On 21 August 1854, a
railway accident occurred at Croydon station. At that time, trains on the
railway line were operated at time intervals. This meant that after a train had departed from a station, another was only allowed to follow after a set time had passed. If a train stopped on the line, someone had to be sent back along the track to
signal to the following train that the line was still occupied. On this day, an excursion train from
Dover carrying passengers who wanted to visit the
Crystal Palace in
London was en route to
Crystal Palace station. The train was so overcrowded that it had to be divided at
Ashton station. After the first part of the train passed through Croydon station, a
steam locomotive moved onto the through track in order to take water from a
water crane, without providing protection to the rear of this movement. As the location was very unclear, the following second part of the excursion train ran into the locomotive taking water. The locomotive of the excursion train and its following
brake van derailed and were thrown off the curve. The following carriages telescoped into each other. Three people were killed, and 11 others were injured, some seriously. ==Later accidents==