Moston Colliery man-haulage accident, 1940

On 11 March 1940 a man-riding train carrying colliers ran away underground at Moston Colliery, Newton Heath, Manchester, left the rails and crashed. Six men were killed and others injured.

Cause

The man-riding train ran away on the haulage road and jumped the rails.

What happened

Moston, Platt Brothers' deep pit at Newton Heath, carried its men to and from the faces on a man-riding train of trucks. On 11 March 1940 the train ran away; the trucks jumped the rails and crashed. The first newspaper reports that day spoke of five killed and of ten, fifteen or thirty injured, and one headline described joking miners caught in the underground crash. The death toll rose to six; the NMRS records give eight injured.

Investigation & inquiry

Follow-up reports appeared under the headlines 'The Pit Train Accident' (20 March 1940) and 'Man-Haulage Accident' (23 March 1940).

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• The NMRS records give eight injured; newspaper headlines that day reported between ten and thirty. (disputed) ^4,2

Recorded claims

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

• On 11 March 1940 a man-riding train ran away underground at Moston Colliery, Newton Heath, killing six men. ^1,2,3
• The NMRS records give eight injured; newspaper headlines that day reported between ten and thirty. (disputed) ^4,2
• The colliery was owned by Platt Brothers and Co. (Holdings) Ltd. ^1,5
• Contemporary headlines described runaway trucks jumping the rails and crashing underground. ⁴

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…a man-riding train carrying colliers ran away underground at Moston Colliery, Newton Heath, Manchester, left the rails and crashed. Six men were…”
• Haulage (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “The man-riding train ran away on the haulage road and jumped the rails.”
• Man-riding (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “On 11 March 1940 a man-riding train carrying colliers ran away underground at Moston Colliery,…”

Sources

1. (primary) Moston Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) NMRS deaths and accidents database: James Bennett, Moston, 11 Mar 1940 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) NMRS deaths and accidents database: John Espie, Moston, 11 Mar 1940 — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (primary) Moston Colliery newspaper article index (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum
5. (primary) NMRS deaths and accidents database: Ernest Farrington, Moston, 11 Mar 1940 — Northern Mine Research Society
6. (primary) NMRS deaths and accidents database: Luke Scholes, Moston, 11 Mar 1940 — Northern Mine Research Society
7. (primary) NMRS deaths and accidents database: Thomas T. Wilde, Moston, 11 Mar 1940 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 23 October 2026 · Last researched: 23 October 2026