In living memory there have been only a handful of days as dark as January 28, 1959, when a Glasgow tram collided with a lorry in Shettleston Road causing the former to burst into flames.
The horrific incident unfolded as the lorry driver, who had been reversing into Beardmore's Parkhead Forge crossed the tramlines and accidentally into the path of the double-decker car.
It was reported that the end of the lorry, which was carrying several tonnes of steel, had hit the tramcar with such force that it tore down the staircase column and dislodged the fuse box which dropped down to the lower deck and promptly set fire to the packed vehicle.
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With the flames sweeping through the saloon at a frightening speed, frenzied passengers escaped the tramcar best they could, but those on the upper deck were unable to get out. Some managed to break free from their confines by smashing windows and jumping out, many breaking bones in the process.
Further people were rescued by members of the fire service, who had promptly arrived on the scene.
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Others were not quite so fortunate, however, with two women perishing in the blistering heat, which was so intense that the metal body of the tram melted and ran onto the roadway. The tram driver, David Blackhurst, 29, also sadly lost his life.
The two ladies were later named as Mrs Rosanne Harvey, 48, Ann Helen Scarborough, 58. Twenty-five people were injured in the incident.
Glasgow firemaster Mr Martin Chadwick labelled the incident as the worst of its type he had ever seen in the city.
By the time the flames were doused and the last of the injured taken to the Royal Infirmary, the tramcar was little more than a blackened skeleton.
The tragedy, which occurred just three years prior to Glasgow's tramways being scrapped in September 1962, remains one of the worst peacetime disasters the city has ever witnessed. Sickened by what happened at Shettleston Road, many residents never travelled on the trams ever again.
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