box as the cause of the accident, but railroad mechanics who had inspected and lubricated the box earlier that day swore it had been in good order. Normal practice was for signal towermen to watch passing train wheels for signs of problems and for train crew to look back as trains rounded curves. How this hot box escaped attention until too late has never been explained. Similar incidents This was not the first railroad accident in which an overheated journal box caused an axle to break and derail a train. The first-ever train wreck involving passenger fatalities, the Hightstown rail accident of 1833, had an identical cause. 71 years and 8 months later, along the same location, an Amtrak train, speeding over 100 mph, derailed along the curve. The 2015 Philadelphia train derailment claimed eight lives as well as injuring many others. References The Derailment of the Congressional Limited, Pennsylvania's Worst Railroad Disaster by Benjamin L Bernhart, publ Outer Station Project 2007, External links September 6, 1943 - The Wreck of the Congressional Limited at Philadelphia, Pa "100 Believed Dead in Wreck of Crack Congressional Train", The Milwaukee Sentinel, Sep 7, 1943 ICC Investigation No.2726 Railway accidents and incidents in Pennsylvania Railway accidents in 1943 Derailments in the United States Accidents and incidents involving Pennsylvania Railroad Frankford Junction train wreck History of Philadelphia Frankford Junction train wreck