24 April 2024 The 1968 Hixon Level Crossing Disaster

Presenter Malcolm Garner

Perhaps it is because railways are such a relatively safe form of transport

that the subject of railway accidents is a topic of much interest and indeed fascination to railway enthusiasts.  On January 6th 1968, the village of Hixon was added to that sombre lexicon of place names that had witnessed fatal rail accidents. At an AHB level crossing, the 11.30 a.m. Manchester-Euston express struck the rear end of a transporter vehicle some 150 feet long carrying an electrical transformer from the GEC works in Stafford to a storage depot on the former RAF airfield at Hixon. The transporter travelling at very low speed would have taken at least one minute to traverse the crossing and when the express activated the warning lights and barriers it was but 24 seconds away.  In the resulting collision 11 people died including three train crew.

Malcolm referred back to a near miss in similar circumstances in 1966 at Leominster that involved the same haulage firm Wynns.  They had expressed their concern to BR about the incident and the reply received was truly breathtaking in its arrogance asserting that the hazard was of the haulage company’s making. Had the lessons from the Leominster near miss been properly learned than Malcolm believed that the Hixon disaster could have been averted.

Following the disaster, it became obligatory for the drivers of long, heavy vehicles to phone the signaller before attempting to cross and yellow boxes and double white lines at the approach to crossings were introduced.

Malcolm concluded his presentation by describing the commemorative events that have taken place on significant anniversaries including, perhaps rather bizarrely,  the naming of a Class 220 Voyager “Hixon January 6th 1968” in 2021.

A fascinating and often thought provoking presentation that stimulated a number of questions from the audience at the end.