The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-09-07
Worst Accident On
 Railroad In 25 Years
Continued from Page D

of kin. Their kits, along with tons of civilian baggage, were removed to the rnorgue for final disposition.
 200 Stretchers
 Two hundred stretchers were used alternately to carry bodies and bag gage. All through the night the parade of stretchers continued over the broken ties, twisted tracks, and down the steep embankment to the street where fire engines, ambu- lances, and private cars waited to transport victims and property to a score of receiving stations.
 Nearby hospitals were filled quickly and ambulances began speeding to outlying institutions. One church was used as a dressing station for less seriouly injured. Tel ephone switchhoards at all city hos pitals were tied up for hours as Washington and New York rela. tives sought to learn the fate of passengers. Calls were received from points as distant as Oklahoma and Idaho.
 Five hundred civilian defense pol- ice blocked the main thoroughfares within three miles of the crash. scene SO aInbulances could have clear streets.
 One of the last to ride in the Epis. copal ambulance was Christine Nix. New York city, who was imprisoned for five and c half hours as sur- geons and workmen worked to free her legs. Miss Nix was conscious when first discovered and directed rescuers to the place in which she was trapped.
 The city morgue reported 45 dead, 26 of them women and two of them children. The other dead were still at the various hospitals. Coroner Herbert P. Goddard had estimated earlier that the death toll might run to 150 to 200, but said to- day that revised review of the re. ceiving stations would reduce the probable toll considerably.
 Pennsylvania officials said pre-. liminary investigation indicated the train was taraveling at its normal speed of 40 miles an hour in north- east Philadelphia as it entered the stretch along which 1t makes the best time of any electric train on major railroad in the United States. From the North Philadel- phia station to Newark, N. J., a 76- mile run, the congressional limited requires only GA minutes, an aver age speed of 71.3 miles an hour.
 The rain had not stopped at any of the Pennsylvania stations here and was about mile beyond the North Philadelphia Depot when the accident occurred.
 Investigation
 The investigation Di the railroad officials was augmented by inquir- ies by ti1e 7nterxtate Commerce Commission and the coroner's of- flee.
 The accident occurred on a straight stretch of track few min- utes after the train passed the North Philadelphia station, and about 800 yards before it reached Frankford junction, heart of north- east Philadelphia's industrial sec- ton. The engineer was Fred Shall Ter (95 Osborne Ave.) Bay Head, N. J.; c. L. MacPherson (34O6 N. 18th St) Philadelphia the conductor and G. H. Gierman (RFD3) New Eruns- wick, N. J., the fireman.
 The wreck, Pennsylvania's worst and Philadelphia's first high-tolI crash, came just one week after 27 persons were killed at Wayland, ". r.. when a Delaware, Lackawanna and western passenger train was wrecked afer sideswlping a freight locomotive.
 The highest railroad wreck toll in the last 26 years was at Nash. vile. Tenn. on July Q, 1918. when ii6 were killed.
 New York. Sept. T.-(UP)-stog. les of horror and heFolsm in the wreck of the Congressional Limited were told today by survivors who said cars Of the fast Pennsylvania train seemed to wrap themselves around a signal tresle" ln Philadel- phla.
 About 100 survivors, Sho arrived here Co four ears which escaped damage in the wreck, said soldiers and sailors we're formed into res- cue squaGs by an Army Major and Q Naval Commander. 4 Coast guard detachment equipped with alnbuls anees and slreieheFs helped. they nald.
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