Memorial plaque at the site of the Quintinshill rail disaster, 22nd. May 1915. Quintinshill near Gretna Green, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
The plaque reads as follows:- In memory of The 7th Royal Scots, 'Leith's Own'. And all those lost here in the peace and tranquility of Quintinshill. 22nd May 1915. No wreaths to commemorate our glory day, nor tears to be shed on this permanent way. Just 'Flowers of the Forest' for youth in thir prime. For the piper's lament stills the passage of time. No wreats and no sorrow as memories unfold, Just eternity's promise 'They shall never grow old', Words by Denis Muir. Springfield and Gretna Green Community Council 2009. The Quintinshill rail disaster was a multi-train rail crash which occurred on 22 May 1915 outside the Quintinshill signal box near Gretna Green in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. It resulted in the deaths of over 200 people, and is the worst rail disaster in British history. Quintinshill box controlled two passing loops, one on each side of the double-track Caledonian Main Line linking Glasgow and Carlisle (now part of the West Coast Main Line). At the time of the accident, both passing loops were occupied with goods trains and a northbound local passenger train was standing on the southbound main line. The first collision occurred when a southbound troop train travelling from Larbert to Liverpool collided with the stationary local train. A minute later the wreckage was struck by a northbound sleeping car express train travelling from London Euston to Glasgow Central. Gas from the Pintsch gas lighting system of the old wooden carriages of the troop train ignited, starting a fire which soon engulfed all five trains. Only half the soldiers on the troop train survived. Those killed were mainly Territorial soldiers from the 1/7th (Leith) Battalion, the Royal Scots heading for Gallipoli. The precise death toll was never established with confidence as some bodies were never recovered, having been wholly consumed by the fire, while the roll list of the regiment was also destroyed in the fire. The official death toll was 227.
Size: 3875px × 3300px
Location: Quintinshill near Gretna Green, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe.
Photo credit: © Stan Pritchard / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: disaster, dumfriesshire, green, gretna, memorial, plaque, quintinshill, rail, railway, royal, scotland, scots, site
