Signal Box - Quintinshill

I have put this Signal Box on today to mark 100 years since our worst rail disaster in Britain.  Three trains crashed, a local , a sleeper and a troop train, killing 230 souls and injuring 246.  

The men in the signal box were given the blame and right enough they didn't do things to procedure or with care.   However these days you would not look for blame in an accident, instead you would work out what exactly happened, all the factors involved and why it happened in a effort to stop it ever happening again.  What Resources were available, what Training, how do you Cope with the extraordinary, Human Factors, Procedures, Pressure of Work, etc etc.

For instance there was a war on which took top priority, there were too many trains using the main track and loops, the signalmen had to juggle trains by moving them around, then they simply forgot they had one on the wrong track because they didn't use the safety features, but at the time nobody bothered using them.  Also the trains themselves were not safe, flimsy wooden carriages which fell apart on impact.

All very sad as our troops were going off to war, and would they have survived anyway.  I feel for the mums, the families and off course all those involved in the crash itself.

xx