The 1906 Washington, D.C. train wreck occurred on the Metropolitan Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) at Terra Cotta station in Washington, D.C., on December 30, 1906, at 6:31 in the evening, when a locomotive pulling six empty cars crashed into the back of a passenger train in dense fog, killing 53 people and injuring more than 70.
The heavy locomotive, which sustained very little damage, ploughed through the rear two cars, sending bodies and debris flying for a quarter of a mile on both sides of the track.
[3] The accident is described in the book Undergraduate Days 1904-1908 by Frank Kuntz, recounted by a fellow student at the nearby Catholic University of America: "Then came a terrible noise which he described as a combination of an explosion, escaping steam, breaking wood, groaning brakes and human screams.
The operator at Takoma Park stated that his signal lights were burning red ("danger") when the empty train passed, corroborated by three other people.
[11] Four men were charged with manslaughter — the engineer, conductor, brakeman and fireman of train 2120[12] — but after a lengthy trial all were found not guilty due to lack of evidence.