Global InformationMeldrim trestle disaster information
| Date | June 28, 1959 |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Freight train derailment & fire |
| Casualties | |
| 23 + unborn child | |
The Meldrim trestle disaster occurred at Meldrim, Georgia, on June 28, 1959. Involved was a Seaboard Air Line mixed freight train that derailed over the Ogeechee River. Loaded LPG tank cars from the train plunged into the river below and ruptured. The resulting explosion and fire killed 23 people--including entire families and a woman who was eight months pregnant--who were at the river that day as it was a popular area to swim and picnic at.[1][2]
The derailment was caused by the movement of rails on the trestle due to heat-related expansion, resulting in wheels of one car dropping between the rails.[1]
An ICC investigation faulted the railroad for not installing guard rails along the trestle, which might have helped to keep the derailed equipment on the trestle deck, minimizing the risk of a hazardous materials release.[1]
Killed were the following:
- Jimmy Anderson
- Elizabeth Dixon Barnes
- Ted Barnes
- Julian Beasley
- Linda Beasley
- Reba Lamb Beasley
- Michael Bland
- Charles Carpenter
- Billy Dent
- Joan Dent
- Frank Dixon
- Edna Dixon
- Barbara Hales
- Claudia Johnson
- L.B. Lamb
- Terry Lane
- Elbie Lane
- Florence Lane
- Leslie Lee
- James Smith
- Margie Hales Smith
- Timothy Smith
- Wayne Smith
- ^ a b c "I.C.C. Official Investigation Meldrim Trestle Disaster June 28, 1959". Meldrim.com. Interstate Commerce Commission. Archived from the original on 2009-07-01. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Komanecky, DeAnn. "Meldrim's saddest day". Savannah Morning News. Archived from the original on 2024-01-19. Retrieved 2020-07-22.