Can anyone give me any information i.e. pictures, accident reports, newspaper clippings, etc. pertaining to an ACL passenger train wreck that occurred circa 1946-47 at Pine Castle, Florida?

-- Merrill D. Crissey, Sr. (mdcrissey@juno.com), July 03, 1998

Answers

My dad was the Section Foreman at Orlando from 1944 until he retired in the 70's. The only Pine Castle wreck I remember was in 1962. A morning Northbound through freight (Possibly Timetable Freight 210) struck an automobile South of the Pine Castle depot. The woman driver was returning home from taking her Air Force husband to work at the Pine Castle AFB (Now Orlando International Airport).

She was Northbound on Orange Avenue which ran right alongside the tracks. That was before the tracks were moved further West to their present location. Pacing the freight, she suddenly sped ahead and attempted to cross the tracks before the engine got to the crossing.

Needless to say, she was unsuccessful. The engines if I remember correctly were three "F" units. Her automobile lodged under the front trucks of the engine and stayed under there until the train passed the depot. At that point her automobile came out from under the lead engine and was propelled under the freight dock of the depot.

The train continued Northward until it reached the spur at the feed mill. The lead engine went into the spur and the rest left the main track and tilted onto there sides. The engine's diesel fuel caught fire along with the wrecked freight cars (several) contents. It was a mixture of cotton seeds, diesel fuel, and dried sewage sludge destined for a fertilizer plant.

I certainly remember that because as a Signal Helper at the time I had to dig in new crossing signal cables. It was quite a local news event. The train crew was unhurt.

I will ask my Mom, if she has recollections of a passenger train wreck.

-- Curtis Denmark Jr. (curtisd@generator.com), November 27, 1998.