The Great Train Wreck of 1918 occurred on July 9, 1918, in Nashville, Tennessee. Two passenger trains, operated by Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway ("NC & StL"), collided head-to-head, costing at least 101 people and injuring an additional 171. This is considered the worst train wreck in US history. , although estimates of the death toll of these accidents overlap with those at Malbone Street Wreck in Brooklyn in the same year.
The two trains involved are No. 4, is scheduled to depart from Nashville to Memphis, Tennessee at 07:00, and No. 1 from Memphis, about half an hour late for scheduled arrival in Nashville at 7:10 Around 07.20, two trains collide while crossing a known single track section as the "Dutchman Curve" to the west of the city center, in the current Belle Meade neighborhood. Each train travels at about 50 to 60 miles per hour; the impact hit both of them, and destroyed some wooden cars.
Investigations by the Interstate Trade Commission (ICC) link the cause of the accident to several factors, especially serious errors by No. 4 and tower operators, all of which fail to account well in the presence of No trains. 1 on the phone. The ICC also pointed out the lack of an appropriate system for accurate carriage positioning and noted that car wood construction greatly increased the number of fatalities.
Video Great Train Wreck of 1918
Incident
Departure
At 7:07 am on the day of the crash, the Nashville train, Chattanooga and St. Louis ("NC & amp; StL") no. 4 departs Union Station in Nashville, heading to Memphis. Train, pulled by No. locomotive 282, consisting of two post and trunk cars and six wood coaches.
Meanwhile, Railway No. 1, drawn by No. locomotive. 281, heading for Nashville from Memphis. Contains one luggage car, six wooden trainers, and two Pullman sleeping cars from steel construction, No. 1 had departed from McKenzie four hours earlier, and passed through Bellevue at 7:09 am, thirty-five minutes behind schedule.
Approach
Both trains require the use of a single trajectory about 10 miles (16 km) long in the western part of Nashville. According to contemporary practice, incoming trains (No. 1) defend road rights. Thus, the railway dispatch informs the opposing train crew (No. 4) of locomotive number 1, with the order to stop in the double-track section if the crew does not visually identify the passing No. 1 before they reach the interlocking tower known as "Shops Junction", where the single-track section begins. The term "Shop" refers to massive improvements and refueling shops on trains including its largest round house. This is not a passenger stop but a T-junction where the main railway line to Memphis narrows to just one lane.
While railway No. 4 across the dual track section, the conductor hands over the responsibility to identify No. 1 for the rest of the crew. While collecting tickets, the conductor mistook the sound of a passing switch engine with an empty passenger car as No. 1. The crew made the same mistake or neglected to correctly identify the train.
When No. 4 approaching the interlocking tower in Shops Junction, the operator of the J. S. Johnson tower shows a clear signal from the tower railway signal, indicating everything is clear. When he stopped to record the train in his logs, he noticed that there were no entries indicating that the opposite train no. 1 has passed. Johnson reported to the dispatcher who sent the telegraph back, "She met No. 1 there, can you stop it?" Johnson sounded an emergency whistle, but there was no one behind No. 4 to hear it. The train passes the assumption that a clear train command board indicates that the front lines are clear. Also, the engineman and the conductor failed to visually check the list of trains in Store Junction to ascertain whether No. 1 has arrived. It was required by the operating instructions issued by the train management before the accident.
Collision
Shortly after 7:20, both trains collided at Dutchman's Grade near White Bridge Road. It is estimated that the train to the west was moving about 50 mph while the bound train in Nashville runs at a speed of 60 mph. Many wooden cars were either crushed or thrown sideways. The sound of a collision can be heard two miles (3 km) away.
This is the last trip before retiring train engineers bound in Nashville.
Maps Great Train Wreck of 1918
Aftermath
The Interstate Trade Commission recorded deaths at 101, although some reports noted the death toll as high as 121. At least 171 people were injured. Many of the victims were African American workers from Arkansas and Memphis who came to work at a gunpowder factory in Old Hickory just outside Nashville. A total of 50,000 people came to the track that day to help rescue survivors, find loved ones, or just watch the tragic scene.
In its official report, the Interstate Trade Commission is very harsh on the railroad. The combination of operating practices, human error, and looser enforcement rules led to the worst passenger train crash in US history. Had the signal carrier operator properly left the signal in jeopardy, the conductor monitored the progress of the train rather than entrusting it to his subordinates, and asked the crew to check the list of trains in Toko Junction as required, the accident would not happen.
These shipwrecks provide a boost for most trains to switch to all-steel passenger cars versus wood and steel.
In the 1970s, songwriters Bobby Braddock and Rafe VanHoy told the story of the wreck in the song "The Great Nashville Railroad Disaster (A True Story)". The song was recorded by Country music singer David Allan Coe on his 1980 album I've Got Something to Say .
See also
- List of train accidents
- Andria-Corato train collision, Italy 2016 accident also caused by mistaken one train for another train and failure to ensure the long part of the single track is clear.
References
Further reading
-
Kilen, Mike (July 5, 1998). "That's a Dream Voice". The Tennessean . - "N. & amp; C. Wreck Near Nashville Takes Dead and Sick Tolls." Nashville Banner . July 9, 1918.
- " Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis-The Dixie Line by Dain L. Schult, a/k/a Grandpa Street , (chapter entitled, "Wipe The Clock and Pray"), Copyright 2001 Dain L. Schult, TLC Publishing ".
- The Day the Whistles Crying: The Great Cornfield Meet at Dutchman's Curve Thorpe, Betsy. 2014.
External links
- The 1918 local news text about the accident
- A 2007 news article with a link to the witness's audio record after the accident occurred (Inactive link starting June 13, 2012)
- Official ICC Report
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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