Saturday 23rd December 1899.
Growing up, we used to tell each other ghost stories and the very first time that I had heard of the Hamilton train crash that killed people was at the age of around thirteen when I was camping with my pals round in the back garden of my family home at 17 Farm Terrace in Burnbank.
The stories that I heard as a wee boy were about the train crash that happened at the Blue-Waters site in Quarter, now the site adjacent to the Quarter Fish Farm. The story was told of a train that had fell from a bridge and went into the water and on New Year’s Eve, and every year from when it happened, you could hear the ghost sounds of the steam engine chuffing down the site of where the old Caledonian railway tracks used to run.
This of course was Chinese whispers and through time as the story was passed down from person to person, it changed with bits being added on and facts removed but the truth of it is that the ghost story of the train that crashed at Quarter did actually happen!
When I started to research the fatal accident, I found that the site of the accident was not at the Bluewater’s site but roughly half of a mile south of it and to put this into modern day perspective, it was half a mile south of the Quarter Fishery and on the lands of Burnbrae Farm, the exact spot being the Burnbrae Farm rail bridge.
Why was there a railway line running through fields in Hamilton you ask? Back Victorian Hamilton in the late nineteenth century, Lanarkshire had railway tracks cutting across the land in every direction Introduced mostly by the coal mines, they started to become widely used as passenger trains. In 1899, this track was the Strathaven branch of the Caledonian railway line which stretched from Strathaven to Blantyre and back to Hamilton.
This line of this branch of the Caledonian railway line is still visible to this day and even though its train stations and railway lines are no longer here, you can walk its route, the more noticeable part is the black path that runs between Meikle Earnock & High Earnock. The railway track going through the lands of Earnock crossed Strathaven Road cutting through the fields past Quarter and up by Stonehouse and terminated at Strathaven.
Here is how the tragedy happened.
On Saturday the 23rd of December 1899 people were getting into the festive spirit and were making plans to visit friends & family to enjoy Christmas.
All passengers had boarded at Strathaven and were heading for Hamilton & Glasgow and as the steam engine picked up pace it headed on its last doomed journey.
As the train left Strathaven and passed through Stonehouse, it made its way towards Hamilton and approaching the lands of Quarter It was reported that the engine should have slowed down as it headed towards a curve just before the lands of Burnbrae Farm and this is where the accident happened, just three-quarters of a mile southwest at Quarter Station. To put this into perspective, the little cottage at the entrance to the Quarter fishery used to be the site of Quarter Train Station and this is where the bodies of those killed and persons injured were taken.
As the train approached the bend just ahead of the Burnbrae Railway bridge on the lands of Burnbrae Farm, the second and third carriages of the train derailed and smashed into the railway bridge with such a force that two of the carriages were reportedly smashed to fragments.
As it was a Saturday afternoon, the train was packed with passengers, and it was a miracle that only three people were killed. The three unfortunate people who lost their lives that day were:
- John Miller Wilson Jackson; 38 years of age, who was the Justice of the peace for Lanarkshire and he lived at West Quarter House in Glassford.
- Marion Martin or Brownlie, widow of James Brownlie (Butcher) who resided at Bilbao Street Strathaven.
- **James Swanson aged about 35 Years and was the Railway Guard, James resided at 27 Flemington Street in Strathaven.
The Injured were:
- Agnes Agnew (20) residing with her parents at Waterside Street Strathaven (Fracture of Skull & Leg) conveyed to Glasgow Royal Infirmary by ambulance.
- Mrs. Edminson, about 50 years of age, wife of a farm servant residing at 21 Castle Street Strathaven, bruised about the back & shock; conveyed to Glasgow Royal Infirmary by ambulance.
- Andre Walston, mining engineer, Cadzow, residing at 10 Kew Terrace, Kelvinside Glasgow. Fracture of the left leg and shock; conveyed home to Glasgow by special train.
- Haddow Patterson (23) a tailor, residing at Balgreen, Strathaven, bruise on leg and shock.
- Samuel Hyslop (28) a tailor residing at Balgreen Strathaven, bruise on leg and shock.
- Marion Stewart (24) residing at Waterside Street, Strathaven, suffering from shock.
- James Turner (57) a mason, residing at 10 Union Street Hamilton, bruises on back, fractured legs and shock.
- John Train (48) a labourer, 21 Barrack Street Hamilton, bruises on head and legs also shock.
- William McSperron (26) a miner, Todshill Street, Strathaven, bruises on back, also shock.
- James Grainger (26) a coachman of 11 North Street Strathaven, bruises on face and hands, also shock.
- Gavin Nairn a labourer, Limekilinburn, Quarter, broken collarbone.
- James Grant, Sandford Strathaven, severe bruises and shock.
The train to which the mishap occurred was the one due to leave Strathaven at 3:15. It was drawn by engine No.166, which was of the type with small tender and no bogey wheels, usually used for suburban and local traffic on hilly routes and the carriages were eight in number, all bogeys except the fourth and seventh which were six-wheelers.
The train consisted of two portions; the first three vehicles bound for Hamilton and the others for Glasgow. The two sections would have been separated at High Blantyre.
All of the plant was modern and was said to have been in the best condition. Apparently, the train must have left Strathaven near the scheduled time of 3:15pm as at 3:28pm it was five miles away and reduced to a wreck.
How the accident was caused was largely a matter of speculation but what was known with certainty from the condition of the railway line is that something went wrong just as the train entered upon the curving decline at Burnbrae.
It was found that one of the carriages, the second from the engine had evidently jumped the rails at that bend and rushing along and out of alignment with the rest of the train forced metals and sleepers out of position.
At first the displacement was only a few inches to the right, but it gradually increased until the bridge about 100 yards in the distance, the displacement to the right amounted to about three feet. It was likely that a second vehicle left the rails soon after the first; at any rate one carriage seems to have struck the arch of the bridge near the right side and another evidently collided with the masonry on the left.
The impact happened so fast and the passengers were aware of a severe swerve; a jarring and jolting for a few seconds and then a terror-inspiring crash as the carriages breaking loose from the engine plunged heavily into the embankment where they lay like some huge bundle of smashed wood & twisted metal and the passengers lay helpless and wounded.
The second and third carriages from the engine were literally reduced to fragments; the three following lay on their sides on the right embankment in various stages of dilapidation and only the last two carriages remained upright and practically undamaged.
News of the disaster spread rapidly and in the adjacent villages of Quarter, Glassford and Strathaven in which many of the passengers had friends, when hearing of the news, people were panicked.
On hearing the news, crowds hurried over across the fields and along the stony permanent way to the scene and from a far distance, huge bonfires fed by the wreckage gave a bright glow and despite the dismal character of the evening and the surroundings and by their light the terrible havoc caused by the accident it was dimly visible from afar on that cold winters night.
All that remained of the framework of the two large carriages was splintered wood and it was strewn all over the cutting of the railway embankment. A carriage roof almost entire, lay upside down across the rails and above it was half of a bogy with wheels upside down.
Two of the vehicles that lay on the eastern embankment lost their wheels and were badly damaged, but they remained upright; those which remained upright seemed to be intact and their gas lamps were still burning and in the racks could be seen showing the personal luggage of some of the passengers.
The last carriage was just clear of the bridge, so that allowing an average length of 45 feet for each of the vehicles, the smash took place just over 100 yards on the Quarter side of the bridge.
It was evident that the collision with the bridge was not the primary cause of the break-up; had the carriages done more than glance off the sides of the stonework they would have been stopped there and telescoped the one into the other, with consequences even more disastrous than those which actually ensued. The impact with the bridge served to deflect the vehicles further off their course and thus gave the accident the serious character it had.
When interviewed, the station master Mr. W. M. Thomson stated that while the officials at Quarter Road were waiting the arrival of the train from Strathaven, when it was just about due, they were startled by a loud crash.
As it appeared to come from the direction of the approaching train, it was feared that an accident had happened. Accompanied by the porters and several of the passengers at the station, he immediately went along the line. Fully half a mile distant from the Quarter Station they were the first people on the scene and came upon the engine standing on the line with a single carriage attached.
The two fore-wheels of the engine were derailed, but otherwise the engine and vehicle were intact. The driver Alexander Scott and the fireman Alexander Forbes and most of the passengers had already gone back to the remainder of the train of whom the wreck could be distinguished in grey dust about a hundred yards further on.
It was now apparent that something very serious had occurred, but he was not prepared he said for the terrible spectacle which met his eyes as he approached the scene of the disaster.
For a considerable distance the line was strewn with wreckage and two of the three carriages which formed the Hamilton portion of the train were literally reduced to splinters.
Three others of the Glasgow portion lay tilted on their sides on the right embankment. So complete did the smash appear that he was shocked that any of the passengers in the wrecked portion were alive.
Several however had already crawled out or been assisted from the wreckage; and the body of Mrs. Brownlie, shockingly mutilated was stretched on the embankment. Those of the passengers in the rear section of the train who mostly escaped with a shaking and Samuel Gilmour, the guard of the Glasgow part of the train were working strenuously to extricate those who had been involved in the wreckage.
The crash had been heard distinctly also in the village of Quarter, and the news quickly spreading, brought hundreds of additional people willing to assist to the scene.
Meanwhile the stationmaster ran back to the signal cabin and wired to Hamilton, Strathaven and Motherwell for medical assistance and to send ambulances, he also wired the chief officers of the railway company.
A special train with three doctors was dispatched from Hamilton and before their arrival, about twenty minutes to five, the injured and dead had all been extracted and removed to the station waiting room and the stationmaster’s house on ambulance stretchers sent from Quarter Colliery by Mr. Munro, the manager.
It was dark and bitterly cold before the bodies of Mr. Jackson and the guard Swanson were recovered, both were completely hidden in the wreckage. Mr Jackson had been all but decapitated, and Swanson’s body been so terribly crushed that scarcely a bone remained unbroken.
A sad incident in connection with Swanson’s death was that his wife was a passenger in the train from Strathaven to Hamilton and she was among the uninjured and she waited in a dreadful state of shock while the wreckage was being searched in the flicker of the wood fires.
On learning of the fate of her husband, she collapsed and had to be carried from the scene. By shortly after five o’ clock as many as ten doctors had arrived at the scene, Drs R. Watson, J. Watson, Adam, Wright, Steel and Crawford from Hamilton. Drs Dougall, Watts and Petrie from Strathaven; and Dr. Warson, Langside, Glasgow who was at Strathaven and drove over when he heard of the accident.
The injured had ample medical assistance and among those who gave kindly attention was the Rev. George Blair of Quarter. On the advice of the doctors, the young woman, Agnes Andrew and Mrs Edminson both from Strathaven, were sent to Glasgow Royal Infirmary in the Hamilton ambulance waggon.
They also advised that Mr. Andrew Watson should be sent to Glasgow Royal Infirmary but he insisted upon being taken home to Kew Terrace in Glasgow, and he was dispatched by special train, Dr Crawford accompanying him.
Ambulance waggons were also present from Motherwell and Bothwell and they were utilised for conveying the injured to their homes. The bodies of Mrs. Brownlie and the guard Swanson were taken charge of by friends and that of Mr. Jackson was conveyed to West Quarter House. It was believed that Mr. Jackson was on his way to Edinburgh to spend Christmas with his friends.
David Barr, a young man who travelled from Strathaven in the train was seated in a compartment in the last carriage of the train. He was going to Glasgow and there were also two young ladies in the compartment. When the train was three-quarters of a mile from Quarter Road Station, it swung round the corner and came to a sudden stop.
He heard a terrific crash, and realising that something serious had occurred, he sprang to the carriage door, opened it and along with the two ladies, jumped out. The carriage had come to a standstill just past the Burnbrae Bridge.
The middle portion of the train was wrecked, and the engine and first carriage appeared to him to be a good distance in front of the rest of the train. There was no shouting or crying amongst any of the passengers.
Mr. Samuel Gilmour, the guard of the Glasgow portion of the train immediately proceeded to the assistance of the wounded passengers. Mr Barr and the two ladies in his compartment had a narrow escape as with the exception of slight shock, they suffered no injuries.
Another passenger stated that the trains; in coming from Strathaven to Quarter Road station always swung round suddenly near the Burnbrae Bridge and he never liked that part of the line.
A walk up the line to the point where the first evidence of mishap was visible showed clearly the character of the damage to the permanent way. In the glow of the distant fire the wet rails glistened bright, showing instead of the segment of a large circle which they should have presented a wavering, swerving line becoming more erratic as it neared the bridge, though, so far as could be judged by the eye, the gauge was little disrupted.
Various theories were propounded as to the probable cause of the accident. One regarded as most likely was the coupling between two carriages had snapped, but the officials gave no evidence to the idea.
Another suggestion was that in the rapid run downhill a carriage might have jumped the rails and two of the buffers thereby becoming locked so that the vehicles would refuse to “give” in the taking the curve, thus displacing the metals and causing the ultimate derailment, but it was difficult to understand how two carriages tightly coupled could have become locked.
Alexander Scott, the driver having been running on the Strathaven route for many years was intimately acquainted with it and he was regarded as a cautious and trustworthy man.
The officials of the company examined the running stock, but they could do nothing to explain how the train crash happened. The engine had two wheels derailed by the sudden jerk cause by the carriages striking the bridge but was undamaged and even after the accident every wheel of the carriages was found to be sound.
Nether was there any flaw discovered in the permanent way beyond the displacement caused by the carriages being derailed. The fact that the sleepers and the rails had been carried some three feet in distance to the right showed how tremendous must have been the lateral force.
Information of the train crash was at once forwarded to the company headquarters and in a remarkably short time breakdown squads and a number of officials of the company were on the scene.
The Hamilton breakdown squad in charge of Mr. Hamilton and the Motherwell steam crane with a contingent of men from Polmadie Locomotive Depot in Glasgow arrived within an hour or two they were soon busily engaged in clearing away the wreckage.
Among the officials present were Mr. Currer, district superintendent; Mr. Mathieson engineer of the company; Mr. Anderson, chief locomotive inspector; Mr. Miller of the general manager’s office; Mr. Pettigrew, and a staff of inspectors and relief men from the headquarters at Glasgow.
These gentlemen with their respective staff were at wok most of the night in clearing away the wreckage. About a hundred yards of the permanent way was affected, but in view of the character of the catastrophe, the damage there was comparatively insignificant. The bridge across the line was so badly damaged with stonework being dislodged that it had to be rebuilt.
In 1899, they could not afford to have that section of the Caledonian Railway to be closed for any amount of time as the line transported people, coal and other goods, were they keen to get the line back open, or did they clear the wreckage to try and prevent any evidence being uncovered?
One of those killed was John Jackson and he owned the West Quarter Estate and was the only son of his widowed mother.
Although an estate owner Mr. Jackson took part in the business of his uncles Messrs Williamson & Co (Edinburgh) He was buried at Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh
** When I looked for James Swanson’s death certificate, there is no trace of him. I did find the burial of a man named William Swanson aged 31 and this William Swanson was buried on the 27th of December 1899 at the bent cemetery, and he lived at the same address 27 Flemington Street, Strathaven. Again, I can’t find any burial record for a William or James Swanson, so perhaps more investigation needs to be carried out to find out a bit more about him.
Today, 127 years after the fatal train crash at Quarter, the story of the train crash has nearly been lost in the mists of time, but those who lost their lives will be remembered and possibly one of their descendants will come across this and get in touch.
Researched & written by Garry McCallum – Historic Hamilton. © 2026
