Today’s story is one for the railway enthusiasts among you and another example of the fascinating ordinary people who lie in Radnor Street Cemetery.
Swindon Inspector’s Reminiscences
How a Railway Disaster was Averted
An interesting incident has been recalled by the frontispiece in the Great Western Railway Magazine for April, showing the “Lord of the Isles,” bedecked to draw the royal train, conveying the Shah of Persia, on the occasion of his visit to England in 1873. The name of the fireman was given as Hetherington, but it transpires that Mr James Henderson (late inspector at Swindon), is the man referred to. An exciting occurrence attended the journey of the royal train, and is related in this month’s magazine by Mr. Henderson thus:-
“I have good reasons for remembering the day the photograph was taken – June 24th, 1873. We left Paddington with the Shah of Persia, the late King Edward with Queen Alexandra, and the late Czar of Russia and his Consort on the train, attended by many distinguished persons. In honour of the Shah’s visit, a great review was being held at Windsor, and many excursion trains were being run. All went well with the train until we were passing through Slough Station. At that time there was no “locking gear” there, and trains had to pass from the down main line and go through the down platform road to reach Windsor. At the western end of the platform there was a pair of points turned by hand, which led either to Windsor, or across the Windsor Branch to the main line. On passing through Slough Station I noticed that these points were wrong, being set for the main line instead of for Windsor. I shouted to my driver. “Whoa, mate, the points are wrong,” and we stopped the train just in time to avert a collision with an empty train coming from Windsor. We put the train back over the points, and I jumped down and turned the points myself, the man whose duty it was to attend to them being so overcome that he was unable to do any more work.
Mr Tyrrell (then Superintendent of the Line), was on the platform, and witnessed the whole affair. He got on to the engine and rode with us to Windsor. After we started from Slough he enquired from my driver who had first noticed that the points were wrongly set, and the engineman, who was Jos. Groves, replied, “My fireman, sir.” Mr Tyrrell turned to me and expressed his pleasure at my having observed the position of the points. Subsequently I was sent to Swindon to see Mr. Joseph Armstrong, (late Locomotive Superintendent), who promised that I should receive recognition for the occurrence. Shortly afterwards I was promoted to be a driver, and before long made a driver on the broad gauge expresses, being the youngest man ever promoted to that position. Many people wondered at the time at my early promotion, but it was the prevention of that collision that led to it. It may be imagined that the occasion on which the photograph was taken stands out as a red-letter day in my life.
“I may say that during my service with the Company I had the good fortune to be the means of preventing five other collisions with passenger trains.”
The Evening Swindon Advertiser, Saturday, June 1, 1912.
James Henderson died aged 89 years at his home, 51 Rolleston Street. He was buried on November 14, 1934 in grave plot A2526.