Quintinshill: Britain's Deadliest Rail Disaster (2015)

Quintinshill: Britain's Deadliest Rail Disaster (2015) poster

Neil Oliver describes the worst ever railway accident in the UK, which happened a hundred years ago on 22 May 1915, in which three trains collided at Quintinshill near Gretna Green. One of the trains was a troop train taking soldiers to fight in World War I at the Battle of Gallipoli: many of the dead were in this train which caught fire due to escaped gas from the archaic gas lighting in the carriages. The cause of the crash was attributed to a catastrophic signalman's error, but Neil examines whether there were other contributory factors and whether there was a cover-up to prevent investigation of them, making convenient scapegoats of the signalmen.

Director: Ian Lilley
Genre: Documentary, History
Runtime: 60 min
Release Date:

Cast

Production: BBC Scotland, Finestripe Productions
Language: English
Original Language: en

Keywords

world war i, disaster, railroad

More Films by Director: Ian Lilley
More Films in Genre: Documentary, History

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Quintinshill: Britain's Deadliest Rail Disaster about?
Neil Oliver describes the worst ever railway accident in the UK, which happened a hundred years ago on 22 May 1915, in which three trains collided at Quintinshill near Gretna Green. One of the trains was a troop train taking soldiers to fight in World War I at the Battle of Gallipoli: many of the dead were in this train which caught fire due to escaped gas from the archaic gas lighting in the carriages. The cause of the crash was attributed to a catastrophic signalman's error, but Neil examines whether there were other contributory factors and whether there was a cover-up to prevent investigation of them, making convenient scapegoats of the signalmen.
Who directed Quintinshill: Britain's Deadliest Rail Disaster?
Quintinshill: Britain's Deadliest Rail Disaster was directed by Ian Lilley.
Who stars in Quintinshill: Britain's Deadliest Rail Disaster?
Quintinshill: Britain's Deadliest Rail Disaster stars Neil Oliver.
How long is Quintinshill: Britain's Deadliest Rail Disaster?
Quintinshill: Britain's Deadliest Rail Disaster has a runtime of 1h 0m (60 minutes).
What genre is Quintinshill: Britain's Deadliest Rail Disaster?
Quintinshill: Britain's Deadliest Rail Disaster is a Documentary, History film.