5th August 1903

Results of the Inquest into the Southport Railway accident

The resumed inquest into the six persons who were killed in the accident to a Liverpool and Southport Express at Waterloo Station on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, on the 15th of July, was held at the town hall Waterloo, yesterday by Mr Samuel Brighouse the Coroner for West Lancashire.

Their was a large number of counsel representing the Railway Company, the injured passengers and the relatives of the six persons who lost their lives in the accident
Members of the general public also attended

The first witness was William LLOYD driver of the ill fated train who was seriously injured and has not yet quite recovered. He stated that on the afternoon of the 15th July, he was in charge of the engine at the 4:30 express from Liverpool to Southport
The engine was known as the radial tank type, without bogey wheels. He had been in charge. He had been in charge of the engine seven or eight times prior to the accident

When the accident occurred he estimated that the train had been travelling between 40 and 50 miles per hour. The train had approached to within a few yards of the footbridge at Waterloo station before he was aware that something wrong had happened. The engine then suddenly leapt up in front, caught and crashed through the footbridge after which he remembered nothing more
The engine was in perfect working order and in good running condition before the disaster. He could not express any opinion as to why the engine had jumped the metals. After the engine jumped he had time to shut off the steam before becoming unconscious. The next witness was George SHEPHERD, guard of the train, who gave some important evidence regarding the curve at Waterloo Station, which is generally supposed to have contributed to the accident. He stated that for some time he had been in the habit of looking out of his van when approaching Waterloo in order to see how to take the curve in question. He said he did so because he had apprehended danger from the curve since a day in May last when he felt a nasty jerk on passing this particular spot. On arrival of the train at Southport on that occasion several of the passengers complained to him and the driver about the jerk at the Waterloo curve and the witness reported the matter to headquarters. In that report which was read by the coroner witness stated that on entering Waterloo station on the date in question the train gave a nasty lurch as if the near side rail had given way and that passengers complained about it on arrival at Southport. The witness went on to state in answer to the coroner that he noticed platelayers working at the curve afterwards. The occasion in May was the only one where he felt a jerk at Waterloo and it was the only time when passengers had complained to him.
Further evidence as to the alleged dangerous curve was given by a Mr Edward BROWN a Liverpool shipbroker who resides at Southport, and who was a passenger on the train which came to grief on 15th July . He said that he frequently travelled on the 4:30 express from Liverpool and on this occasion he considered that the train travelled faster than usual, especially as it approached Waterloo when the speed seemed to increase a good deal. On reaching Waterloo station the train gave a great bump and the next instant the accident happened. When travelling on the same train at the end of May last he felt a violent jerk as the train made the curve at Waterloo where it generally went badly, since then he had purposely avoided travelling on the express as he was apprehensive of the danger when approaching the curve owing to the high rate of speed when passing the spot. On the occasion in May he drew the attention of the railway officials to the excessive speed at which the express made the curve in question and warned them that it would result in a bad accident some day.
He was then told that the matter would be reported to the headquarters in Manchester. He believed that at one time there were notice boards at Waterloo station asking drivers to slacken speed. A great many of his fellow travellers had spoken to him about the dangers of taking the curve at the high rate of speed at which the express usually travelled. He did not notice any improvement after he had been told that the matter had been reported to headquarters at Manchester.

Another passenger a Mr A LATHAM whose little daughter was killed in the disaster was called. He felt the train give a violent lurch just before the smash came.

Mr H. A HOY chief mechanical engineer to the company stated that the engine of the ill fated train was specially designed and it would run with safety round any reasonable curve as this at Waterloo was. He did not think the question of high speed had anything to do with the accident.
He considered that a train could round this curve with this engine at speeds of seventy miles per hour with perfect safety.

The Coroner: “that is if the permanent way is in good order”
Witness “as I believe it was on this day
The Coroner: “Can you give any explanation why the engine left the metals?”
Witness: “Well my impression is that it must have run over something”
The Coroner: “Did the company pay any attention to the reports of the “bump” which was reported to have been felt at Waterloo in May?”
Witness: “They had lots of “bumps” but they did not take any notice of them”

Mr D RATTRAY the assistant engineer of the company gave evidence as to the permanent way at the point where the accident happened.
He had no explanation to offer as to why the engine left the rails, except to say that it might have run over something. He was satisfied that neither the curve or the permanent way had anything to do with the disaster. On Monday before the accident he travlled on the 4:30. At Waterloo he felt a slight jerk but not enough to alarm anyone. He considered at the time that it was owing to a loose joint. As to the jerk felt by passengers in May he attributed it to the heat and consequent expansion of the metals.
After a little over an hours deliberation the jury found that the deceased persons were accidentally killed by the derailment of the train, but that evidence produced did not enable them to arrive at the precise cause of the accident

Victims of the Liverpool Railway accident. (list of victims donated by Jane Campbell)

Edward RIGBY, Stoker, aged 24, single, Hart St, Southport

Miss Donna Maria WALTERS, aged 73, Westbourne Rd, Kirkdale

Mrs Fanny RYDER, aged 58, Ash St, Southport

Miss Florence RYDER [daughter of above], aged 22

Miss Edith MORGAN, aged 26, Leyland Rd, Southport

Mary LATHAM, aged 7, Portland Rd, Southport

Copyright Caryl Williams:Old Liverpool 2005