The 08:44 passenger service from Glasgow Queen Street to Dundee, despite running late and experiencing technical difficulties, left Invergowrie station without incident.
Approximately ten minutes later, the stationary train was run into at around 60 mph (100 km/h) by the seven-coach 09:35 express from Glasgow to Aberdeen hauled by locomotive 47208.
[2] It was reported the next day that the dead included engine drivers Robert Duncan and William Hume.
[4] The other two immediate fatalities were passengers Dr James Preston, a community health officer aged 65, and Mr Kazimierz Jedrelejczyk, a Polish marine engineer.
[4] The fifth death was that of passenger Mrs May Morrison who died in hospital as a result of injuries she had sustained in the crash.
The inquiry speculated that he may have been looking back towards the signal box, or checking that the train was clear of the level crossing.
Various operating staff who saw the signal before and after the accident also gave evidence that the arm was not properly horizontal, including some who said that the degree of elevation appeared to increase as they got closer to it.
The Starting signal had no AWS that would have warned the driver of the Aberdeen train, nor was there an adjuster for the pull wire.