1943 — Sep 6, Congressional Limited Train Derailment, Frankford Junction, PA –79-81

–79-81.  Blanchard estimate.[1]

 

–80  Adams and Seibold. Great Train Wrecks of Eastern Pennsylvania. 1992, p. 177.

–80  Daily News, Huntingdon, PA. “Engineer Blames Bad Lubrication…Wreck.” 10-6-1943, p3.

–80  Lockhart Post-Register (TX). “The Year in Review…Disasters,” Jan 6, 1944, p. 6.

–80  United Press. “Inquest Opens in Wreck of Limited.” Charleroi Mail, PA. 9-27-1943, p. 6.

–80  UP. “Official Probe of Wreck Closes, No Criminal Negligence.” 10-12-1943, p. 1.

–79  AP. “Cause of Overheating in Wreck Not Found.” Lock Haven Express, PA, 10-5-1943, 1.

–79  AP. “Engineer Dies in Rail Wreck near Altoona.” Titusville Herald, PA, 9-13-1943, p. 1.

–79  Haine, Railroad Wrecks, 1993, p. 32.

–79  History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, Sep 6, 1943.

–79  ReadingEagle.com. “88-year-old…recalls 1943 train crash in Philadelphia, 5-14-2015.

–79  Wikipedia.  “List of Rail Accidents (Pre-1950).”

 

Narrative Information

 

History.com: “A new high-speed train traveling between New York City and Washington, D.C., derails, killing 79 people, on this day in 1943. An apparent defect in an older car attached to the train combined with the placement of a signal gantry resulted in the deadly accident.

 

“The Congressional Limited was a newly designed train that would carry passengers through the Northeast corridor at the then-unprecedented speed of 65 miles per hour. On September 6, there were so many customers seeking to ride from Washington to New York that it was decided to add another dining car, of an older design, to the train.

 

“After a stop in Philadelphia, the train began to pick up speed as it moved northeast of the city and the just-added dining car began to experience axle problems. Observers near the track reported that they saw the axle burning and throwing off sparks. Two miles further, in Frankford Junction, Pennsylvania, the axle fell off, derailing the dining car.

 

“The derailment happened just as the train was approaching a signal gantry, a steel structure built right next to the tracks. The gantry sliced right through the dining car, instantly killing many of the passengers. Seven more cars derailed as well, pulled off the tracks by the dining car. In addition to the 79 people who lost their lives, almost 100 more were seriously injured.

 

“A subsequent inquiry placed more of the blame on the location of the signal gantry than the decision to add the old dining car to the speedy new Congressional Limited.” (History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, Sep  6, 1943. Train Derails on way to New York”)

 

Wikipedia: “September 6, 1943 – 79 people are killed, and 117 injured when the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Congressional Limited derails in Kensington, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, due to an axle bearing overheating. The accident occurred as the signalman at Frankford Junction was telephoning the next tower to stop the train.” (Wikipedia. “List of Rail Accidents (Pre-1950).”)

 

Newspapers

 

Sep 7: “Check of Hospitals Shows Many of 123 Injured Are Critical. Rescue Workers Seek to Crack Open Last Crumpled Coach Known to Contain Still More Bodies in Limited Crash. Hot Waste-Pack Journal Box is Blamed

 

“Bulletin. Philadelphia, Sept. 7–(AP)–Twisted wreckage of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Congressional Limited gave up seven more bodies to recue workers at noontime today, bringing to 65 the number known to have perished when the train piled up heading into a curve in northeast Philadelphia last night.

 

“Philadelphia, Sept. 7–(AP)–The last crumpled coach of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Congressional Limited was cracked open by recue workers today, yielding four more bodies to bring to 62 the number known to have perished when the train piled up on a curve last night. At least 123 among the Labor Day crowd of 541 passengers were injured as the 16-car Washington to New York Express developed a ‘hot box’ and crashed with a roar. Many in over-crowded hospitals were reported near death….

 

“Workers immediately began dissecting the tangled metal of No. 7 coach. The railroad company said it was possible that its ruins would give up still more bodies.

 

“The electric-powered train, which makes the 226 mile run in 210 minutes, wh Newark, N. J., the first stop, and carried 541 passengers — many of them service men — was heading into a curve at Frankford Junction, in Northeast Philadelphia when the accident occurred at 6:12 (EWT).

 

“A waste-packed journal box ‘ran hot,’ railroad officials said, on the front of the seventy car of the 16-car train, burning the wheel loose from the axle.

 

“The coach, hurtled into a steel pole supporting overhead power lines, was cut in two vertically as though by a giant axe. The coach behind jammed accordion-like against it. Six other cars behind them were thrown from the rails, but all the dead and most of the injured were in the seventh and eighth coaches.

 

“Passengers were buried under the debris from which many of the living were not release until hours later. Some were thrown through windows; galley workers in the diner were scalded. One woman lay in the wreckage for six hours, calmly telling rescuers ‘take your time, I can stand it.’….

 

“Army guards with fixed bayonets and sub-machine guns headed a crowd away from the wreckage. Stretcher bearers had difficulty getting the dead and injured through the thousands who earlier had gathered at the scene, which is in crowded business and industrial section, three miles east of the north Philadelphia station….” (AP. “Death Toll in Pennsy Wreck Totals 65.” Warren Times-Mirror, PA, 9-7-1943, p. 1.)

 

Sep 7: “Philadelphia, Sept. 7–(AP)–Seventy-eight bodies lay in the Philadelphia morgue tonight — victims of the nation’s worst railroad disaster since 1918,[2] the wreck of the Pennsylvania railroad’s crack Congressional Limited in the north-eastern section of the city last night. There were 48 women, 24 men, three boys and three girls. Twenty-seven were still unidentified. The last body was believed to have been removed from the wreck by 8 p. m. but several may still be buried in debris at the edge of the tracks.

 

“A total of 123 were in hospitals and many were reported near death….

 

“The railroad company said at 6 p. m. (E.W.T.) that the last bodies had been removed from the wreckage. Nearly a score had spilled to the ground during the day as giant cranes lifted the ruins of two of the most smashed coaches….” (Associated Press. “Death Toll Reaches 78 in Pennsy Wreck,” Bradford Era, PA, 9-8-1943, p. 1.)

 

Sep 10: “Philadelphia, Sept. 10.–(AP)–The last of the 79 victims of the Congressional Limited train wreck in northeast Philadelphia Monday night was identified today at the morgue. She was Mrs. Laura E. Roth, 52, of New York. Identification was made by a daughter…

 

“Meanwhile the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission concluded their joint investigation of the wreck….” (Associated Press. “Last of Victims is Identified.” Titusville Herald, PA, 9-13-1943, p. 1.)

 

Sep 27: “Philadelphia, Sept. 27.–(UP)–Coroner Herbert M. Stoddard today opened an inquest into the deaths of 80 persons killed in the Sept. 6 wreck of the Congressional Limited. A ‘blue ribbon’ coroner’s jury was assembled to return individual verdicts in each death. It was expected this would consume all the time in the opening session. It was planned to hold a second session next Monday to determine cause of the wreck.” (United Press. “Inquest Opens in Wreck of Limited.” Charleroi Mail, PA. 9-27-1943, p. 6.)

 

Oct 5: “Washington, (AP)–A broken journal on a coach caused the wreck of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Congressional Limited at Philadelphia Sept. 6, resulting in the deaths of 79 persons and injuries to 129, the Interstate Commerce Commission reported. ICC said its investigation showed immediate cause of the break was overheating, probably to a temperature of 900 degrees Fahrenheit, but examination of the axle, wedge and bearings failed to disclose anything which would have caused the overheating.

 

“Speeding from Washington to New York, the train was traveling 56 miles an hour and in a zone in which the maximum authorized speed was 70 miles an hour, the commission said.” (Assoc. Press. “Cause of Overheating in Wreck Not Found.” Lock Haven Express, PA, 10-5-1943, p. 1.)

 

Oct 6: “Philadelphia, Oct. 6. — L. B. Jones, Hollidaysburg, Pa., research engineer, told a coroner’s jury yesterday that faulty lubrication was responsible for the overheated journal box which wrecked the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Congressional Limited Labor Day and killed 80 persons. Describing the time it requires for a railroad car to develop a ‘hot box’ as ‘one of the mysteries of railroading,’ Jones said he was unable to determine what caused the faulty lubrication. He said that in the case of the Congressional Limited the journal apparently became overheated within three miles. On the other hand, he said, it may require as much as 25 miles for a ‘hot box’ to develop.” (Daily News, Huntingdon, PA. “Engineer Blames Bad Lubrication For Train Wreck.” 10-6-1943, p. 3.)

 

Oct 12: “Philadelphia, Oct. 12 –(UP)– Official investigation of the wreck of the Congressional Limited here Labor Day was closed today by a coroner’s jury which said no criminal negligence was involved and that the wreck in which 80 persons were killed had been caused by a burned-out journal box. Coroner Herbert M. Goddard closed thee three-day inquest late yesterday after Deputy Coroner Matthew A Roth told of interviewing 22 survivors, all seriously injured, and finding none who had noticed anything wrong in the train before the wreck. None remembered the distinctive odor of a burning journal box, he said, nor felt excessive heat in the coach.” (United Press. “Official Probe of Wreck Closes, No Criminal Negligence.” Charleroi Mail, PA, 10-12-1943, p. 1.)

 

Oct 28: “Philadelphia, (AP) – A statement sharply criticizing the manner in which the injured were handled by Civilian Defense volunteers in the Labor Day wreck of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Congressional Limited was read to the staff of Episcopal Hospital by Dr. Wharton Sinkler, chief resident. ‘Not one of the injured received at Episcopal Hospital had received first aid at the scene of the wreck,’ Dr. Sinkler said. ‘Only one out of all the injured received blood plasma at the scene. The Civilian Defense volunteers did not administer first aid, but brought patients in without any splints, without having administered morphine, and in great pain. ‘Injured persons with fractures were driven over cobblestoned streets in any handy conveyance without regard to the effects of shock. The volunteers acted much too rapidly. They had evacuated all the casualties within an hour and 12 minutes after the wreck. That was too damn fast.’

 

“Dr. Sinkler also criticized the routing of patients. He said 33 were sent to Episcopal Hospital, which had 133 empty beds, and 69 to Northeastern Hospital, with 22 vacant beds.

 

“He recommended that Civilian Defense volunteers receive training in handling victims of disasters.

 

“Asked for comment on Dr. Sinkler’s statement, Judge Harry S. McDevitt, executive director of the Philadelphia Council of Defense, said that ‘Civilian Defense volunteers are not supposed to render first aid. If some doctors had been on the scene as rapidly as Civilian Defense, the situation might have been different. Our purpose was to get the people to the hospitals,’ Judge McDevitt said.” (AP. “Doctor Criticizes Handling of Injured in Fatal Train Wreck.” Lock Haven Express, 10-28-1943, p. 10.)

 

Jan 6, 1944: “Eighty persons killed and 177 injured, when Congressional Limited of the Pennsylvania R.R. is derailed near Philadelphia.” (Lockhart Post-Register, TX. “The Year in Review…Disasters,” 1-6-1944, p. 6.)

 

Sources

 

Adams, Charles J. III and David J. Seibold. Great Train Wrecks of Eastern Pennsylvania.  Reading, PA: Exeter House Books, 1992.

 

Associated Press. “Cause of Overheating in Wreck Not Found.” Lock Haven Express, PA, 10-5-1943, p. 1. Accessed 9-20-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/lock-haven-express-oct-05-1943-p-1/?tag

 

Associated Press. “Death Toll in Pennsy Wreck Totals 65.” Warren Times-Mirror, PA, 9-7-1943, p. 1. Accessed 9-15-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/warren-times-mirror-sep-07-1943-p-1/?tag

 

Associated Press. “Death Toll Reaches 78 in Pennsy Wreck,” Bradford Era, PA, 9-8-1943, p. 1. Accessed 9-15-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/bradford-era-sep-08-1943-p-1/?tag

 

Associated Press. “Last of Victims is Identified.” Titusville Herald, PA, 9-13-1943, p. 1. Accessed 9-15-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/titusville-herald-sep-11-1943-p-1/?tag

 

Daily News, Huntingdon, PA. “Engineer Blames Bad Lubrication For Train Wreck.” 10-6-1943, p. 3. Accessed 9-20-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/huntingdon-daily-news-oct-06-1943-p-3/?tag

 

Haine, Edgar A. Railroad Wrecks. New York: Cornwall Books, 1993.

Lockhart Post-Register, TX. “The Year in Review…Disasters,” 1-6-1944, p. 6. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=158478718

 

History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, September 6, 1943. “Train Derails on way to New York.” Accessed 12-08/-008 at: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&displayDate=09/06&categoryId=disaster

 

ReadingEagle.com Paige Cooperstein). “88-year-old from Robeson Township recalls 1943 train crash in Philadelphia, 5-14-2015. Accessed 9-15-2017 at: http://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/88-year-old-from-robeson-township-recalls-1943-train-crash-in-philadelphia#.WbyO-dFryK4

 

United Press. “Inquest Opens in Wreck of Limited.” Charleroi Mail, PA. 9-27-1943, p. 6. Accessed 9-15-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/charleroi-mail-sep-27-1943-p-6/?tag

 

United Press. “Official Probe of Wreck Closes, No Criminal Negligence.” Charleroi Mail, PA, 10-12-1943, p. 1. Accessed 9-20-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/charleroi-mail-oct-12-1943-p-1/?tag

 

Wikipedia. “List of Rail Accidents (Pre-1950).” Accessed at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pre-1950_rail_accidents

 

 

 

[1] Sources at the time and since note either 79 or 80 deaths. We include for consideration one indirect death — that of Morris Border, who, after identifying the corpses of his wife and two children, returned to his Brooklyn home and committed suicide by turning on kitchen range gas. Without this death the total would be 79-80. With it the total would be 80-81. We are of the opinion it should be included as in indirect death, but are aware that some will not, thus we show the range of 79-81. If the death toll was either 80 or 81, this would rank as the tenth deadliest rail event in U.S. history. If 79 (not including the indirect suicide death) this would tie with Nov 22, 1950 train collision at Richmond Hill, Queens, NY, with 79 deaths.

[2] That would be Nov 1 1918, Rapid Transit train derailment in Brooklyn, NY, taking 97 lives. (See Typology doc.)