• Plaque unveiled at Hall Road station to mark 120 years since fatal rail disaster
• The 1905 Hall Road Rail Disaster claimed 21 lives and injured 47 passengers
• Sefton Council’s Library Service has developed a dedicated webpage with more information on the tragic event

A memorial plaque has been unveiled at Hall Road rail station, marking the 120th anniversary of one of Britain’s worst-ever rail disasters and honouring the 21 people killed and 47 injured in the incident.

The Hall Road Rail Disaster occurred on 27 July 1905, when a Liverpool to Southport express train collided with an empty stationary train at Hall Road station. An official report later found the track points had failed to close properly. Despite the signalman waving a green flag, the express was diverted into the siding, striking the rear of the local train.

Hall Road Rail Disaster commemorative plaque

The crash killed 20 passengers in the express’s first coach and injured 47. Henry Potter, another passenger, died three months later from his severe injuries, bringing the number of fatalities to 21.

Victims included a solicitor’s clerk from Birkdale, a six-year-old girl from Everton, and the son of a prominent Wesleyan minister, Rev. Thomas Waugh. Remarkably, both train drivers managed to jump clear before impact and survived.

Yesterday a commemorative plaque was unveiled by the Lord-Lieutenant of Merseyside, Mr. Mark Blundell. Dignitaries present included Sefton Central MP Bill Esterson, Mayor of Sefton Cllr June Burns, Sefton Council Leader Cllr Marion Atkinson, Bernard Nevins of the Crosby & District Historical Society, and local historian Peter McGoldrick. Merseyrail’s Community Involvement Advisor Laura Turnbull and Hall Road Station Manager Paul Draper welcomed guests.

Sefton Council’s Library Service has also created a dedicated page on their website with more information about the disaster, including profiles of people who perished, and they have created a new poster about the incident.

Cllr Steve Foulkes, chair of the transport committee for the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, said: “The Combined Authority is proud to be supporting Sefton Council in preserving the memory of this terrible disaster by installing a plaque commemorating those who died and were injured. It’s important that such tragic events, and the lessons they held for the development of rail safety, are not forgotten.”

Blundellsands ward member and Sefton Council cabinet member Cllr Diane Roscoe said: “Although now forgotten by many, this was a terrible accident 120 years ago and I am pleased the Council has been able to work with local historians and Merseyrail to put this permanent memorial in place to remember those so sadly killed on that fateful day.”

The Hall Road Rail Disaster was the second serious train crash on this line within a short period, following an incident at Waterloo Station less than two years earlier in 1903, which resulted in eight fatalities.

Contemporary photograph of the aftermath of the Hall Road Rail Disaster, 1905