It involved the derailment of a long passenger train at Shipton-on-Cherwell, near Kidlington, Oxfordshire, England, on Christmas Eve, 24 December 1874, and was one of the worst disasters on the Great Western Railway.

Colonel William Yolland of the Railway Inspectorate led the investigation and chaired the subsequent Court of Enquiry of the Board of Trade.

[1] The owner and men from the Hampton Gay paper mill close to the accident site tried to assist the injured in the snow.

[1] The basic cause was found to be a broken tyre on the carriage just behind the locomotive, but that failure was worsened by the inadequate braking system fitted to the train.

The fracture started at a hole where a rivet attached the tyre to the wheel, possibly due to metal fatigue, although that was not specifically recognised by the inquiry.

[3] The following week, the coroner returned to Hampton Gay to further identify bodies, as well as those which had been kept in the third class waiting room at the Oxford Railway Station and one at Radcliffe Infirmary.

[4] Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham, discussing the accident, notes that:[5] In the excitement at Snow Hill Station, a young woman was pushed under a train and lost both her legs, though her life was saved, and she now has artificial limbs.51°50′51″N 1°17′57″W / 51.84750°N 1.29917°W / 51.84750; -1.29917