1909 — Feb 22, Trains Collide in Fog, Delmar, DE — 7

— 7  Morgan. “1909 fatal train crash in Delmar remembered.” Delmarvnow.com, 1-9-2015.

— 7  Reflections on Delmarva’s Past. “Disastrous Railroad Accident Takes Seven…” 12-22-2010.

Narrative Information

Morgan: “….On Feb. 22, 1909, three trains full of happy travelers raced through the night down the track through Sussex County….So many people had bought tickets for Norfolk that the train had to be run in three separate sections. The locomotives pulled out of Broad Street Station in Philadelphia at 11:20 p.m., and soon the locomotives were barreling down western Sussex County, where they were encased in a thick fog.

“At Delmar, two locomotives stood on the main track; and when the first section of the train bound for Norfolk arrived, it was switched to a siding, where it waited until the mainline was cleared. The second section heading for Norfolk was thought to be 15 minutes behind the first train; and those at the station saw no reason to hurry. Moments later, the second section unexpectantly came chugging out of the fog. When the engineer and the fireman saw the engines sitting on the track ahead of them, there was little they could do but slacken speed and jump….

“The debris had barely settled when a new threat emerged. The New York Times reported, “Almost immediately hot coals which had been showered over the wrecked cars by the shattered locomotives set fire to the wood work. The flames sprang up in a half dozen places, and were followed in less than five minutes but the roar of exploding gas tanks (that carried fuel for the train’s lights) … Those of the train crew and passengers who had been awakened by the shock ran forward, but could do nothing for the victims whose cries arose above the crackling flames and hissing steam. In a few minutes the cries ceased….”[1] (Morgan, Michael. “1909 fatal train crash in Delmar remembered.” Delmarvnow.com, 1-9-2015.)

Sources

Morgan, Michael. “1909 fatal train crash in Delmar remembered.” Delmarvnow.com, 1-9-2015. Accessed 12-14-2016 at: http://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/delaware/2015/01/09/train-fog-horse/21499285/

Dixon, Mike. Reflections on Delmarva’s Past (blog). “Disastrous Railroad Accident Takes Seven Lives in Delmar in 1909.” 12-22-2010. Accessed 12-14-2016 at: https://delmarvahistory.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/disasterous-railroad-accident-takes-seven-lives-in-delmar in 1909.” 12-22-2010. Accessed 12-14-2016 at: https://delmarvahistory.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/disasterous-railroad-accident-takes-seven-lives-in-delmar/

[1] Cites: New York Times, 1-23-1909.