjacent down fast line.

A few seconds after the first collision, the northbound Euston to Liverpool express passed through the station on the “down” fast line, in the opposite direction, at approximately 60 miles per hour. The leading locomotive of this train struck the derailed locomotive of the Perth train and derailed. The two locomotives from the Liverpool train were diverted left, mounting the platform, which they ploughed across diagonally, before landing on their side on the adjacent DC electric line, one line of which was short circuited by the wreckage; the other line had its electric current quickly switched off by the signalman, thus preventing any further collisions. The leading seven coaches, plus a kitchen car from the Liverpool train, overrode the existing wreckage and piled up under the station footbridge over the tracks, a steel girder of which was torn away.

Some of the victims were on the platform as carriages full of commuters were hurled onto them. Others were killed on the footbridge that was punctured by a pile of coaches 30-foot (9 metres) high.

Sixteen vehicles, including thirteen coaches, two bogie vans and a kitchen car were destroyed or severely damaged in the collisions. Thirteen of these were compressed into a compact heap of wreckage 45 yards (41 m) long, 18 yards (16 m) wide and 18 feet (5.5 m) high. The Perth locomotive was completely buried under the pile of wreckage.

Casualty figures may have been higher were it not for the rapid efforts of passing detachments of the United States Air Force, who rushed to the scene of the disaster, followed in turn by firefighters, police, medical teams, railway workers and local residents.

A subsequent Ministry of Transport inquiry established that the driver of the Perth train had passed a colour light caution signal and two semaphore danger signals before colliding with the local train. These misread signals combined with poor weather, (patchy fog), and inadequate equipment led to the disaster. The accident accelerated the introduction of an Automatic Warning System – by the time the report had been published, British Railways had agreed to a five-year plan to install the system that warned drivers that they had passed an adverse signal.

The mayor of Harrow unveiled a memorial plaque at Harrow and Wealdstone station to mark the 50th anniversary of the tragedy, on 8 October 2002. On 8 October 2012 survivors, eye-witnesses and rescue workers gathered together at the site of the accident and the names of those who did not survive were read out.

Inscription
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In Loving Memory Of / JAMES MYLES MUIR / Killed In Harrow Rail Crash / 8th Oct. 1952, Aged 41. / Beloved Husband Of / BARBARA ROBERTSON

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