Main Colliery tramway accident, 1890

Early on Thursday 11 September 1890 a loaded journey of the Main Colliery Company's trams, pushed by a locomotive along the tramway to Dynevor Wharf near Neath, overturned when the wheel of the front tram broke. William Smith and William Waite, who had jumped on the front trams to ride to work, were crushed and killed.

Cause

A wheel broke on the leading tram of a loaded coal journey, which came off the rails; the following trams collided with it and overturned on the men riding it.

Contributing factors

Workmen on their way to the copper works rode the loaded trams, at the front of a journey pushed from behind by the locomotive.

What happened

A number of men employed at the Red Jacket (Cape Copper) works were riding on the train of loaded coal wagons. The front tram's wheel broke, it was thrown off the rails, and the trams behind it came into violent collision and overturned, burying two men and a boy. The boy was unhurt. Smith was dreadfully crushed and died on the spot; Waite, whose spine was shattered, was carried home and died about midday.

Investigation & inquiry

The county coroner, Howel Cuthbertson, held the inquest at the Town Hall, Neath, on the Friday, and the jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Early on Thursday 11 September 1890 two men riding on a loaded coal train of the Main Colliery Company near Neath were crushed to death when the trams overturned. ^1,2,3
• A wheel of the front tram broke and it left the rails, and the trams behind it piled into it and overturned. ^2,3
• The accident was on the tramway leading to Dynevor Wharf, by the Red Jacket works, on a journey pushed by a locomotive at the rear. ^2,3,4
• The county coroner, Howel Cuthbertson, held the inquest at Neath Town Hall the next day, and the verdict was accidental death. ⁴

Related terminology

Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.

• Coal (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “A wheel broke on the leading tram of a loaded coal journey, which came off the rails; the following trams collided with…”
• Journey (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “Early on Thursday 11 September 1890 a loaded journey of the Main Colliery Company's trams, pushed by a locomotive along…”
• Tub (contextual relationship)
  Named 8 times in this record, first in the summary: “…11 September 1890 a loaded journey of the Main Colliery Company's trams, pushed by a locomotive along the tramway to Dynevor Wharf near…”
• Waggonway (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…the Main Colliery Company's trams, pushed by a locomotive along the tramway to Dynevor Wharf near Neath, overturned when the wheel of the front…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Welsh mining fatalities, 1890 — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) South Wales Echo, 12 September 1890: Shocking fatality near Neath: two workmen killed — South Wales Echo (Welsh Newspapers Online, National Library of Wales)
3. (primary) The Western Mail, 12 September 1890: Shocking accident at Neath Abbey: two men killed — The Western Mail (Welsh Newspapers Online, National Library of Wales)
4. (primary) The Western Mail, 13 September 1890: The fatal accident at Neath (inquest) — The Western Mail (Welsh Newspapers Online, National Library of Wales)

Record created: 19 October 2026 · Last researched: 19 October 2026