Irish Railways.

The worst disaster in the history of rail travel in Ireland occurred on June 12, 1889, in County Armagh. An excursion train carrying school children and teachers on their way to a day out in Warrenpoint in County Down, was pulled by an engine which was had insufficient power to haul the carriages up an incline.

The train was forced to a halt half way up, unfortunately the pistons of the engine stopped on dead centre, apparently when this happens it is difficult to restart the engine. The driver divided the carriages in two, put the brakes on in the guards van and placed stones behind the wheels of the carriages. For whatever reason the uncoupled carriages began to move down the incline gathering speed as they went, eventually crashing into another train on the line, eighty passengers mostly children were killed.

See also the chronology of Irish Railways.