Deadly Amtrak Derailment Happened At Same Site Of 1943 Train Wreck
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Frankford Junction, the scene of an Amtrak train derailment that killed at least six people and injured 140 others Tuesday night, was the site of another deadly train wreck 71 years ago.
VIEW: Train Derailment Complete Coverage
The same stretch of tracks in Philadelphia's Port Richmond neighborhood was the scene of one of the worst rail disasters in U.S. history.
On September 6, 1943, Labor Day, Pennsylvania Railroad's Congressional Limited was travelling from Washington D.C. to New York City when, according to the National Railway Historical Society's Lancaster Chapter, a journal box on the front axle of one of the 16 cars overheated and began to spark. Almost immediately, the axle snapped in two and fell off, causing eight of the train's cars to derail.
It took hours to free the trapped and several days to clear the wreckage.
The train was carrying 541 passengers at the time of the crash. In total, 79 people were killed and 117 others were injured.