Three victims of 1925 rail disaster commemorated

Three people died in the tragedy at Hope Station a century ago

Workers rushed to raise the alarm after a 50mph (80km/h) express train was spotted heading directly towards a stationary engine sat at Hope Station - but it was already too late.

The two crushed together head-on on 3 September 1925, coming to rest more than 40 yards down the track and sending debris flying, according to the Ministry of Transport's investigation report.

Three people lost their lives and a further 14 were injured in the crash at the Peak District station 100 years ago.

A plaque, installed this summer by the Friends of Hope Station, marks what is one of the worst tragedies ever to occur on Derbyshire's railways.

Passengers can now learn of the tragedy while alighting at Hope Station

The incident on the then-London, Midlands and Scottish Railway-operated line happened at about 15:45 BST on a Thursday seemingly like any other.

But according to the 1925 investigation of Lt-Col Alan Mount, signalman Alexander Adams had missed one crucial train movement and allowed a ballast train to be shunted on to the line to allow a mineral train to pass.

Adams had been distracted by a telegraph message, and as it sat at the station, with the ballast train's fireman eating inside the signal box with the signalman, the approach of the 15:00 Manchester to Sheffield service at full speed went unnoted.

As the alarm was raised with the express passenger train spotted, people attempted to alert workers and get people to run to safety as the emergency brake was applied.

The crash was one of the worst ever to occur on Derbyshire's railways

But the Manchester to Sheffield service's driver George Wolfe, fireman Joseph Henderson and ballast train platelayer James Chapman all died in hospital following the impact at about 50mph.

A passenger was seriously injured, and 13 more suffered minor injuries and shock.

While held responsible through negligence "due to a temporary lapse of memory", Adams did not face criminal charges.

This July, Gill Wood, secretary of the Friends of Hope Station volunteer group, installed a plaque on the platform to ensure the tragedy is remembered.

She said: "I went to a talk about the station, about this crash, and so I decided that I would put up a plaque at the station in time for the anniversary.

"It does look very, very smart, and I have seen people reading it, so it's put the information out to far and wide because so many people use the station."