Naperville train disaster

Naperville train disaster

C.B.&Q. EMD E5 as used on both trains
Date April 25, 1946
Location Naperville, Illinois
Coordinates 41°46′47″N 88°8′31″W / 41.77972°N 88.14194°W / 41.77972; -88.14194Coordinates: 41°46′47″N 88°8′31″W / 41.77972°N 88.14194°W / 41.77972; -88.14194
Country United States
Rail line Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
Operator Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
Type of incident Collision
Cause Insufficient warning of stopped train
Statistics
Trains Advance Flyer and Exposition Flyer
Deaths 45
Injuries Approx. 125

The Naperville train disaster occurred April 25, 1946, on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad at Loomis Street in Naperville, Illinois, when the railroad's Exposition Flyer rammed into the Advance Flyer, which had made an unscheduled stop to check its running gear. The Exposition Flyer had been coming through on the same track at 85 miles per hour (137 km/h). 45 people died, and some 125 were injured.

Background

The Advance Flyer and Exposition Flyer were diesel powered high-speed inter-city passenger trains, the Exposition Flyer would soon become the California Zephyr. Both were scheduled to leave Chicago Union Station at 12:35 PM, the Advance Flyer would take a small lead as they both sped west in two sections.

Naperville is a suburb along the C.B.&Q.’s main line from Chicago 30 miles (48 km) west to Aurora. This well-maintained three-track line, nicknamed “the Racetrack” by locals, had heavy inter-city passenger, local commuter, and long-distance freight traffic, all running at high speeds. The Flyers normally ran through Naperville at over 80 miles per hour (130 km/h).[1]

Wreck

Just after 1:00 PM on April 25, 1946 a mechanical problem caused the Advance Flyer to stop at Loomis St. in Naperville. A flagman had just started back up the tracks when the Exposition Flyer, lead by an EMD E5 locomotive appropriately named "Silver Speed", came into view.[2]

According to initial interviews with the train crew, engineer W. W. Blaine of the Exposition Flyer immediately applied brakes upon seeing the first of two warning signals, but it was still too close to the first train to stop in time. The Exposition Flyer, slowing from 85 mph (137 km/h), was still traveling over 60 mph (97 km/h) when it struck the rear of the Advance Flyer. At impact the locomotive of the Exposition Flyer plowed through the last coach of the Advance Flyer, collapsed a dining car, and derailed several more coaches. Five cars on the Exposition Flyer also derailed.[2][3]

Rescue

The Kroehler Furniture company was next to the crash scene; hundreds of employees rushed to help, and an aid station was set up in their warehouse. Fifty North Central College students and countless local residents also helped. Emergency workers came from as far as Hinsdale, more than 10 miles (16 km) miles away. Most of the wounded were brought to Copley Hospital in Aurora, bodies were taken to local funeral homes. Engineer Blaine of the Exposition Flyer, who stayed at his station, was able to climb out of the wreckage and make his way unassisted to the aid station despite a head wound and fractured skull. The fireman, who jumped before the impact, died.[2][3]

The railroad sent a special relief train with doctors and nurses, by late night all injured and most bodies had been recovered. All three mainline tracks were blocked by wreckage, it was 27 hours before trains started to slowly move through the crash site and three days before all wreckage was cleared.[1]

Aftermath

The day of the crash the engineer of the Exposition Flyer said he was going too fast; the railroad only said that the signals were working correctly. Manslaughter charges were filed against the engineer, but he was not taken into custody, as he was in the hospital at the time.

Questions were raised about the braking. The engineer said he had put them in “emergency”, and witnesses reported the wheels were sparking, but physical evidence did not support that, and crew members felt that the train was only in “service” braking before the impact.[1][4]

In later tests by the railroad, when “emergency” was used as soon as the red signal was seen only the engine and one car passed the point of impact. Although the crash would still have happened, it would have been less severe.[1][5]

On May 8, 1947, a DuPage County coroner’s jury found the railroad and some employees were negligent, but that no single act caused the crash, it was a combination of many. No indictments were made, and charges against the Exposition Flyer's engineer were dropped.[6]

Long-term results

This crash is a major reason why most passenger trains in the United States have a speed limit of 79 mph (127 km/h).[7][8] The CB&Q, Milwaukee Road, and Illinois Central were among railroads in the region running passenger trains at up to and above 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) in the 1930s and 1940s. The Interstate Commerce Commission ruled in 1951 that trains traveling 80 mph or more must have "an automatic cab signal, automatic train stop or automatic train control system", expensive technology that was implemented on some lines in the region, but has since been mostly removed.[1][9][10][6]

Following this disaster, advancements in train speed in the United States essentially halted.[7][8] However, select Amtrak passenger trains run at up to 150 mph (240 km/h) as of 2013.

A Naperville committee selected Paul Kuhn to create a sculpture at the crash site that was dedicated in 2014 to both the victims and the rescue workers involved in the tragic wreck. Kuhn's sculpture is made of 5,000 railroad spikes.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "This Is the 67th Anniversary of the Horrible Naperville Train Crash You’ve Never Heard Of". Chicago Magazine. April 26, 2013. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Naperville, IL Disastrous Train Wreck, Apr 1946". Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  3. 1 2 "47 Die, 100 Hurt in Wreck Engineer's Story of Crash". Chicago Tribune. Apr 26, 1946. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Tell of Train's Last Mile". Chicago Tribune. Apr 28, 1946.
  5. ↑ "Proves Wreck of Two Trains Avoidable". Chicago Tribune. May 3, 1946.
  6. 1 2 "Railway, Crews Freed in Wreck Taking 45 Lives". Chicago Tribune. Oct 5, 1946. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  7. 1 2 William Wendt (July 30, 2007). "Hiawatha dieselization". Yahoo Groups. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  8. 1 2 Gruber, John; Solomon, Brian (2006). The Milwaukee Road's Hiawathas. Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-2395-3.
  9. ↑ "Ask Trains from November 2008". Trains Magazine. December 23, 2008. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
  10. ↑ "49 CFR 236.0 - Applicability, minimum requirements, and penalties". United States Code.
  11. ↑ White, Daniel (1 December 2015). "Naperville sculptor makes a giant out of railroad recyclables". Daily Herald (Paddock Publications, Inc.). Retrieved 26 April 2016.

External links

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