1948 Catastrophic Train Derailment at Laurel Race Course

One person died and more than 50 were injured

A bizarre train derailment in 1948 on the railroad tracks next to the Laurel Race Course resulted in one death and more than 50 people suffering various injuries. In spite of the technological limitations of the day, the wreck prompted an extraordinary response from dozens of first responders between Baltimore and Washington, and injured passengers were distributed to seven different area hospitals to handle the load.

Carnage and Chaos

The B&O Railroad tracks that run next to the race course have two sweeping curves along that stretch. On June 10, 1948, shortly after noon, the northbound Washington-to-New York Diplomat train was navigating the first curve—at approximately the location of the current pedestrian tunnel leading to the Paddock Point townhomes—when the last four cars of the nine-car train derailed and flipped onto their sides.

According to The Washington Post, “Five of the cars rounded the curve at the entrance to the Laurel racetrack safely. Then the fifth car, the diner, plunged from the rails and pulled three Pullman cars with it.” The cars “toppled over and slid along the ground on their sides for about 300 feet.”

Making matters even worse, just as the Diplomat was derailing, a southbound train—No. 509, en route to  Washington from New York—passed on the other side of the tracks. A section of the rail that was ripped up from the Diplomat’s derailing flew into the oil tank of No. 509’s diesel engine. The oil tank caught fire, which was extinguished by the crew, but, luckily, No. 509 did not also derail.

Reporters—who most likely were scanning police radios—arrived almost as quickly as the first responders. They were able to interview dozens of non-injured passengers.

Many passengers described the rescue actions of a group of 41 Marines, who were passengers on the Diplomat, in evacuating passengers from the train cars lying on their sides. The Marines were on their way to a Naval gunnery school in Bainbridge, MD.

A steward who worked in the Diplomat’s dining car told the Washington Daily News, “The passengers in that car became panic-stricken. Many were finally led from the steaming wreckage in hysterics.” Another passenger said, “The train was going too fast to make the curve.”

A girls’ choir from the Trinity School in Brooklandville (near Lutherville in Baltimore County) was on board the train and escaped injury, except for one girl who sustained a severe cut on her arm.

An injured passenger in the dining car told the Post, “All the tables went against the right window. We fell on the tables. Then the car lurched and the tables on the left side fell on top of us.”

Rescue Mission

Given that police in those days only had two-way radios and telephone communications at headquarters, the rapid response to the wreck was impressive. According to the Daily News, “State police and citizens in the neighborhood immediately called for fire and rescue equipment and ambulances. The Prince Georges central dispatcher sent 15 ambulances to the scene, and Maryland State Police called for all possible assistance from Washington. The B&O sent a track car ambulance down from Baltimore and removed an undetermined number of injured to that city. Fort Meade also sent an ambulance to the scene.” Remember, this is years before there were Laurel or Maryland City Rescue Squads.

While rescue operations were ongoing, the damaged engine of No. 509 was detached and the train continued to Washington with a replacement engine. There were no injuries to passengers on No. 509.

Naturally, the accident scene was almost instantly packed with spectators from the surrounding area. Order was maintained by Laurel Police, Maryland State Police, Military Police, and railroad police. “They kept several thousand persons attracted to the scene from approaching too closely. Within a remarkably short time after the wreck, the telephone company had set up special long-distance lines for the use of newspaper and radio reporters,” added the Post.

The Laurel Leader described the scene: “Ambulances and fire engines arrived from every direction, parked cars jammed the streets and roads leading into the racetrack, a constant stream of spectators poured into the area all afternoon and evening, planes circled overhead, Military Police from Fort Meade kept order, and many local people participated in the volunteer rescue work as the 53 injured were removed to nearby hospitals. … This was reported to be the first serious train wreck on this local line since 1907, when an accident occurred on the commuters’ train at Hanover.”

Victims

The sole death was, according to the Daily News, a 51-year-old “Negro Pullman porter from Jersey City, NJ.” The Washington Post reported that he was “killed instantly when crushed by one of the train’s overturned cars.” He either jumped or was thrown from the car before it overturned. His body was transported to an unknown Laurel funeral home.

Among the more than 50 injured were two local railroad employees: Samuel Moore from Savage and John Carroll from High Ridge.

With dozens of injured passengers, a host of hospitals between Baltimore and Washington received patients. Ambulances made numerous runs to get all the injured treated. The hospitals that received the injured were Laurel Hospital (referred to as “Dr. Warren’s hospital at Laurel”); Leland Memorial; Prince George’s; St. Agnes and University Hospital in Baltimore; and Freedman’s Hospital and Providence Hospital, both in Washington.

The majority of the injured were treated for severe cuts, fractures, burns, and shock.

Not all of the victims were passengers on the train. A crew of railroad workers at the spot had backed up to a fence to allow the trains to pass. One worker told the Post, “I was knocked down, and I guess I must have been knocked out. The man standing next to me had his leg cut off, so I guess I’m lucky.

Blame

Initial reports claimed that a construction crew was working on the tracks at the derailment spot, which would explain the workers backed up against a fence.

Both the B&O Railroad and the Interstate Commerce Commission conducted separate investigations into the crash. During the investigation, “Railroad officials admitted that missing spikes could have caused the rail spread which sent the cars hurtling from the tracks,” reported the Post. B&O officials also admitted that “the section gang was replacing ties on the curve at Laurel.” But the officials tried to deflect blame by telling the Post, “The workers would have to remove spikes in replacing the ties,” but that “it wasn’t likely that the section gang would remove more than a few spikes at a time.”

In only a few hours after the victims were transported, repair crews had replaced the mangled rails and reopened the line to Baltimore. According to the Post, “Those who had escaped injury or were only shaken up in the derailment of the last four cars of The Diplomat were placed aboard the forward cars and The Diplomat proceeded on to Baltimore.”

Kevin Leonard is a founding member of the Laurel History Boys and a two-time winner of the Maryland Delaware District of Columbia Press Association Journalism Award.