North Carolina's Deadliest Trainwreck-- Part 2

There were no serious injuries and passengers got off the train.

The chief fireman of the train placed flares ahead of it.  He forgot to bring torpedoes with him though.  They were a small noise-making charge.  The flares were dampened and didn't work.

The derailed cars did not physically touch the northbound tracks so automatic sensors were not activated.

At 1:45 a.m., doing about 80 mph, the East Coast Champion roared past and saw a sleeper car in its path, but too late to stop.

The first passenger car had many servicemen.  Two of them, Joannes Nystrom and James Conney had recently been discharged.  they were killed.

Clyde Lollier, a mess sergeant, died instantly.  His wife, who had been in the berth beneath him had just left to go to the restroom in one of the Pullman cars, survived.

--GreGen