--- title: Amtrak Crash Philadelphia: See Photos of Crash in Similar Spot in 1943 description: Ralph Morse photographed the wreck for LIFE canonical: https://time.com/3857231/congressional-crash-photos-1943/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-13T16:21:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:00.144Z og:title: Aftermath of a Train Wreck: Photos From the Crash of the Congressional og:description: Ralph Morse photographed the wreck for LIFE og:url: https://time.com/3857231/congressional-crash-photos-1943/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf9af4052d8dbc7e6/6987ef9035ba6f2347c0b574/150513-1943-train-wreck-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: 1943 Rail Disaster og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Aftermath of a Train Wreck: Photos From the Crash of the Congressional twitter:description: Ralph Morse photographed the wreck for LIFE twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf9af4052d8dbc7e6/6987ef9035ba6f2347c0b574/150513-1943-train-wreck-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Aftermath of a Train Wreck: Photos From the Crash of the Congressional > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription.  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. May 13, 2015 4:21 PM UTC  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. 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  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. May 13, 2015 4:21 PM UTC 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](https://books.google.com/books?id=UlAEAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=twopage&q&f=false), “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](http://time.com/3856714/amtrak-crash-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_](http://time.com/3857049/amtrak-crash-history-1943/) _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter_ [_@lizabethronk_](https://twitter.com/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 Images  Scene from the 1943 Congressional Limited train wreck in Philadelphia. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption 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 Images  Scene from the 1943 Congressional Limited train wreck in Philadelphia. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Scene from the 1943 Congressional Limited train wreck in Philadelphia. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Scene from the 1943 Congressional Limited train wreck in Philadelphia. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Scene from the 1943 Congressional Limited train wreck in Philadelphia. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Scene from the 1943 Congressional Limited train wreck in Philadelphia. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Scene from the 1943 Congressional Limited train wreck in Philadelphia. 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