The Wreck of the Red Arrow - Gallitzin, Pennsylvania
Posted by: 
ted28285
N 40° 28.915 W 078° 30.992
17T E 710500 N 4484210
The East Bound Red Arrow Express failed to negotiate the Bennington Curve, 1.4 miles east of the Gallitzin Tunnels on the PRR Mainline. Killing 22.
Waymark Code: WM14ZG9
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 09/18/2021
Views: 2
The tragedy occurred on February 18, 1947 just past 3 A.M. Running an hour behind schedule as the Red Arrow left the Pittsburgh Terminal, speed was blamed for the accident. Two locomotives and five coaches derailed and slide down an embankment. The dead included 14 passengers, five mail clerks and three crew members. Twenty-one of those died at the crash site and a mail clerk died at the hospital in nearby Altoona.
The book "The Wreck of the Red Arrow: An American Train Tragedy" is an investigative look into the accident. Published close to 60 years later and the lack of eye witnesses it still leaves many questions unanswered.
Book