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The Hawes Junction train disaster occurred on December 24 1910 in Cumbria, England, when a busy signalman forgot about a pair of bank engines waiting at his starting signal and allowed two trains into the one block section. Since the bank engines travelled at low speed, and the following express travelled at high speed, a collision was bound to occur.
Factors contributing to the accident included the failure of the crew of the light engines to obey rule 55 and inform the signalman that they were waiting on the main line.
Since the signalman was exceptionally busy with several more light engines, a moment of forgetfullness is understandable.
The accident would have been prevented if track circuits had been installed to detect the presence of train on the main lines, and in addition lock the signals so that they could not be cleared.
Track circuits had been invented in the 1870s, and had proved to be very successful; unfortunately most British railways were slow to install them.
Similar accidents
The Quintinshill train crash also involved a signalman forgetting about a train on the main line.
[1] (http://danger-ahead.railfan.net/accidents/hawes_jct/home.html)
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