December 17, 2013, Fayetteville (NC) Observer "Remembering the deadliest train accident in N.C. history" by Chick Jacobs.
"One forgotten pouch. One wrong step. One night of unprecedented carnage. seventy years later, officials are still not sure how many people died. The counts range from 72 to 74 with nearly 200 injured. It remains the deadliest disaster in North Carolina history."
On December 16, 1943, the Atlantic Coast Line's Tamiami West Coast Champion left Fayetteville and heading southward with 18 cars just after midnight.It was a cold night with temps in the teens. Earlier a storm had coated the region with a light snow and ice.
Less than a half hour out of Fayetteville, near Raft Swamp, a rail fractured under the train, derailing the three rear cars. The train couldn't stop for a quarter mile.
--GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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