Bagley train wreck facts for kids

The Bagley train wreck was a serious train accident. It happened in Utah, United States, on the morning of Sunday, December 31, 1944. This crash is also known as the Great Salt Lake wreck. It sadly killed 50 people, including over 35 military members. Another 81 people were injured.

The Pacific Limited Train

The accident involved a train called the Pacific Limited. It was operated by the Southern Pacific railroad. This train was crossing The Great Salt Lake on a special railway line called the Lucin Cutoff.

The Pacific Limited had started its journey from Chicago two days earlier. It was heading to San Francisco. Usually, this train traveled as one very long section. But on this day, it was split into two parts. The first part (called First 21) was a passenger train. The second part (called Second 21) was a mail express train.

What Caused the Crash?

Early that morning, a long and heavy freight train ahead of them had problems. This meant First 21, the passenger train, had to slow down. It was made up of 18 cars and led by engine No. 4425.

Second 21, the mail express train, was behind First 21. It had 20 cars and was led by engine No. 4361. It seems the crew of Second 21 did not know about the problems ahead. They continued traveling at full speed.

First 21 left Ogden at 4:38 a.m. It was running 38 minutes late. At the time of the crash, it had slowed to about 8 mph (13 km/h). It was getting ready to stop because a flagman from the freight train ahead was signaling it.

Second 21 left Ogden at 4:50 a.m., 50 minutes late. It passed two stop signals before the collision. At Bagley, a train siding about 17 miles (27 km) west of Ogden, the crash happened. It was 5:14 a.m. and there was thick fog. The Second 21 mail express train, moving at 50 mph (80 km/h), crashed into the very last car of First 21. This last car was a Pullman sleeping car.

The Impact and Damage

The crash was very powerful. One sleeping car was pushed through the dining car. Another coach was slammed into the wooden coach in front of it. Cars from the mail express train piled up sideways behind its engine. Some even slid down the side of the railway into the water. Most of the people who died were in the back Pullman car and the crushed coach.

Several cars in First 21 were badly damaged. The 13th car crashed into the 12th. The 16th car crashed into the 15th. The engine of Second 21 crashed into the 18th car of First 21. The 12th, 15th, and 18th cars of First 21 were completely destroyed. The engine and the first eleven cars of Second 21 also went off the tracks.

Rescue and Investigation

The crash happened on a railway line built on a causeway. This area was mostly mud and shallow water. So, all help had to come by train. Luckily, two hospital cars were part of the passenger train (First 21). Doctors and medical staff from the U.S. Army Medical Corps were on board. They helped the injured until more rescue trains arrived from Ogden.

The official investigation looked into the accident. They concluded that the crash happened because the second train did not slow down properly. It did not follow the signal warnings.

The crew of First 21 had seen the two stop signals. Its engineer was preparing to stop when Second 21 hit them. The fireman on Second 21 missed the first stop signal because of the heavy fog. He told the engineer about it. Then, the fireman saw the second stop signal and told the engineer again. But he did not see the engineer slow the train down. Most of the crew on Second 21 were resting in the back car. They did not know there was a problem until the brakes were put on, about 12 seconds before the crash.

Both the engineer of Second 21 and the flagman of First 21 died in the accident. An investigation later suggested that the engineer of Second 21 might have become unwell just before the crash.