Date with history: Passengers stranded after train derailments

TRAVELLERS were seen making a beeline for the public telephones at Waverley Station on August 4, 1957 following two derailments, phoning to let their loved ones know they were to be stranded in the Capital.

Breakdown crews worked all night to clear the tangle caused by the incidents, which held up arrivals and departures.

The first derailment happened when two coaches came off the tracks outside the Mound tunnel on the Princes Street Gardens approach, blocking two of the four main tracks.

The second was in the station at platform 19, bringing operations to a standstill for more than four hours.

No-one was hurt in the incidents but lengthy delays were experienced, particularly for passengers on the 7.30pm Glasgow to Edinburgh train, held up at Ratho for more than two hours.

British Railways organised replacement buses across the Lothians and the Borders for stranded passengers.