 The buffer beam, draw-gear and coupling shackle of this wagon were ripped clean off by the force of the impact and thrown into an adjacent field.As 1A26 had approached signal D19, the driver was not accelerating as hard as he normally would have been because he was uneasy about the view ahead—he should have been able to see the next signal but it was obscured by a cloud of smoke or dust and he had instinctively backed off the throttle.As he passed D19 he became aware of the cement wagon across his path about 400 yards (365 m) ahead.