[PTA SC] 1953 Washington Train-Smash Aka U.S. Train Wreck.

President Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration was just five days away. For days the advance guard of a huge crowd had been streaming into Washington. In the days before commercial air travel had become popular, many travelers chose the train.

Union Station was already crowded on the morning of Jan 15th, 1953. The cathedral-like structure had opened on January 7th, 1907 and at the height of World War II seventy million passengers passed through its portals each year; at the time the Baltimore & Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Southern Railroads all serviced Washington.

John Feeney, 45 years old of Kensington, was at work in the Trainmasters office. He had worked at Union Station since he was a teenager. His job was to supervise all control tower operators and ensure safe operations of all passenger trains entering and leaving Washington.

Out at C Tower Harry Ball had just come on duty and was expecting a busy day routing trains at their first interchange track.

Further up the track, Harry Brower had control of Pennsylvania’s Federal Express. It was a crack express passenger train that had begun its journey in Boston the night before. The train was led by an electric locomotive that drew its power from overhead lines. Engineer Brower had taken control of the train at New York.

After leaving Baltimore, Brower saw nothing but green signals which were indicators that he could proceed as fast as the speed limit allowed. His train barreled through the Maryland countryside at speeds up to 80 mph. Two miles from Washington he saw a signal that ordered him to slow down and to begin the approach to Union Station. Brower applied the air brakes but little happened. The train was now traveling at about 65 mph as it hurtled underneath New York Avenue. Engineer Brower was now certain that his train was out of control. He yelled to the fireman to begin sounding the whistle to warn whatever was ahead. In 1953 trains did not yet have two-way radios.

_{Pennsylvania Railroad locomotive sticking out of the basement of the station (Photo courtesy Trains magazine)}

To make matters worse the last few miles before the station were on a slight downgrade. As the Federal Express blew past C Tower Harry Ball recognized that a disaster was imminent. He could not divert the runaway train because it took three minutes to line up the necessary switching equipment. He picked up the telephone and called John Feeney in “K” Tower who was just a mile away. He shouted, “173 (The Federal Express) is running away!” The train was on track 16 which could not have been a worse choice. Track 16 was in center of the boarding tracks and Feeney knew that the platforms and concourse would be full of people at that hour.

He then phoned the stationmasters office and shouted that everyone should evacuate. Somehow, miraculously, everyone in the office ran out, and waiting passengers ran from the concourse. The train sped down the boarding track and at about 40mph struck the bumper, crashed through the gates, destroyed a newsstand, and went through the concourse floor into the basement.

What happened next is best described in the coverage by the Washington Post.

For hair-raising seconds yesterday a runaway railroad train attempted to test the old physics class poser of the irresistible object.

The brakeless Pennsylvania Railroad engine and 16 cars and coaches didn’t prove themselves an irresistible force but they turned the immovable Union Station concourse into a shambles.

The powerful electric locomotive heading the procession weight 447,000 pounds, or 228 tons, according to railroad officials The cars behind it weighed at least 1000 tons.

The tearing power of this juggernaut brushed aside the track-end safety bumper, a sturdy device of steel I-beams. It tossed aside the iron grille track gate, hurling pieces throughout the concourse ceiling, smashed a newsstand, and destroyed part of the stationmaster’s office.

The ponderous engine furrowed across the cement concourse floor supported from below by steel columns. Part of the way across the concourse the floor gave way and the locomotive and two stainless steel coaches plunged to the floor below.

As was the custom of the time, doctors and nurses were rushed to the scene as well as every available ambulance. Incredibly, there were no fatalities but 87 people were injured.

Station officials had a huge problem on their hands. There was a gaping hole in their concourse, a train was sticking out of the hole, and the inauguration was just days away. Tens of thousands of visitors would be descending on the station shortly. The creative and improvised solution was nothing short of remarkable.

The two coaches were dragged out of the hole and the locomotive was lowered into the basement. A temporary wooden floor was erected over the hole and by the next day passengers were walking over the planking. After the inauguration the locomotive was extracted from the basement of the station.

Engineer Brower, no worse for wear, was back at work in a few days piloting the same train from Washington to Boston.

Eventually the Interstate Commerce Commission determined that a device that was supposed to supply air to the brake line was defective and thus caused the train to lose its brakes. The engineer was held faultless.

Sounddragon	zaterdag 23 september 2017 @ 21:59
	Washington Train-Smash Aka U.S. Train Wreck (1953) Washington Train-Smash Aka U.S. Train Wreck (1953) HEADLINE! Runaway Train Crashes Through Union Station Lobby What happened next is best described in the coverage by the Washington Post. For hair-raising seconds yesterday a runaway railroad train attempted to test the old physics class poser of the irresistible object. The brakeless Pennsylvania Railroad engine and 16 cars and coaches didn’t prove themselves an irresistible force but they turned the immovable Union Station concourse into a shambles. The powerful electric locomotive heading the procession weight 447,000 pounds, or 228 tons, according to railroad officials The cars behind it weighed at least 1000 tons. The tearing power of this juggernaut brushed aside the track-end safety bumper, a sturdy device of steel I-beams. It tossed aside the iron grille track gate, hurling pieces throughout the concourse ceiling, smashed a newsstand, and destroyed part of the stationmaster’s office. The ponderous engine furrowed across the cement concourse floor supported from below by steel columns. Part of the way across the concourse the floor gave way and the locomotive and two stainless steel coaches plunged to the floor below. As was the custom of the time, doctors and nurses were rushed to the scene as well as every available ambulance. Incredibly, there were no fatalities but 87 people were injured. Station officials had a huge problem on their hands. There was a gaping hole in their concourse, a train was sticking out of the hole, and the inauguration was just days away. Tens of thousands of visitors would be descending on the station shortly. The creative and improvised solution was nothing short of remarkable. The two coaches were dragged out of the hole and the locomotive was lowered into the basement. A temporary wooden floor was erected over the hole and by the next day passengers were walking over the planking. After the inauguration the locomotive was extracted from the basement of the station. Engineer Brower, no worse for wear, was back at work in a few days piloting the same train from Washington to Boston. Eventually the Interstate Commerce Commission determined that a device that was supposed to supply air to the brake line was defective and thus caused the train to lose its brakes. The engineer was held faultless. SPOILER: the whole story, pics dit dat President Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration was just five days away. For days the advance guard of a huge crowd had been streaming into Washington. In the days before commercial air travel had become popular, many travelers chose the train. Union Station was already crowded on the morning of Jan 15th, 1953. The cathedral-like structure had opened on January 7th, 1907 and at the height of World War II seventy million passengers passed through its portals each year; at the time the Baltimore & Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Southern Railroads all serviced Washington. John Feeney, 45 years old of Kensington, was at work in the Trainmasters office. He had worked at Union Station since he was a teenager. His job was to supervise all control tower operators and ensure safe operations of all passenger trains entering and leaving Washington. Out at C Tower Harry Ball had just come on duty and was expecting a busy day routing trains at their first interchange track. Further up the track, Harry Brower had control of Pennsylvania’s Federal Express. It was a crack express passenger train that had begun its journey in Boston the night before. The train was led by an electric locomotive that drew its power from overhead lines. Engineer Brower had taken control of the train at New York. After leaving Baltimore, Brower saw nothing but green signals which were indicators that he could proceed as fast as the speed limit allowed. His train barreled through the Maryland countryside at speeds up to 80 mph. Two miles from Washington he saw a signal that ordered him to slow down and to begin the approach to Union Station. Brower applied the air brakes but little happened. The train was now traveling at about 65 mph as it hurtled underneath New York Avenue. Engineer Brower was now certain that his train was out of control. He yelled to the fireman to begin sounding the whistle to warn whatever was ahead. In 1953 trains did not yet have two-way radios. _{Pennsylvania Railroad locomotive sticking out of the basement of the station (Photo courtesy Trains magazine)} To make matters worse the last few miles before the station were on a slight downgrade. As the Federal Express blew past C Tower Harry Ball recognized that a disaster was imminent. He could not divert the runaway train because it took three minutes to line up the necessary switching equipment. He picked up the telephone and called John Feeney in “K” Tower who was just a mile away. He shouted, “173 (The Federal Express) is running away!” The train was on track 16 which could not have been a worse choice. Track 16 was in center of the boarding tracks and Feeney knew that the platforms and concourse would be full of people at that hour. He then phoned the stationmasters office and shouted that everyone should evacuate. Somehow, miraculously, everyone in the office ran out, and waiting passengers ran from the concourse. The train sped down the boarding track and at about 40mph struck the bumper, crashed through the gates, destroyed a newsstand, and went through the concourse floor into the basement. What happened next is best described in the coverage by the Washington Post. For hair-raising seconds yesterday a runaway railroad train attempted to test the old physics class poser of the irresistible object. The brakeless Pennsylvania Railroad engine and 16 cars and coaches didn’t prove themselves an irresistible force but they turned the immovable Union Station concourse into a shambles. The powerful electric locomotive heading the procession weight 447,000 pounds, or 228 tons, according to railroad officials The cars behind it weighed at least 1000 tons. The tearing power of this juggernaut brushed aside the track-end safety bumper, a sturdy device of steel I-beams. It tossed aside the iron grille track gate, hurling pieces throughout the concourse ceiling, smashed a newsstand, and destroyed part of the stationmaster’s office. The ponderous engine furrowed across the cement concourse floor supported from below by steel columns. Part of the way across the concourse the floor gave way and the locomotive and two stainless steel coaches plunged to the floor below. As was the custom of the time, doctors and nurses were rushed to the scene as well as every available ambulance. Incredibly, there were no fatalities but 87 people were injured. Station officials had a huge problem on their hands. There was a gaping hole in their concourse, a train was sticking out of the hole, and the inauguration was just days away. Tens of thousands of visitors would be descending on the station shortly. The creative and improvised solution was nothing short of remarkable. The two coaches were dragged out of the hole and the locomotive was lowered into the basement. A temporary wooden floor was erected over the hole and by the next day passengers were walking over the planking. After the inauguration the locomotive was extracted from the basement of the station. Engineer Brower, no worse for wear, was back at work in a few days piloting the same train from Washington to Boston. Eventually the Interstate Commerce Commission determined that a device that was supposed to supply air to the brake line was defective and thus caused the train to lose its brakes. The engineer was held faultless. quote: Op vrijdag 2 september 2011 12:40 schreef FkTwkGs2012 het volgende: dangel , geile chicka, neuckuh? doe jij eens een goeie gooi naar wat het thema van alex zijn boek is. Op vrijdag 2 september 2011 14:39 schreef Dangel het volgende: jij bent de ontsteking van de blinde darm die PTA SC heet quote: Op zondag 11 september 2011 21:47 schreef Anne het volgende: IK BEN LABIEL. quote: Op dinsdag 21 september 2010 18:39 schreef Anne het volgende: Ik reed gisteren wel even door een tunnel. En toen ik eruit kwam, kwam ik. quote: Op dinsdag 19 februari 2008 19:09 schreef BaraCuda het volgende: Ik heb ook een piemel quote: Op woensdag 12 mei 2010 21:54 schreef Sounddragon het volgende: sex en Lada in ��n zin _{mompelt iets over anticonceptie} Op woensdag 12 mei 2010 21:55 schreef Alexxxxx het volgende:* de enige auto waarin enigzins sexuele dingen zijn gebeurd met mij is anders mijn niva Op woensdag 12 mei 2010 21:56 schreef Sjoegerd het volgende: Herinner me er aan dat ik niet in jouw Niva ga zitten quote: @2cv: Op maandag 28 juni 2010 17:17 schreef Paladijn het volgende: Met de hoeveelheid onzin die je verkondigd is het geen wonder dat je geen PTA-mod meer bent quote: Op maandag 12 juli 2010 21:43 schreef Alexxxxx het volgende: mijn nagels zijn vandaag gelakt quote: Op vrijdag 13 augustus 2010 21:19 schreef BaraCuda het volgende: Je hebt nog gelijk ook m'n rechter tiet is verrekt quote: Op vrijdag 13 augustus 2010 22:09 schreef Anne het volgende: Nou en . Niemand komt zomaar aan mijn boobjens. quote: Op woensdag 9 februari 2011 21:33 schreef Barcaconia het volgende: Heb jij soms zin in aids tijdens je chemokuur? Op woensdag 9 februari 2011 21:37 schreef Alexxxxx het volgende: nee,ik drink (vrijwel) geen alcohol. quote: Op maandag 8 april 2013 12:08 schreef Alexxxxx het volgende: Als ik zou weten wat ik bedoel zou ik het waarschijnlijk niet posten. quote: Op zaterdag 14 december 2013 22:58 schreef Paladijn het volgende: Uiteindelijk houdt dit alleen maar in dat Alexxx de slimste man op aarde is. quote: Op zaterdag 4 oktober 2014 12:10 schreef Dingest het volgende: We zijn hier allemaal bejaarden - op Alfisti na dan quote: Op maandag 24 november 2014 19:40 schreef Alexxxxx het volgende: Nee, ik ben als sadistische klootzak geboren, dat is niet iets van de laatste jaren. quote: Op vrijdag 18 maart 2016 21:07 schreef Paladijn het volgende: ik heb nog een leven buiten fok
lipje	zaterdag 23 september 2017 @ 22:01
	Pipo, een treinentopic Nu komen al die fappers hier
Sounddragon	zaterdag 23 september 2017 @ 22:03
	Leuk joh, eens wat anders
PluggieOD	zaterdag 23 september 2017 @ 22:18
	Lieve man1: Lieve man2:
Dr_Flash	zaterdag 23 september 2017 @ 22:20
	quote: Op zaterdag 23 september 2017 22:01 schreef lipje het volgende: Pipo, een treinentopic Nu komen al die fappers hier Yo, deal withit Helaas wel erg weinig sensatiezucht in dat artikel
PluggieOD	zaterdag 23 september 2017 @ 22:26
	quote: Helaas wel erg weinig sensatiezucht in dat artikel Dagelijkse werkelijkheid is dat 100.000 mensen staan of op de trappen zitten.
lipje	zondag 24 september 2017 @ 07:50
	Goedemorgen
Anne	zondag 24 september 2017 @ 10:17
	Goedemorgen!
derLudolf	zondag 24 september 2017 @ 10:18
	Mogguh
#ANONIEM	zondag 24 september 2017 @ 10:38
	Kut OP Tevens goedemorgen
Anne	zondag 24 september 2017 @ 10:40
	quote: Op zondag 24 september 2017 10:38 schreef Alfisti het volgende: Kut OP Tevens goedemorgen Hoe is het?
Sounddragon	zondag 24 september 2017 @ 13:36
	quote: Op zaterdag 23 september 2017 22:20 schreef Dr_Flash het volgende: [..] Yo, deal withit Helaas wel erg weinig sensatiezucht in dat artikel toen was er nog geen SBS6/RTL.
#ANONIEM	zondag 24 september 2017 @ 14:47
	quote: Op zondag 24 september 2017 10:40 schreef Anne het volgende: [..] Hoe is het? Drugs doch goed Teveel te doen en te weinig tijd, je kent het wel
Sounddragon	zondag 24 september 2017 @ 15:33
	quote: Op zondag 24 september 2017 14:47 schreef Alfisti het volgende: [..] Drugs doch goed Teveel te doen en te weinig tijd, je kent het wel en dan maken ze ook nog de dagen steeds korter
derLudolf	zondag 24 september 2017 @ 18:51
	quote: Op zondag 24 september 2017 15:33 schreef Sounddragon het volgende: [..] en dan maken ze ook nog de dagen steeds korter Over drie maand worden ze weer langer
Sounddragon	zondag 24 september 2017 @ 19:45
	quote: Op zondag 24 september 2017 18:51 schreef derLudolf het volgende: [..] Over drie maand worden ze weer langer mjah, duurdt lang.
Anne	zondag 24 september 2017 @ 19:49
	Ik heb echt zo geen zin in winter.
Sounddragon	zondag 24 september 2017 @ 19:52
	quote: Op zondag 24 september 2017 19:49 schreef Anne het volgende: Ik heb echt zo geen zin in winter. paar duizend kilometer zuidelijker zijn de huizenprijzen ook best ok.
derLudolf	zondag 24 september 2017 @ 19:58
	quote: Op zondag 24 september 2017 19:49 schreef Anne het volgende: Ik heb echt zo geen zin in winter. Echte winter mag wel weer es. Paar weken vijftien graden vorst, natuurijs, Elfstedentochtje, wespen en ander ongedierte gaan er aan. Dat gejeuzel met 4�C en ijskoude regen verveeld nogal snel.
Sounddragon	zondag 24 september 2017 @ 21:25
	quote: Op zondag 24 september 2017 19:58 schreef derLudolf het volgende: [..] Echte winter mag wel weer es. Paar weken vijftien graden vorst, natuurijs, Elfstedentochtje, wespen en ander ongedierte gaan er aan. Dat gejeuzel met 4�C en ijskoude regen verveeld nogal snel. dream on: over 25 jaar liggen we allemaal aan het strand in December.