15 September

[mr B]

two little bit's for to-day ;-

15 September 1830 marked the opening of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway making history with the first railway fatality as local MP William Huskisson kind'a got tangled up with Rocket' s train

also on this day in 1859 the west mourned the passing away of Mr I K Brunell

mr b

[YNMR]

William Huskisson's death at Edge Hill could be pre-dated by at least 15 years as regards the first railway accident or even more if you check the following.

Early Fatal Railway Accidents
1650
In April and July 1650 in Whickham County Durham it was recorded that two boys were run down by a wagon on a wooden coal tramway and killed.

1815
15th July 1815 in Philadelphia County Durham 16 people, mainly spectators, were killed by a boiler explosion of the experimental locomotive "Brunton's Mechanical Traveller". (Also reported as 13 killed).

1821
5th December 1821 – David Brook, a carpenter, was walking home from Leeds along the Middleton Railway in a sleet storm when he was run over, with fatal results, by the steam engine of a coal train. This is the first case of a person being killed in a railway collision.

1827
In 1827 – An unnamed woman from Eaglescliffe Nr Stockton on Tees (believed to have been a blind beggar woman) was "killed by the steam machine on the railway". This is also said to be the first case of a person being killed in a railway collision, and the first case of a woman being killed.

regards Graham

[richard]

I think the Huskisson incident is usually qualified by "public railway" and probably passenger or public person. The Stockton & Darlington was a public railway but got through its fair share of boiler explosions (as were common in those days) - but they tended to only kill locomotive crews.

The Huskisson incident may also be the first wilful "running across a track without looking to see what was coming" - he ran across to the Duke of Wellington's coach to talk about some political matter or other.

Richard

[52A]

Huskisson Memorial.

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

Husskison was also the first "personality" to be killed by a train. The others were just oiks, sadly.

Don't blame me, its the way the world works.

[YNMR]

As you say the rest were just "ordinary folk" not a knob like Husskison - the world does not alter !!!

[harvester]

Does any one know if there is public access to the Husskison Memorial? I've only seen it from passing trains and never noticed any access.

[52A]

Alas there is no public access, I took the picture whilst working nearby.

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

Nice to see the Husskisson Memorial's been restored. Last time I saw it half the letters were missing and the monument itself half hidden in scrub and weeds.