| Naperville train disaster | |
|---|---|
| Details | |
| Date | April 26, 1946 |
| Location | Naperville, Illinois |
| Country | United States |
| Rail line | Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad |
| Operator | Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad |
| Type of incident | Collision |
| Cause | Insufficient warning of stopped train |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | Advance Flyer and Exposition Flyer |
| Deaths | 47 |
| Injuries | Approx. 125 |
The Naperville train disaster occurred on April 26, 1946, at the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad station in Naperville, Illinois when the railroad's Exposition Flyer rammed into the Advance Flyer, which had made an unscheduled stop to check its running gear. The Exposition Flyer had been coming through on the same track at 85 miles per hour (137 km/h). 47 people died, and some 125 were injured.
According to initial interviews with the train crew, engineer W. W. Blaine of the Exposition Flyer (who survived with a fractured skull) immediately applied brakes upon seeing the first of two warning signals, but it was still too close to the first train to stop in time, and was still traveling in excess of 60 mph (97 km/h) when it struck the rear of the Advance Flyer.[1]
This crash is a major reason why most passenger trains in the United States only travel at a speed limit of 79 mph (127 km/h) or below.[2][3] The CB&Q, Milwaukee Road, and Illinois Central were among railroads in the region running passenger trains at up to and above 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) in the 1930s and 1940s. The Interstate Commerce Commission ruled in 1951 that trains traveling faster must have "an automatic cab signal, automatic train stop or automatic train control system",[4][5] expensive technology that was implemented on some lines in the region, but has since been mostly removed.
Following this disaster, advancements in train speed in the United States essentially halted.[2][3]