Good Evening from the CTA

Hmmm.  Wasn't there another Chicago train crash like this  a few years ago?

- Mike

Except that looks amazingly like Toronto...

Rusty

Your correct Rusty. These station scenes were shot on location in Toronto, as was much of the film.

Besides the above photo taken at Toronto Union Station from the 1976 movie "Silver Streak" don't forget the 1952 incident of a GG1 coming into Washington Union Station and continuing into the station concourse and finally coming to rest in the basement of the station.

WOW, how in the ?#$# did that happen??

Regarding Chicago, according to the NTSB the engineer admitted to dozing off and the emergency brakes failed.

Going up!

Regarding the GG1, that was just before the Eisenhower inauguration. They covered the mess with a floor until after the proceedings and cut the GG1 in two to get it out later. 

http://dcist.com/2013/01/post_55.php#photo-1

OMG......Was that a push/pull commuter train or one of the EL trains?

Peter

I believe the dozing off part but don't believe the emergency brakes failed.  She was probably zoned out and held power right up the stairs

Peter

That's one of the El trains

WOW TO ALL , FIRST TIME I'VE SEEN THE ACCIDENT WITH THE gg1

The train was train 173, the Federal Express a joint New Haven-PRR overnight Boston to Washington Train. Behind the GG1 which picked up the train in Pennsylvania station in New york City were 16 coaches, sleepers and express cars. The event was attributed to a defective air line valve on a car  4 cars back which apparently closed unintentionally thereby cutting off the air supply for train braking in the following 12 cars. As the train entered the terminal area, the engineer was sounding distress on the locomotive horn. Towere lined up the train for track 16 which was a less congested area at that time of the day and notified the station master. They were able to clear the area in very short order. The engine braking and train Brake of 4 cars were able to slow the train to about 35mph as the following 12 cars pushed the train through the bumper . Suprisingly no one lost their life in the event. There were 43 injuries from the event.

The GG1 was no. 4876 in the Brunswick green with 5 gold stripes scheme. When it was removed from the station, it was taken out in three sections and rebuilt at Altoona. It came back to service as one of the Tuscan 5 stripers and ran many additional miles on the Northeast corridor. It worked for the PRR, Penn Central, Amtrak and NJ Transit for the next 30 years. It is currently at the B&O railroad museum pending restoration?

Here is a photo at Baltimore.