Aftermath of a Train Wreck: Photos From the Crash of the Congressional
Aftermath of a Train Wreck: Photos From the Crash of the Congressional
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Caption from LIFE. By floodlight, rescuers labor through the night cutting away wreckage imprisoning dead and dying. Shredded steel of seventh coach lies strewn on ground right of tower. Eighth coach rests on side against base of tower.Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
The Congressional Limited was passing through Philadelphia on the way from Washington to New York City, on Sept. 6, 1943, when it happened: an engine man, LIFE reported, “saw smoke and flame shooting from a journal box (housing for the end of an axle) on the seventh coach.” Though he tried to notify a signal man fast enough to get a warning light posted, it was too late. The Congressional broke apart as the wheel tore off the axle, causing a train wreck that led to dozens of deaths.
On Wednesday, in the wake of another disastrous train wreck in Philadelphia, attention has turned once again to that earlier tragedy, the aftermath of which photographer Ralph Morse covered for LIFE.
Read more about the wreck of the Congressional here
Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.
Caption from LIFE. By floodlight, rescuers labor through the night cutting away wreckage imprisoning dead and dying. Shredded steel of seventh coach lies strewn on ground right of tower. Eighth coach rests on side against base of tower.Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesScene from the 1943 Congressional Limited train wreck in Philadelphia.Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. The grim procession of the dead from wreck to morgue continues next morning as acetylene torches slowly cut imprisoning steel. As cars were opened up, doctors crawled into wreckage with morphine.Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesScene from the 1943 Congressional Limited train wreck in Philadelphia.Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesScene from the 1943 Congressional Limited train wreck in Philadelphia.Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesScene from the 1943 Congressional Limited train wreck in Philadelphia.Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesScene from the 1943 Congressional Limited train wreck in Philadelphia.Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesScene from the 1943 Congressional Limited train wreck in Philadelphia.Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesScene from the 1943 Congressional Limited train wreck in Philadelphia.Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
