LMS Route: Rugby to Tamworth

Polesworth Station: lnwr_pol1211

Another view of ex-LMS 4-6-2 Coronation Scot class No 46252 'City of Leicester' showing the tender and coaches standing upright. The twelve coaches weighed 431 tons and included six sleeping cars, five first class and one third class. The train was hauled by the "City of Leicester", a class 8P tender engine of the 4 6 - 2 type which weighed l62 tons in working order, and was driven from the left hand side. The steam brake operated on the engine and tender and the vacuum brake on the train, and the braking power available was 68% of the total weight of the train, which was 593 tons. The engine turned over to the left after it had passed along the whole length of the platform and the train had lost most of its speed ; the tender did not turn over but was tilted to the same side. The left hand side of the engine, which had been in contact with the platform, was badly damaged. Subsequent examination showed that the profiles of the engine and tender tyres were good and that the wheels were true to gauge. The seven leading coaches were completely derailed but remained upright ; only the front bogie wheels of the eighth coach were off the track. All the coaches had steel underframes and were fitted with shock absorbing buffers. There was no telescoping, but the solebars of some coaches had started to ride over those of the vehicles in front of them and crushing of the coach ends had begun. Most of the derailed Mark 1 vehicles also sustained considerable other damage from contact with the platform.

This was the second accident at Polesworth involving one of Stanier's Coronation Scot pacific locomotives. The first had occurred on 21st July 1947 and involved LMS 4-6-2 Coronation Scot class No 46244 'King George VI' at the head of the 8:30 am London to Liverpool Boat express crashed while rounding a bend at speed at Polesworth, Warwickshire. Built in streamlined form at Crewe as LMS No 6244 in July 1940 No 46244 was involved in another major accident at Grendon in July 1947 and despite this chequered career remained in service until September 1964 when it was withdrawn from Kingmoor shed in Carlisle to be scrapped during December 1964 by Arnott & Young, West of Scotland Shipbreaking Company in Troon.

back