In response to this obvious defect, the automatic vacuum brake was subsequently developed. It was designed to apply fully if the train became divided or if a hose became displaced. Opposition to the fitting of the automatic type of brake on the grounds of cost (particularly by the LNWR and its chairman Richard Moon) meant that it took a serious accident at Armagh in 1889 before legislation compelled the adoption of the automatic system. In this accident at Armagh, a portion of a train was detached from the locomotive on a steep gradient and ran away, killing 80 people. The train was fitted with the simple vacuum brake, which was useless on the disconnected portion of the train. It was clear that if the vehicles had been fitted with an automatic continuous brake, the accident would almost certainly not have happened, and the public concern at the scale of the accident prompted legislation mandating the use of a continuous automatic brake on all passenger trains.