1953 Pennsylvania Railroad train wreck
| Date | January 15, 1953 |
|---|---|
| Time | 8:38 A.M. |
| Location | Union Station, Washington, D.C. |
| Country | United States |
| Rail line | Capital Subdivision |
| Operator | Pennsylvania Railroad |
| Type of incident | Overrun |
| Cause | Braking failure |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 1 |
| Passengers | 400 |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Injuries | 43 |
The 1953 Pennsylvania Railroad train wreck was a railway accident which occurred at Union Station in Washington, D.C. on January 15, 1953. The brakes on the cars of the Federal Express, a passenger and mail train operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad, malfunctioned and the train crashed into the station, jumped the passenger platform, and plunged through the floor of the passenger terminal into the basement of the station. There were no deaths, and only 43 people were injured.
The Federal Express (No. 173), was a southbound, Boston-to-Washington, D.C., overnight train carrying mail and passengers. When the train arrived in New Haven, a New Haven electric locomotive replaced the diesel along with adding several passenger cars from Springfield for the run to New York's Penn Station where PRR GG1 No. 4876, an electric locomotive, was coupled on, The train had 16 coaches and sleeping cars (known as "Pullmans").
The Federal Express departed Boston at 11:00 P.M. After making two stops, the train halted about 70 miles (110 km) south of Boston. Its brakes were sticking, and a 45-minute inspection occurred. Conductors discovered a closed "angle cock" (a shutoff valve) at the rear of the third car. The airbrake system aboard the rail cars had angle cocks at each end of each car. Both valves had to be open for the airbraking system to operate. The only closed valve would be that at the rear of the final car. Airbrakes on trains are powered by a compressed air tank aboard each car. The engine generates air pressure that is supposed to flow through the airbrake system along the entire length of the train. When this pressure is lessened, valves on the pressurized air tanks come open. The air from the tanks put pressure on the brake disks (or the tread of the wheel), which push against the wheels and cause braking to occur. If the cars separate, from one another or from the engine, the pressure automatically drops and the cars will brake to a stop. Closing an angle cock at any point along the system keeps the air pressure in the airbrakes high, thereby preventing the engine from reducing the air pressure and activating the braking system.
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