On Thursday 10 June 1926, the Brisbane Limited train left Sydney with 143 passengers en route to Brisbane. At approximately 9.50pm, the eight-carriage train left Aberdeen station and fell through the Hunter River bridge, overturning the engine and derailing four carriages. As a result, 39 passengers were injured and four people died.

A coronial inquest into the four deaths was held at Muswellbrook on 28 June 1926; the deaths were ruled as accidental. It was established that the poor condition of the railway track caused the engine to roll off the tracks as the train approached the bridge.