Wreck, cleared, PRR Resumes Service to Paoli

The Pennsylvania Railroad's Paoli local commuter service returned to normal for the homeward rush Friday afternoon in the wake of an early morning freight train wreck which blocked all four tracks east of Paoli.

A spokesman said service into the city would be normal Saturday morning. Four wrecking trains and a crew of 100 worked throughout the day to clean up the wreckage and restore the snarled tracks.

10,000 are delayed

An estimated 10,000 persons living beyond Bryn Mawr were either delayed or inconvenienced in getting to the city Friday morning, the spokesman related.

Outbound commuter tracks were back in service by 2 p.m. and those into the city by 4 p.m. The two inner tracks, used mostly for freight trains, were cleared about nightfall.

In addition to the commuters, passengers inbound from Harrisburg and points west as far as Chicago had to go to Trenton, via the Trenton cutoff, and then return to Philadelphia on other trains.

10 Freight Rerouted

In the same manner, 10 freight trains were rerouted around the scene of the wreckage, via Trenton to the north or Perryville, MD, to the south.

Outbound passengers leaving Philadelphia for Harrisburg and points west on Friday night would encounter regular service and routes, the railroad said.

The derailment was caused at 12:30 a.m. by an overheated journal box on one freight car. When it jumped the tracks 21 others followed. The cars were in the middle of the 77-car freight train.

Five Shuttle Trains

By 7 a.m., the start of the peak commuter period, the railroad had marshaled five 12-car shuttle trains to operate continuously between Berwyn and Bryn Mawr. At Bryn Mawr the passengers had to alight and take regular commuter trains into Suburban Station.

Philadelphia Inquirer 4/28/1962