Boy Killed By and Engine - 1876

Sometimes being a historian can be very sad, as shown by this case of a boy killed on the railway. It is taken from the Bristol Mercury on the 22 July 1876:

'On Tuesday as the 12.20 express train from Bath to Bournemouth, on the Somerset and Dorset Railway, was proceeding on its journey some children were noticed playing on the line. One of them, son of a miner named Hall, attempted to cross the rails immediately in front of the train, and was knocked down. The accident was not noticed by the engine driver, but was observed by the guard. Inspector Ashford, who was travelling in the train at the time, proceeded down the line from Radstock Station in order to make inquiries as to the nature of the accident, and discovered that the boy, whose age was seven years, had been killed by a severe blow on the head from the buffer of the engine.'