that boy scout who helped but was still worried he is absent from school thus needed someone to write a letter for his absence is wholesome.

Very impressive that a kid could handle the sheer horror of the scene let alone handle it well enough to locate survivors and inform his school of his absence.

Nurse Sweetwine served in the Air Force during WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, finally retiring as a USAF major. She passed at 87 in 2009. An honest-to-God hero who deserves to be better known.

That boy scout Gilbert really went above and beyond - and I loved how he still had the presence of mind to ask a nurse for a note to explain why he was late.

The story of Lt Abbie Sweetwine, the "Angel of Platform 6" is kind of amazing, I'd never heard of her before watching this video. A black female nurse being a commissioned officer in the US armed forces (or any predominantly white armed forces of the time, for that matter) stood out to me as nothing short of remarkable in the era of Jim Crow and segregation, before the US civil rights movement had picked up much momentum. As if her actions during the Harrow and Wealdstone crash weren't proof enough, simply getting to that point to be in the right place at the right time would be an incredible testament to her strength and ability! She was the only nurse of the Apparently the actions of Lt Sweetwine that day, along with the actions of the rest of the USAF team (in total, 7 doctors in addition to Nurse Sweetwine) are credited with inspiring the development and use of paramedics in the UK, something which I can personally attest has almost certainly saved my life more than once. The ideas of triage and marking patients with information (eg "have they been seen", "have they received morphine") weren't entirely novel at the time, but this crash was reportedly the first time that they'd been used in full-force in a civilian setting, before they were brought to wider public attention in the Korean war by the use and publicisation of things like the US' MASH units.

One other after effect of that crash was the UK ambulance services adopting the battlefield triage system rather than the previous "scoop and run" system, having noted how many casualties had been saved by immediate stabilisation by Sweetwine's team.

For being another disaster I had never heard of before, the intro to this one managed to be extra ominous in light of your two previous videos on the Great Smog and on that London metro accident where most people in the comments seemed to think the unfortunate operator had a type of seizure. Given how many trains were involved in this crash and their rates of speed, the most surprising thing to me is that "only" 112 people died given the amount of people involved.

I saw someone else mention this in the comments, but I wanted to add my piece. I like that you treat these stories as what they were: disasters. There are people who lost their lives and loved ones. You tell the stories in a factual, non-sensational way, and that’s what sets your channel apart from similar ones for me. Thank you for sharing

Thank you for telling these smaller stories from around the world no matter the year AND you do it without sensationalizing it. You have a wonderful National Geographic voice and your videos are captivating and interesting without being dramatic. Also I appreciate that these videos aren’t 45 min-hour long, they’re short, very informative and includes MANY different mediums of details. Overall you educate and give all details so there’s nothing left to Google and essentially keep A positive memory of the souls that passed, the survivors and the helpers. Thank you for all that you do, how you do it! Please don’t stop anytime soon! You’re appreciated ❤️

I have to hope, that if ever I were in a disaster I would be able to keep as cool ahead as these folks. Marking the patients with lipstick was absolutely genius

Imagine the orderly and calm reaction to an accident that comes from a war hardened public.

I discovered only a few weeks ago that my grandfather was a passenger on the local train that day. He died in the late 1990s without ever (to my knowledge) having talked about the crash.

Followed a link on Wikipedia about this crash to a 2012 BBC article. It mentioned that Gilbert Powell, the boy scout, got into trouble with his parents after returning home all dirty. After getting cleaned up and changed, he went to school where he was given detention for not showing up in the morning. His parents didn't find out about his heroism at the crash site until later.

What a catastrophe. RIP to the victims. That nurse and Boy Scout were real ones, though. Bless them.

As someone who is from Harrow and goes to this station everyday this is an amazing documentary. I knew about the crash but never knew it was one of the worst crashes in the UK.

My wonderful Nan survived this, after also surviving the war but losing her whole family. She used to tell me about it when I was much younger, how she could hear the wood splintering overhead and how the lady next to her passed away on her lap. Makes me miss her

Princess Anne was a very interesting locomotive. She used to be a turbomotive and used a turbine with moderate sucess before she was rebuilt just before the crash. But that's not all. After her untimely end the replacement locomotive for her was none other than Duke of Gloucester who's still around and runs often.

I like the way you clearly showed how it happened, and not just the more dramatic photos of the aftermath. I also really like that you've included small details which to me made it feel more personal. Like the genious resourcefulness of that American "angel", and that you didn't just mention the scout that helped, without also that it made him late for school.

Stories like these are I think my favourite of yours to listen to. The incident was horrific, but the quick and extremely canny response by those on the scene is inspiring.

What a perfect example of what can be achieved when a community comes together to help one another 🙌

Your inclusion of the concrete things like Lt Abby's ingenuity, the young scout's determination, and scores of people that come to help then and later on figuring out how to prevent future incidents brings much hope and a sense that we together can do much good - thank you

My uncle had just crossed the overhead walkway on his way to school when the trains hit at Harrow and Wealdstone …

One of my father's earliest memories is the enormous 'BANG' of this collision. He was a toddler at the time and the family lived quite near the station. My grandmother was in fact supposed to be aboard the local train on her way to work, but was pregnant with my uncle at the time, and so didn't go. Every person she shared the office with was killed.

For some reason I love listening to these thru my headphones while I’m working

I saw the crash in a documentary when I was a kid. The story of the boy asking for an absence note after helping with the crash is a funny tidbit in an otherwise grim event. Imagine being the teacher when he walks in with that note!

I have heard of this disaster, but there was a lot I didn't know about it in this short, but very detailed video. And special mention to the young boy who spent four hours helping emergency service workers. I never knew of his courageous acts until now. I really hope he was commended for his actions

The photos look devastating. But I’m thankful for all the people who responded to render aid. That part of the story was wonderful.

My Dad grew up in Wealdstone and was one of the bystanders out side the station when this happened it always effected him deeply when ever he spoke about it.

There could not have been a better bunch of strangers who heeded the call to help their fellow humans. From a boy scout to passing Americans, helped without hesitation.

The lady with the lipstick was brilliant! What a practical, simple yet effective way to save lives.

I drove on the route through Harrow from 2006 until I retired two years ago. To this day it is possible to see the gouges on the platform faces of the fast line platforms, and the section of the footbridge over the fast line has slightly different spacing of the windows and support ribs where it was rebuilt. Just one note - in the final minute of the video the panel of yellow and red buttons shown is not from the Automatic Warning System installed after the Harrow crash, but from the much later TPWS system installed after the Southall and Ladbroke Grove crash. I was actually involved in the testing of improvements to this later system around 2008, being one of the 'guinea pig' drivers who tried out new button configurations in a simulator in order to gain information on what was the safest and most intuitive method of working. As a result of the implementation of the full TPWS system, collisions due to SPADs are now extremely rare in the UK, and if they do happen they tend to be at very low speed now. The only notable one in recent years was the collision at Salisbury where leaf mulch on the rail heads was the primary cause of the accident, something even TPWS would struggle to protect trains from the effects of.

God bless that young woman who insisted in helping the crash victims and also the boy scout. God bless them and all the victims.

I live in the US in Missouri and for years I lived just down the street from sulfur springs it was the site of the deadliest train crash in Missouri. It happened I want to say in the thirties I know that the surrounding communities didn't have electricity so I think that time frame is about right. One train had stopped at a bridge over the Mississippi to take on some water for the steam engine and the other train failed to acknowledge the signals that he was stopped on the bridge and they collided. the other train was going full speed. I've read newspaper articles from the local history museum about it and it sounds like it was heartbreak and Carnage and chaos and just horrible. But it did play a big part in them changing what signals and how they use them to alert other trains about stopped trains on the same tracks. If I may make a request, could you do a video about that incident?

I am blown away by not only the crash itself but the amazing human reaction. Abby Sweetwine sounds like a war nurse. There was one who similarly did markings at Pearl Harbor.

Abbie Sweetwine was clearly an angel and hero taking quick action. Thank goodness she was there.

Man that's one hell of a excuse note. "HI sorry I'm late I was saving people in a train crash."

It's always good to hear about people who, in time of need, help others out.

*Perfect timing!* Just got blindsided by some late night sadness; this was a great distraction.

Speaking of rail disasters could you speak about the Buttevant train crash which was the biggest railway disaster in the history of Ireland.

Always look forward to Tuesday mornings.

I can not stress enough how much I appreciate the consistent volume and tone in all your videos. No cuts to new reports, no sound effects, no raised voices; just a calm tone talking about exactly the kind of stuff my morbid brain likes learning about. Perfect for relaxing.

The thoroughness and depth of research that goes into your channel is impeccable. 👍🇺🇸

What a scene to behold. You're on your way to work one minute and fighting past twisted metal the next. Horrifying.

That zoom-out reveal at 0:32 is nicely executed.

I've been enjoying this channel for sometime and started a new job in Harrow six months ago, so commute via this station twice a week. I've seen the plaque and the memorial that stretches up the bridge, so it was great to learn the history behind it from a familiar source. Great job as always.

The station at 03.01 is actually Kings Cross and not Euston. It's still a London station though.

Such a great channel. Tells the stories with all the facts, without unnecessary bs artificially prolonging it to an hour, like most channels do. Thank you very much :)

I always feel guilty for enjoying “fascinating horror” 😂 well done once again

That's a ridiculously low death toll for that nature of crash.

Abigail "Abbie" Sweetwine, the Angel of Platform Six, graduated in nursing from the first Black hospital in Jacksonville, Alabama, the George A. Brewster Hospital and School of Nurse Training. She was the sole nurse of a USAF emergency response team sent from the new Air Force Hospital at Rislip; the remainder of the team included seven doctors and was commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. The team was dispatched after members of the 49th Medical Group who were on the train called the hospital to send help. Abbie would later be invited to a celebratory luncheon hosted at the Savoy by the Variety Artistes' Benevolent Fund (now the Royal Variety Charity) and given an engraved cigarette case. The work of the emergency team, including Abbie's skilled improvised triage techniques, are credited with inspiring the formation of paramedic services in the UK. Related: Brewster Hospital was founded because Black victims of the Great Fire of 1901 had nowhere to seek treatment -- all the hospitals in Jacksonville were white-only. They'd rather the wounded African-Americans *die* than deign to treat them until the Civil Rights Act was passed.

As a railroader, and as a train dispatcher. This wreck is the type that gives me nightmares. Me sitting at my desk throwing switches and putting signals in for trains yet having a train disregard everything I’m doing to keep trains safely apart and people safe is an incredibly unnerving thought. Never leaves my mind fully when I’m working. Even though modern tech has really helped advance things more and more to seriously reduce the chances of this repeating itself in the UK, the US, or anywhere else in the world.

I’m disappointed so many are taking the opportunity to talk down about kids today because of one child 70 years ago. That child was a hero, but not many kids get the chance to be a hero or have lived through the tail end of a war and the aftermath in a city that was one of the worst hit during the war. Kids being less likely to cope with a disaster (which is something we won’t know unless they’re in a disaster remember) is something to be glad about. It means they aren’t growing up in traumatic circumstances. I’m gen X and I hoped my generation would be better to the younger generation than boomers etc were to us. Nope, they and millennials are just as bad, repeating the stupidity of talking down to and assuming the worst of younger generations. I’m disappointed in anyone that does it. Be better.

I’m imagining the school secretary when Gilbert turned up late and probably grubby, and handed her that note. The crash was probably all over the radio that morning, and finding out he’d been helping with the rescue!? I know it was a different time and place to where I am, but I’d have been so proud of him. Send him to the school nurse to make sure his cuts and scratches were clean and so he could wash up, while I poke my head in the principal’s office with a, “You’re never going to guess why Gilbert was late.” And slip him money for a candy bar on the way home. I hope somebody gave him a hug and told him they were proud of him.

A well done history on this story, I first read about this in the book Red for Danger by LTC Rolt which is well worth a read and includes the Quintinshill disaster. Just one point, the picture you show of the warning system is actually TPWS which was fitted after the Paddington disaster. The in-cab warning for the AWS system is a 'sunflower' which is a circular yellow and black warning instrument along with an audible alarm that must be acknowledged and is still used today.

I lived in Harrow Weald at the time of this crash. I was four years old. My dad took me to see it. It was probably the day after the crash. He stood on the road bridge which goes over the station and put me on his shoulder so I could see. I remember seeing the trains on their sides and all the wreckage with smoke or steam coming off it. There were loads of people milling about. I have to admit that I have never noticed the plaque, even though I have been through that station loads of times. There is a rather crude painted mural on the wall of the road bridge. I think it was done by some school kids.

I actually live very near there in Northwood but lived in several places in Wealdstone...You are actually the 1st one I've seen that's posted ANYTHING on this apart from Pathe News e.t.c. but then you need to know what to look for...!! All the other train crashes are mentioned regularly but never this one, which is one of the worst EVER in the history of trains as if it never happened...I don't believe there has ever been before or after, another 3 train pile-up + if I'm right, I think about 112 dead?..I bought a book on it on ebay not long ago as I was surprised to find it + hardly anyone knows of it. Locally though, every year they are remembered on 8th October...In fact I personally know several people who were there to help with the clear up + some still have nightmares after the things they saw that day...Whenever I had to get a train from that station, especially if I was pretty much alone, I always got a bit creeped out but didn't know why as I'd not heard the story at that time. Once I found out the truth, it all made sense of why it felt so off...You can still feel it today, a thickness in the air that's hard to describe.. Thank you so much for uploading this, for all the lost, friends + families...x

Incidents like these, where commuters are living their ordinary lives, heading to a probably disliked daily job, are the real horrors to me. Rollercoaster accidents, ski lifts gone wrong, divers drowning, are all outside their common daily experiences. For want of a better word, there's a novelty to those. Most of them, I can think,"Well, no way I'd be..." It makes the imagining more personal. We have all caught commuter trains, all been on school and commuter busses, thoughtlessly expecting we will arrive safely with no dramas. Thank you, Fascinating. I would really like to see your take on the biggest Australian train disaster, at Granville Railway Station.

imagine surviving all the way thru WW2, only to perish in a train crash on the way to work, just awful.

WOW! That young man is a HERO if I ever saw one. How courageous. I hope he went on to live a long and fulfilling life, he deserves it, and I hope his teacher wasn't angry!! 🤣

Getting close to 1 million…thank you for your work

"So great was the noise of these two consecutive crashes that the station clerk picked up the phone to call emergency services without even looking to see what had happened." I can imagine.

I lived in Harrow most of my life and used to travel from the station every day and I have never heard of this before!

That could have been a lot worse! 112 is 112 too many, but for a disaster of that size, it's incredibly low. Looks like the 70th anniversary of the tragedy is coming up. Wonder if that boy scout is still living?

In the early 1990s, i was walking through Exmouth Market in Clerkenwell. One of the market traders was selling some junk and a couple of old newspapers on his stall. This disaster was the headline on both of those papers.

Despite it being a tragedy, I'm glad it kinda ended in a good note, with people coming together to assist the injured, and creating new ways to prevent this from ever happening again, I wish more stories where like this, a community ready to help each other.

Thank you for your content. Stories that should be remembered.

Thank you! I grew up in Harrow and I’ve known about this disaster most of my life and I’ve been waiting and hoping that you’d do a clip about this because you have an amazing way of putting things and I really wanted to see your take on this disaster.

I never knew about this accident. Incredible photos, especially given their age. I think it's a small miracle that many more people were not killed and that there was no fire in the pileup. Very tragic accident but at least lessons were learned from it and safety systems were improved. I wonder if that brave little boy is still living today? He should get a medal.

I live five minutes from Harrow and Wealdstone station and while there is acknowledgement of the crash, I'd like to see mention of Lt. Abbie Sweetwine there. She basically invented triage that day - who knows how many lives she saved. Gilbert Powell is also a forgotten hero and his name also deserved to be mentioned. One interesting fact missed here is that the sole police motorcycle with an experimental radio in the whole of London was just outside the station as the crash occurred, so ambulances arrived more quickly - however, they often ferried the less injured to hospital rather than wait for those in need of more urgent medical care. Thankfully, lessons were learned. RIP.

You've done that story great justice. Well done.

It's always interesting to hear different perspectives of this particular accident and I've learnt things about it that I previously didn't know before. But I am curious to know why you used a picture of Kings Cross station at 3:01

What a dreadful thing to happen. Many years ago whilst still living in England I worked for British Rail and commuted every day from Hemel Hempstead to Euston Station, passing through Harrow and Wealdstone Station. Apparently smog made the situation worse. This terrible accident occurred two months before the great London smog of December 1952 which led to the passing of the Clean Air Act.

What an absolutely terrible disaster but holy crap that was a really really well done drawing

I’m so glad this channel is finally getting the recognition it deserves. Been here since Dyatlov Pass video❤

My uncle missed this crash by a hairsbreadth. He ran for his usual train but just missed it. This was the train standing on the platform at Harrow. Meanwhile my poor aunt heard the news on the radio and for several hours thought the worst. Of course, he was sitting on the following train which had stopped. When he walked through the door at home hours later you can only imagine how they felt.

I learn something amazing with every one of your videos. Being from the other side of the Great Pond, I have learned more European history from this channel than I ever learned in school.

The sad thing I find with this accident was that the GWR introduced ATC back in 1910, mainly on main lines. The LMS ran trails on the LT&SR in 1932, introduction being held up WW2,then Nationalization of the railways. We even still had fogmen who would place explosive caps on the track to warn drivers of a signal at danger. So many safety systems that could have stopped the crash, nothing was in place to stop this crash.

I live in Wealdstone I use this station everyday. There’s a little memorial at the front of the station.

A friend of mine was on a train in Ireland which derailed due to an unswitched switch. This was in the '80s and CIE *still* had some wood frame rolling stock. On this train, they were primarily the first class carriages. The wood frame carriages fared ... poorly. Thankfully for her, my friend (traveling with her baby) had arrived late and been unable to get on the first class carriage; she ended up with a slipped disc and her child was unharmed.

The stories on this channel are crazy. And so detailed. Very similar to how this is monsters does his serial killer episodes. Super detailed and very on point with how a story should be told truthfully.

Thank you for educating us with another disaster we may not have heard of before. Always interesting to learn the whole story of these terrible tragedies.

I love your videos & find myself looking forward to the next one! Keep up the great work!

The GWR Pioneered AutoMatic Train Control in 1906, and was adopted as standard, not as an experiment. It survived into the 1980,s when it was superseded by the BR AWS. So there was in England a warning system in place during adverse weather or poor visibility!!!!

the loco city of glasgow was rebuilt after the crash and ran until being scrapped in the 1960's, windward islands and princess anne were deemed beyond repair.

I am hooked on this channel after watching just a few videos and it`s all because of the voice of the narrator good job and very creepy at times I Love it !

I love these stories with all the clauses at the beginning "The worst train diester in history... In peacetime... In britain... on a Tuesday"

Interestingly a version of AWS had been in use on the GWR for decades prior to the disaster. There are some very interesting contemporary cases of AWS issues on mainline steam, most noticeable of which was when the crew of an engine were able to turn the system off completely and ofc that was the day they weren't paying attention to the signals and narrowly averted a major collision. Just goes to show that fail safes aren't always fail safe.

Another excellent episode bringing the past to life, thankyou. Considering the wreckage and number of people involved, I'm truly amazed how many survived.

That young boy is a hero. Talk about bravery in the face of harrowing circumstances.

My late father should have been on the local train. We lived at Hatch End, and he caught the train daily to Euston. However, in 1952, my mother had a recurring nightmare: we HAD to be in Ireland with my grandparents for my birthday on October 10th. Crossing the Irish Sea was no fun in October, but we were in Athy when my parents opened the daily newspaper and read of the accident on the 8th. I have used this story, and my father's escape, regularly in school assembly when I was a teacher (you could hear a pin drop!), on my local radio station, and at my local men's breakfast group (with ketchup bottles representing the three trains!) It's a gripping tale.

I’ve never heard of this disaster. Another great video, thanks for sharing this.

For those who are interested in learning more about this crash Plainly Difficult covered it more in depth a while back. No offense of course to FH this channel always does a fine job as well!

caught me just about to sleep

2:28am here in Washington State USA 🇺🇸 Sending love to whoever reads this… ❤

I'm amazed I haven't heard more about Abby Sweetwine. Her story sounds interesting.

Love these stories. Love this channel! Thank you!

I was eleven when this horror was headline news in all the media. These immages, are so horrfic. I'm amazedd that the so-calle safety ''improvements'' took so long to impliment., And STILL, horror accidents happened.

I nearly cried hearing about the disaster response and how passers-by were so willing to volunteer assistance. there must have been an amazing spirit of togetherness after the war

Even though the circumstances were quite horrific, I’m reminded how amazingly strong and selfless people can be sometimes.

Another excellent post. Thank you!