Victims of devastating Staffordshire train crash remembered in new tribute

Rail industry leaders and local residents joined forces on Friday to unveil a new stained-glass window in St. Peter’s Church at Hixon, near Stafford, marking the Hixon rail disaster.

Shortly before 12.30pm on January 6, 1968, an express train carrying 300 passengers from Manchester to London Euston smashed into a road transporter carrying a 120-tonne transformer over an automatic level crossing, killing eight passengers, the driver, his assistant and a spare driver.

A dedication service was held at the church to mark the installation of the window, following work in 2018 to install a memorial garden and headstones, with the Northwest Railway Chaplain Karen Schofield and St Peter's Curate, Rev. Danny Payne among those blessing the window as part of the service.

A wreath was laid at the headstone to commemorate victims of the Hixon rail disaster.

The new window, designed and installed by local business owner, Glyn Rayson, was unveiled in Hixon’s village church to represent the decades-long relationship between the railway, the former RAF training airbase at RAF Hixon and St. Peter’s parish.

The three symbols are all linked, with the Lion emblem representing the rail disaster, the Cross Keys representing St Peter's school and parish and the RAF roundel representing RAF Hixon.

The installation of the window has been funded by organisations across the rail industry, including CrossCountry, Network Rail, Avanti West Coast and ASLEF.

The design incorporates the former British Rail logo as carried on the locomotive involved in the rail accident, the crossed keys of St. Peter, and a roundel to represent the RAF Hixon air base which was active during the Second World War.

John Robson, CrossCountry’s head of Traincrew Strategy said: “It’s a privilege to return to Hixon to see the dedication of this important memorial window to remember the tragic events of 1968.

“Though of course such incidents are rare, their impact is often felt beyond the boundary of the railway, and this beautiful window pays tribute to the ongoing relationships between the railway and local communities here in Hixon.

"I think to keep it alive in our collective memory as an industry and also remember the community which was affected and the responders that came out to support those who were injured is important and we should also remember the good things and changes to safety that came out of the accident."

The dedication of the window comes two years after a CrossCountry train was named ‘Hixon, 6th January 1968’ after the incident.

Local historian, Malcolm Garner, said: “We’re so grateful to the rail industry for their practical and financial support to help commemorate the two things for which the village of Hixon is probably best known beyond the local area.

“These are RAF Hixon, the wartime RAF base at which bomber crews were trained to help in achieving victory in World War 2, and the tragic railway disaster in 1968 which led to many improvements in both level crossing safety and disaster response.

“We are proud to welcome both rail and RAF communities to Hixon today to commemorate the close ties between our three organisations.

"I think the window is lovely as they've married together the three elements so deeply and I'm really delighted that we've now got that sort of lasting memorial to complement the stones and memorial garden for the crash."

The newly-installed window is available to view by the public at St. Peter’s Church on Church Lane in Hixon.

The Hixon Rail Disaster

In January 1968, a service from Manchester to London Euston with 300 passengers collided with a road transporter carrying a 120-tonne transformer over the automatic level crossing. The train driver, their assistant, a spare driver and eight passengers died in the crash.

The incident launched a groundbreaking national enquiry which saw critical safety alterations made to level crossings across Britain, while the one at Hixon was later replaced by a bridge.

The Express & Star edition of January 8, 1968, provides a compelling account of a much greater disaster which was subsequently blamed on a series of errors by the authorities.

We reported at the time: “The train, with a full load of passengers, fortunately most of them were in the rear coaches, plunged into a low loader, moving over the continental-style crossing, with a 120-ton transformer.

“As the train hit the obstruction, slicing through the steel loading section like a knife through butter, and hurling the transformer itself about 20 to 30 feet ahead, it plunged to disaster.

“Coaches reared up, smashing against the side of the transformer, and into the back of the motive power unit of the train.

“Coaches were literally torn in half, and finished up in a quadrangle formation. Among the mangled, twisted framework of the coaches, and the seats and fittings, were sections of the railway line and splintered sleepers.

“It was a terrible scene that will live long in the memories of the people of Hixon.”

Six months later, Mr Brian Gibbens QC concluded after a 42-day public inquiry that the driver of the transporter, his employers, the police escort, Staffordshire Police, British Railways and the Ministry of Transport were all guilty of negligence.