BBC Four

Knowledge, arts, music and culture from the UK and the world.

BBC Four reflects arts, music and culture with an ambitious range of intellectually and culturally enriching programmes, taking an expert and in-depth approach to its subjects.

BBC Four HD

Neil Oliver

Finestripe Productions

Katie Lander

Ian Lilley

Mat Urey

Steve Pearson

Lorne MacFadyen

Alasdair Hankinson

Archie Tassell

Robert Watson

Simon Cummins

Anson Jack

David Howell

Adrian Searle

Adrian Quine

Lindsay Farmer

James Chalmers

Juliet Gardiner

Richard Roberts

Britain's Deadliest Rail Disaster: Quintinshill

Documentaries

Factual: History

Factual: Crime & Justice

20/05/2015

BBC Two - Britain's Deadliest Rail Disaster: Quintinshill

Neil Oliver investigates the 1915 Quintinshill rail disaster. Was there a cover-up?

Neil Oliver investigates Britain's deadliest rail disaster at Quintinshill near Gretna Green. Two men were jailed, but was there a cover-up to protect others from being blamed?

On 22 May 1915, a collision at the Quintinshill signal box, near Gretna, became Britain's deadliest ever rail crash. Involving a military train filled with troops - most of whom were from Leith - heading for Gallipoli and two passenger trains, the crash claimed an estimated 226 lives and left hundreds more injured. 

The duty signalmen, George Meakin and James Tinsley, were found responsible for the disaster and were both jailed on the charges of culpable homicide.

Neil Oliver explores the series of mistakes that may have caused the collision, the part played by the train companies and the government, and determines whether the investigation would have come to the same conclusions if it were carried out today. Dramatised reconstructions add to this compelling account of a tragedy which had a profound effect on several communities in Scotland, and remains the deadliest in the annals of Britain's railways. 

Britain's Deadliest Rail Disaster: Quintinshill is a Finestripe Productions programme for BBC Scotland.

BBC Two Scotland

BBC Two

BBC Two is a TV channel that started broadcasting on the 20th April 1964.

Original version

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Britain's Deadliest Rail Disaster: Quintinshill

Contributors

Genres

Formats

BBC Four HD

About BBC Four