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The Quintinshill rail disaster

100 years ago today, the worst rail disaster in British history occurred at Quintinshill near Gretna Green in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. On May 22nd 1915, a devastating crash involving a total of five trains, killed 226 people and injured a further 246. The vast majority of those killed were territorial soldiers of the 1/7th (Leith) Battalion, Royal Scots, on their way to participate in the Gallipoli campaign. Disaster stuck when a troop train headed for Liverpool struck a passenger train that

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The Opening of the UK’s First Tram Service – Birkenhead, 30 September 1860

On 30 September 1860, the first tram service in the UK started operating at Birkenhead on Merseyside. The tram service was the idea of the (aptly named) George Francis Train, an American entrepreneur who was a pioneer of innovative transport systems. To mark that historic day, here is a newspaper story from October 1860 that reports on the opening of the Birkenhead tram service.  

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The Opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway – 27 September 1825

On 27 September 1825, George Stephenson opened the Stockton and Darlington Railway by driving the engine, ‘Locomotion’, between the two towns, and delivering a cargo of coal and flour. The train also carried 1,000 passengers, who, according to this newspaper report from 7 October 1825, ‘were highly delighted’ by the novel exhibition.   Start your newspaper journey by registering today

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