Monday marks 100 years since two passenger trains collided in Nashville – making it the deadliest train accident in U.S. history.
On the morning of July 9, 1918, the No. 4 train bound for Memphis was scheduled to leave Nashville at 7 a.m., while the No. 1 from Memphis, which was running about a half-hour late, was scheduled to arrive in Nashville at 7:10 a.m.
At 7:20 a.m., they collided along a section of single track called “Dutchman’s Curve,” located west of downtown.
The crash killed 101 people and injured 171 others.
Many of the victims were African American workers from Memphis and Arkansas who were traveling to work in a gunpowder plant in Nashville.
Thousands of people came out to the scene that day to help with the rescue or search for family members.
The wreck prompted most railroads to make the switch from wood and steel to all-steel passenger cars.
