A RAILWAY locomotive is being renamed to honour the Carlisle signalman, who prevented a potentially catastrophic disaster 40 years ago.

On May 1, 1984, William Taylor's quick-thinking averted a runaway freight train from barrelling into a populated Carlisle station, where the Glasgow to Euston passenger train was sitting. 

Recognising that train carriages from Liverpool to Glasgow had divided, within four minutes Bill had redirected the 10 uncoupled carriages onto an empty goods line, sending it plunging into the River Caldew.

The freight liner, carrying a dangerous cargo of an explosive petrol additive and acid, was said to be travelling at an estimated triple the line speed of 20mph. 

News and Star: Bill Taylor made both national and regional headlines at the time. Bill Taylor made both national and regional headlines at the time. (Image: Ian Taylor)

In an interview with TV news coverage at the time, Bill said: "As soon as the first portion cleared Upperby bridge junction, I diverted the second portion onto the Upperby goods line with it being the lesser of two evils.

"It was inevitable some form of mishap was going to be on us in a very short time.

"I would do the same thing again," he said. 

Bill, who had been a railwayman for 45 years, passed away the following year.

Bill's son, Ian Taylor, who was 21 at the time, recalled the morning of the incident.

"I’d been up in the morning, chomping down on my cornflakes, and my dad was sitting at the table which was strange because he had been working nights.

"And he said 'What a night I’ve had son, I’ve had to put a goods train in the river at Denton Holme'. 

“It wasn’t till I was driving over Denton Holme bridge when I saw the crowds looking down that I really realised," he said. 

Ian and his brother David are proud that a new locomotive is set to bear their father's name, travelling all over the UK and complementing an existing commemorative plaque within Carlisle's Railway Station.

“It feels surreal after this length of time," Ian said.

"We’ve always felt there should be more than a plaque in the waiting room that commemorates a ‘mishap’, which is what they had to say, but it was a bit more than that. 

“It’s nice for the family, I’ve got kids and my brother’s got kids, it’s nice to bring them along and say look that was your grandad." 

The train, a testament to Bill's bravery, is set to be unveiled in Carlisle later this year.