It’s too bad that we don’t have access to the actual accident investigation reports on this. I wonder if these have been “locked away” to keep what really transpired “covered up”?
He was going down a grade doin' 90 miles an hour when the whistle broke into a scream He was found in the wreck with his hand on the throttle and scalded to death by the steam
Also, the engineer wasn't familiar with the train type, he drove mainly freight on that line, so he wasn't accustomed to so light and short a train, it's heavy, but just light enough to give plenty of speed, but less braking power.
The air brakes could have failed due to whittling. Using just enough air to slow down just enough around the curves and hills, and not giving enough time for the air in the lines to replenish. That was done way too much and the high speed made the situation worse.
This is a bit different version of the wreck I heard from my ancestors that resided in and were in the immediate area on that Sunday afternoon My Great Grandfather was an engineer for the Southern and knew of Brody and other crew members. ( Immediate family are retiree's and active on the now NS.) Heard the train descending the grade. My Grandmother was sitting on the porch the time hearing what was said. By the time my Great Grandfather got to the trestle the train had derailed account of excessive speed. (30-35) mph. On a 5 mph restricted speed for the trestle. Some yrs. ago I visited the site. The trestle was removed due to a roadway realignment I believe in the early 1920's(?). About the broken flange ? Some things mentioned I doubt occurred based on my knowledge. There are good accounts from the Danville Bee and the Danville Historical Society that are pretty accurate.
I might interject here that as a engineer today i don't think air brakes back then had reservoir for air storage. You used your air then waited for the pump to build more. It's possible he lost his air by setting and then resetting without taking time to replenish his air supply. Perhaps he panicked at the rapid increase in speed and lost his cool for just a moment. Just pure speculation on my point, but i bet he plugged it when he realized he was not going to slow down enough and the brakes were useless at that point. Just speculation, if anyone can add or point out where i could be wrong just let me know.
@TheRailroadCrossing-SteamPower Yep. I was trying to figure out were the trestle was at. One other guys RU-vid channel did a video on the sane wreck. I asked were was the trestle located because I couldn't find it. He pointed out the cross street location.
@TheRailroadCrossing-SteamPower It's hard to say. The wreck site is just south of business 58 and between Farrar st and Highland Ct. The creek may still be there. But its heavily wooded over.
