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1950 Kew Gardens, Queens train disaster...
1950 Kew Gardens, Queens train disaster...
Item # 721536
November 23, 1950
THE SPRINGFIELD UNION, Mass., November 23, 1950
* Long Island Railroad (LIRR)
* Kew Gardens, Queens train wreck
* Richmond Hills NY (1st report)
The front page has a nice banner headline: "AT LEAST 75 DIE IN L.I. RAIL WRECK" with subheads. (see images)
Complete with all 38 pages, light toning at the margins, small binding holes and minor wear along the spine, generally in very nice condition.
background: On November 22, 1950, a catastrophic collision occurred on the Long Island Rail Road near Kew Gardens, Queens, when two crowded commuter trains—one eastbound from Penn Station to Hempstead and another following from Penn Station to Babylon—crashed due to a combination of mechanical failure and human error. The first train had stopped after its brakes locked while slowing for a signal, and although a rear brakeman initially displayed a warning lantern, he extinguished it, assuming the train would soon move, leaving no proper rear protection. The following train, seeing a “Go Slow” signal and then an “All Clear” further ahead, misinterpreted the signals, accelerated to about 35 mph, and struck the stationary train, shearing the last car lengthwise and severely damaging the front car of the striking train. The disaster killed 78 passengers and injured 363, marking the deadliest accident in LIRR history, and exposed serious safety shortcomings, including the absence of automatic train control and reliance on manual signaling. In the aftermath, the LIRR installed Automatic Speed Control and undertook broader operational reforms, highlighting the urgent need for commuter rail safety improvements in postwar New York.
Category: The 20th Century
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$52.00
