In London, a locomotive for the first time in half a century hit a man to death

In London, the historic Eddystone steam locomotive knocked down a man to death at Hanwell station, RailAdvent reports, citing transport police and locomotive owner Southern Locomotives Ltd.

"A man has died after being hit by our 34028 Eddystone locomotive," Southern Locomotives Ltd, which owns the locomotive, said in a statement.

The incident occurred on November 11 at about 06:30 local time (09:30 GMT). The locomotive pulled an empty train from the Southall depot to Victoria Station, where it was supposed to pick up passengers for a sightseeing flight on Memorial Day. After the hit, the trip was canceled.

Emergency services reported the death of a person. According to the transport police, the incident was not considered suspicious. Southern Locomotives Ltd expressed condolences to the family of the deceased.

According to The Telegraph, this is the first fatal hit by a steam locomotive on the UK national rail network since 1968. The newspaper does not present this assessment as an established fact. In the published statements of the police and the owner of the locomotive such information is not.

Deaths involving steam locomotives occurred in the UK after 1968. On May 21, 2012, an employee died at the Grosmont station of the historic North Yorkshire Moors Railway during maneuvers: he was pinned between the carriages after the locomotive unexpectedly changed direction. The circumstances are described in a report by the Rail Accident Investigation Bureau (RAIB). However, it was not a locomotive hitting a person on the national grid, so the case does not disprove a narrower version of The Telegraph.