On May 22, 1967, two New York Central Railroad freight trains collided head-on on the West 30th Street Branch line in Manhattan, New York City. That morning track two of the line was closed for repair, and so trains were single-tracking on track one. A 15-car, three-engine train traveling south from Syracuse, New York, collided with a northbound 60-car, four-engine train on a curve just south of 147th street, killing six crew members—three from each train[1][2] Both trains were traveling around 40 miles per hour (64 km/h).[1] This was the first accident investigated by the newly-formed U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, which blamed the New York City 72nd Street tower operator for failing to restrict the movement of the northbound train, along with other contributing dispatcher and operator errors.[2][3]
References
edit- ^ a b Zambito, Thomas C. (May 21, 2017). "50 years ago: Manhattan rail crash claimed the lives of Hudson Valley men". The Journal News. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ a b Keefe, Kevin (April 3, 2017). "Fifty years of the NTSB". Trains.com. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ National Transportation Safety Board (December 29, 1967). New York Central Railroad Company: Train 1/NY-4 Extra 2020 East and Train ND-5 Extra 5305 West Head-on Collision: New York City, New York: May 22, 1967 (PDF) (Report). U.S. Department of Transportation.