1887 Railway Accident Memorial
Plaque reads:
This memorial is erected by public subscription in the honor of the late Frederick William Maskell and James McNab
The former engine driver, aged 46 years
And the latter Fireman, aged 21 years
Who lost their lives through their heroic devotion to duty in a fearful accident on the Victorian Railways near Windsor on 11th May 1887
From Wikipedia:
On 11 May 1887 the 5.30 p.m. train from Flinders Street station to Balaclava came to a standstill just before Windsor station because the outer home signal was at danger. When the signal changed to proceed, the train would not move because the air brake hose pipe between the locomotive and the first carriage had broken, meaning that the brakes could not be released.
The guard of the train did not go back to warn approaching trains, as required by the rules. Instead he walked forward to examine the brake problem. An express train to Brighton, which had left Flinders Street ten minutes after the disabled train, crashed into it from the rear. The driver of the express could not see the stationary train until far too late, owing to the curve in the track just beyond the High Street bridge over the line.
The locomotive of the express demolished the guard's van of the Balaclava train, as well as three of its carriages. Six people were killed, including the driver and fireman of the express. Ironically, the Chairman of the Victorian Railways Commissioners, Richard Speight, and his fellow commissioner William Green, were travelling in the express. They were uninjured
Submitted by: @IanThorp