Train Wreck, The True Story Behind The Silver Spring, Maryland, Commuter Rail Disaster

by Thomas Low

On a snowy, February afternoon, three seasoned railroad men, an engineer and two conductors, were running a daily Maryland (MARC) commuter train with student passengers from Brunswick, Maryland, into Washington, D.C. At 5:35 they were only 11 miles from their destination at Union Station. Down the road and around a bend, a massive Amtrak passenger train was slowly rolling up the line toward them, finally underway on its route to Pittsburgh after being delayed in Washington for over an hour. Although there were two sets of tracks on the CSX Railroad's mainline, both trains were approaching each other on the same one. That was temporary. The dispatcher had already arranged to get them on separate tracks by opening a crossover switch ahead. The day seemed to be closing quietly and insignificantly, but for a number of small, time-altering glitches that somehow had been lining up over the past hours like stars in their courses (three in the last few minutes)-an unscheduled station stop, a distraction and an oversight-to lock the MARC train's impossible fate into place like gold bells rotating one by one onto the screen of a jackpot slot machine. What was about to happen could have been avoided if a couple of more seconds had been added onto the daily clock that afternoon. Instead, the ending was so horrific that it shocked Baltimore and Washington area residents. This is the ultimate "Perfect Storm" of railroad accidents. . . Praise for TRAIN WRECK . . . "Tom Low has written a riveting account of a modern train disaster and the impact it had on the people involved in the tragedy and its aftermath. It is also a gritty and caring homage to both working railroad men and the fire and rescue professionals on the scene. A unique work of great power and poignancy." - Robert J. Mrazek, retired congressman and author of "A Dawn Like Thunder: The True Story of Torpedo Squadron Eight," named a Best Book of 2009 by the Washington Post.

225 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love me some transportation content so I appreciate the thorough research that went into this analysis of the various aspects that lead to the 1996 Silver Spring crash. Any technical questions I had were anticipated and answered soon after, so I learned a lot about trains, railroad infrastructure, and the reform implemented as a result of this crash.

[SuzyQ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting and well written, especially as it's local to me! It definitely got a little too technical in the middle but the beginning and ending were so good! I recommended it to my dad

[Art · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very clearly written and well researched book. When I picked it up I was hoping for a good idea of what took place. I got much more than that, a breakdown of what happened that day, the people who were caught up in it and a clear description of the railroad and the history from the beginning of the line. What made it even more sobering to me was the fact I could see the Brunswick memorial of this accident from the window where I read this book.