Shepherdsville Railway Accident

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Departure station of the two trains involved in the accident: Union Station in Louisville, Kentucky

In the railway accident of Shepherdsville one on December 20, 1917 drove fast , in the end of a Lokalzugs, who had not made it in time in the station of Shepherdsville , Kentucky , USA , dodge into a track overhaul. At least 49 people died.

Starting position

The accident occurred on a railway line of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad . The safety of train journeys on the route was carried out by driving in time intervals and additionally by locally operated signals . The procedure was that all signals basically had to show “stop”. The engine driver had to blow the locomotive's whistle four times 600 yards (approx. 550 meters) in front of the signal, whereupon the employee on the line, if nothing stood in the way, released the route and the engine driver had to watch the change from red to green . If the engine driver encountered a signal that was already showing green, a malfunction was to be assumed and he had to stop. The siding in Shepherdsville station had only one connection to the main line. Trains coming from Louisville and trying to get there had to pull forward and push backwards into the track.

The first train on the route was a local train that was a few minutes late. He came from Union Station in Louisville , Kentucky, where he had left at 4:35 pm. His destination was Springfield , Kentucky. The train consisted of a locomotive, a baggage car and two passenger coaches . The wagons were of an older design and were still made of wood.

This local train was followed by a two-hour delayed express train, the Flyer , which was on the way from Cincinnati to New Orleans and whose engine driver therefore wanted to make up for the lost time as much as possible. This train left Louisville at 4:53 p.m.

At 5:12 p.m. the local train reached Brooks , Kentucky. The dispatcher informed the driver that the overhaul should be carried out by the express train in Shepherdsville or - if he can still manage it - in the following station, Bardstown , Kentucky.

the accident

When the local train arrived in Shepherdsville at 5:24 p.m., the train driver initially had it stop on the track according to the instructions received and inquired about the position of the flyer on the route, so that he could then decide whether the overhaul was here or in the next station was to be carried out. In Shepherdsville station, however, the position of the Flyer was not known. When the message arrived that the express train had passed Brooks station , the driver of the local train decided to put his train on the siding in Shepherdsville. The train moved forward to be able to push back into this track.

The engine driver of the express train gave the fourfold whistle signal 800 meters before Shepherdsville and recognized the entrance signal of the station, which was showing green . Contrary to the regulations, he interpreted this as "free travel". The signal had not yet been reset after the local train had entered. When the switch was switched to allow the local train to enter the siding , the result was that the signal automatically switched from green to red. The engine driver of the express train saw this and immediately applied the emergency brake . However, this was no longer enough to prevent the rear-end collision. At around 5:30 p.m., the express train's locomotive - which did not derail - collided with the end of the local train at a speed of around 40 km / h: The last wagon of the local train was completely smashed, the one in front of it slashed in half and the local train a total of 250 meters pushed forward.

consequences

At least 49 people died and 52 were injured. A rescue train from Louisville with medical personnel was at the scene of the accident around 7 p.m.

The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) investigated the accident and came to the following conclusions:

  • The main culprit for the accident was attributed to the train driver and the brakeman of the local train (both died in the accident) because they had failed to secure their train backwards - mainly with bang pods .
  • The regulation, which said that a train had to report 600 yards before a signal with four whistles so that it could be switched to "drive free", was completely out of date: The speed now driven by an express train made it impossible for the driver to get his If necessary, bring the train to a stop before the signal.
  • The entrance signal for Shepherdsville station was not reset to the "stop" position after the local train had passed it.
  • The locomotive driver of the express train violated the safety regulations when he - without having observed a change in the signal from "stop" to "free travel" - ran over the signal.
  • For a track where the daily schedule had to be executed in each direction 44 runs, was the existing train control and driving in the time interval insufficient assurance. The ICC recommended that a train protection system be installed immediately on the route using a route block .

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Interstate Commerce Commission Accident Investigation Report .
  2. ^ Interstate Commerce Commission Accident Investigation Report .
  3. ↑ Hartley.
  4. ^ Interstate Commerce Commission Accident Investigation Report .
  5. ↑ Hartley.
  6. ↑ Hartley.
  7. ↑ Hartley; Interstate Commerce Commission Accident Investigation Report .
  8. ^ List of the dead and injured ; Kleber, p. 144, reports 51 dead.
  9. ↑ Hartley.
  10. ^ Interstate Commerce Commission Accident Investigation Report .


Coordinates: 37 ° 59 ′ 35 "  N , 85 ° 42 ′ 45.6"  W.