Connellsville train wreck
The railway accident in Connellsville was a train derailment on December 23, 1903 which was caused by lost cargo of a freight train in which a passenger train, the Duquesne Limited, went into it. 64 people died, 68 were injured.
Starting position
The accident happened on a double-track line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad south of the village of Lower Tyrone Township, Fayette County at Connellsville.
A freight train of the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad that night was on the route westward to New Castle, Pennsylvania, on the go. He was charged, among other wood in the form of whole tree trunks of 18 meters in length, which were transported to stake car and had been in Friendship, Maryland, loaded.
The Duquesne Limited the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was traveling with about 150 passengers and a speed of almost 100 km / h in an easterly direction on the same route from Pittsburgh to New York. A whole number of travelers wanted to change there on a ship to the UK. The train was pulled by a locomotive of the Atlantic class. It was followed by six cars: a baggage car with a smoking compartment, two passenger coaches, two Pullman cars and a dining car.
The accident
After 19 clock 30 of the freight train went through a tight turn. Presumably through centrifugal force broke the stanchions at least one car and the loaded there tree trunks fell into the track the opposite direction, without that which was noticed by the train crew.
To 19 clock 45 shot through the Duquesne Limited the curve. The engineer saw by the obstacle so late that he could barely slow down. The locomotive toppled over, fell between the tracks and still ripped at 150 meters of track bed before they came to rest on the side. The Tender flew into the air, over the locomotive. The following Gepäck-/Raucherwagen slipped on the locomotive along, it was slashed from the locomotive lying on its side and broke off their steam dome, which stood at window level in the car. The escaping steam scalded almost all travelers fatal in this heavily occupied car. Another car crashed into the Youghiogheny River.
On the other side of the Youghiogheny River was the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad. A dortiger employees in an interlocking saw the accident and raised the alarm. The seriously injured Luggage Schaffner of the Duquesne Limited succeeded yet, the subsequent train run counter to light his coat with matches and thereby to warn the train who could stop just before the accident site. An emergency train arrived to 21 clock.
Investigation
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad weighed the blame for the accident those who had loaded the wagons with the tree trunks.