There were 13 New Haven Passenger cars in the consist of the "Federal" in that 1953 incident. I haven't seen anything that indicates the type of cars ( Parlor Cars, Sleepers, etc.) however one description I read did indicate that the rear cars had, as passengers, some commuters from Baltimore who were not, intially, aware of what had happened thinking merely that the train had come to a "rough" stop. It was a design defect in the New Haven Cars that caused the incident. The angle cock carried underneath each car ( valve which shut off air to the braking system of each car) was located in such a way that it had a tendancy to close when the valve handle made contact with a structural member under the car while under way. The angle cock on the third car did just that between Baltimore and Washington, shutting off air to the brakes on the trailing 10 cars making it impossible for the brakes on those cars to engage. Essentally, No. 4876 and the first three cars skidded into Union Station being pushed by the trailing 10 cars. ( The valve had stuck previously somewhere in Rhode Island, causing a one hour delay-- The crew was able to release the valve but never reported the problem either when the locomotives were changed at New Haven, or when the PRR crew and No. 4876 picked up the train at NYP).
Please Move to the Rear and Speed Your Ride
( Philadelphia Transportation Company)
