About 2:10 a.m., on February 24, 1978, 19 cars and a locomotive unit of Auto-Train No. 4 derailed on Seaboard Coast Line Railroad trackage at Florence, South Carolina. Twenty-four of the 503 passengers were injured. The total accident damage was estimated to be $774,029. The Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was a locomotive unit axle failure that originated from an overheated traction motor suspension bearing on the second unit of the two-unit locomotive consist. Contributing to the cause of the accident was the lack of an onboard system for detecting a bearing failure independent of crewmembers' inspection.
Railroad Accident Report - Derailment of Auto-Train No. 4 on Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, Florence, South Carolina, February 24, 1978
1984
32 pages
Report
No indication
English