Board of Trade Railway Department and Ministry of Transport: Reports and Returns

This series consists of various reports, returns, and other papers, nearly all printed, from the Board of Trade Railway Department and from its successor in the Ministry of Transport. These documents were formerly in several MT series.

RAIL 1053 includes a clear run of UK railway accident reports from 1853 to 1975, from major train crashes down to rail workers’ minor injuries (RAIL 1053/51-161). The reports were prepared by the Board of Trade and presented to Parliament. Many include witness statements from passengers and railway workers. These records comprise railway accident reports from Inspecting Officers (A), Assistant Inspecting Officers (B), and Sub-Inspecting Officers (C) and each piece is divided into four sections each covering three months, with Appendices A, B and C. The 'A' reports tend to be the major train crashes, while the 'B' and 'C' reports are minor crashes and accidents to individuals.

Images of these records can be searched online through the House of Commons Parliamentary Papers website.

The arrangement is now basically chronological, with the exceptions of runs of returns or reports of the same type, which have been grouped together. It should be noted that some runs are extremely long (e.g. annual accident reports last from 1854 to 1975), while others consist of only two items; and that in some cases runs contain items which do not bear identical or even similar descriptions, but which it has nevertheless been thought should be grouped together.

A key to former reference can be found in the standard list set. In the key an asterisk indicates the item was a duplicate and the reference given is to a piece which is or includes a copy of the asterisked item.

Material concerning railway accidents can also be found in MT 114

• Board of Trade, 1786-1970
• Ministry of Transport, 1919-1941

Topics

Labour

Railways

Trade and commerce

Transport management

Official publications