Does anyone have information and/or pictures of a Southern Railway freight train wreck in Gibsonville, NC in 1950 or 51

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This wreck happened at night. The locomotive was a 2-8-2 mikado and several cars derailed. The engineer and fireman lost their lives in this wreck. My rememberance of this wreck is hazy as I was a child at the time and my family lived in Gibsonville, NC during that time. I believe an account of the accident was in The Greensboro Daily News. Thanks, Dave Hardee 52 Northwood Dr, Wilmimton, NC 28405

-- David R> Hardee (toytrains40@yahoo.com), September 24, 2004

Answers

David,

The accident to which you refer was train 252, engine 4847, on September 10, 1950, at 3:15 AM. A preceeding passenger train 112, had a steam hose dragging on rear and it struck and opened a switch and 252 ran thru the switch. The engineer and fireman died, and the conductor was severly injured. I lived in Graham at the time and a friend of my father's carried us up there in the afternoon. I saw them get 4847 up in the evening of September 11th. My cousin made some box camera photos of it, and I have her negatives, plus two photos from the Greensboro Daily News, and the ICC accident report. Newspapers in Greensboro, Burlington, Durham, and Raleigh covered it, and I'm sure many others did as well. I don't have facilities to copy the photos (except at Wal-Mart) or print the negatives, but contact me and let me know what you want I will see what I can do. I could xerox the news accounts and the ICC report.

-- J. Marvin Black (sr6100diesel@bigfoot.com), November 25, 2004.


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